What does it sound like?:
Funny things, moods – some days I’m convinced Misplaced Childhood is Marillion’s finest hour, others I’m equally certain it’s this one, the final album of the Fish era, originally released in 1987. It’s an album that contains some of the band’s best work, Warm Wet Circles, Sugar Mice, Slainte Mhath, and also ironically one of my least favourite songs, Incommunicado, which always struck me as sounding rather like a Who cast off. It’s certainly an album that is best consumed in one sitting though, as one continuous piece of music. This grandiose box comprises four cds plus a bluray disc, although there’s not a huge amount of unreleased material on offer. What do you get? The original album remixed, a cd of demos and a two cd live set recorded in Edinburgh in December 1987 on the band’s final tour with Fish, some of which was used on 1988’s The Thieving Magpie live album. It’s a good gig for sure, spanning the band’s entire career and showcasing good chunks of both Misplaced Childhood and Clutching At Straws, and the band are on top form, as you’d expect playing in front of their ecstatic home crowd. The demos cd is basically the same as the bonus disc from the 1999 reissue, although the three B sides that led off that disc have been relegated to the bluray here – an odd decision given that there’s plenty of room left on the cd. The main selling point for me is the addition of four previously unreleased demos for CAS, bringing the total here up to six. There’s also seven demos for the never to be made fifth studio album, which give a tantalising glimpse of what might have been. The consensus seems to be that Marillion kept the music, some of it appearing on the subsequent Season’s End record, while Fish hung on to his lyrics, using them at various points on his first two solo albums. The bluray, as usual, gives the whole experience in glorious 5.1 sound, and is accompanied by a handful of promo videos and an excellent hour long documentary on the making of the album, hosted by Mick Wall and featuring the whole band in fine and very candid form. There’s also a first class sixty page booklet too – what more could you want? A great set that really does the album justice!
What does it all *mean*?
A fine addition to this series of deluxe reissues, which are every bit as good as the standard setting Tull releases. Fans will love it, and hopefully we’ll eventually see the first two albums given the same treatment.
Goes well with…
Pondering on what might have been.
Release Date:
Might suit people who like…
Fish, Marillion, rock with prog pretensions.
Interesting review as always.
Personally I’m convinced that Afraid Of Sunlight is Marillion’s finest hour.
We’re talking about two different bands really though, with the only common factor being the name.
My take is that this one is “almost” as great as Misplaced Childhood, which is definitely their finest hour).
Straws has a bit more ambition to it, which doesn’t quite come off, or is not pushed hard enough.
Interesting to hear of the mooted fifth album demos – I’ve always felt that Uninvited Guest from Season’s End was a Fish song without the Fishy-vocal.
This is hopefully on it’s way soon and will sit nicely next to the Misplaced Childhood box
(both signed by Fish, and at a cheaper price than Am*zon)
`Clutching At Straws` was, for me, the Box Set that broke the err, spell Marillion had on me. When I got back into Prog a few years ago Marillion were one of the bands I started to get into. The thing is I only played the albums once and never again but kept picking more albums and S.E.s up, those by Fish also. A couple of weeks ago I was looking at my pre-orders on the Dodgers, I came across the CAS 5 disc S.E. which I had pre-ordered for £22 a very good price. I thought WTF I haven`t even played the `Misplaced Childhood S.E. yet. I had a think, cancelled the pre-order and all the Marillion & Fish collection will be going on Discogs & eBay when I get around to it. Same goes for Anathema, Steven Wison and Porcupine Tree. I will still have a large collection of Prog albums both from the Classic Era and from the last 30 years, the thing is I play them.
I have never heard anything by the post-Fish Marillion lineup and have only heard a few odd bits of the Fish-era stuff and that was quite a long time ago. I was not impressed and saw no compelling reason to listen to any more of either version. So shoot me.