My Favorite Marillion Album (but not sure it's the one I hav
JP | Macon, GA | 09/14/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A friend who was in the army at the time (81-82 I think it was) came back from England raving about this band he'd seen at Reading over there and had the Grendel EP. It was almost a year before I saw the "Jester's Tear" album and I have been listening to Marillion and Fish ever since!!
With all due respect to "Misplaced Childhood", this is my favorite Marillion album (when pressed I'll actually admit that Childhood is my LEAST favorite Fish era album)! I don't think there's a bad song on it and consider "Slainte Mhath", "White Russian" and "The Last Straw" to be among the best songs Marillion has PERIOD. Too bad it was their last recording together; they did seem to be evolving into an even better group. (Was darn glad to see the Loreley DVD finally get released!!)
I've had the original release of this CD since it came out in 1988 but recently bought an enhanced version, can't tell if it's this one or not. It says enhanced and import but I don't see any mention of what's on the 2nd disc of the one I bought.
On mine the 2nd disc is the never before released demos of what would have been their next album...basically Fish singing the words to "Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors" over the music that became "Season's End"!!! FASCINATING examination of what could have been. The best is the words that became "Family business" over the music of what eventually became (I think) "Easter"!!
If you are a fan of Fish and/or Marillion and you don't have this, your collection is incomplete...get it NOW! If you have the original release but want to hear the (I'll say again) fascinating "what could have been", then shell out the extra $$ and get this. If you are as big a fan as I am, you won't be sorry.
"
A CD Whose Songs Have Multiple Meanings
The Footpath Cowboy | Kingston, NY United States | 05/23/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"CLUTCHING AT STRAWS, Marillion's last CD with Fish on lead vocals, is an album whose songs have multiple meanings. The obvious theme of the album is that alcohol, or any vice, simply numbs you but doesn't get rid of what's going on around you, and that sooner or later, you have to face the reality of what's happened to you or is happening. It is this interpretation that led to my decision to choose cranberry juice over wine for certain Jewish prayers at holiday times, and to put pictures of pretty actresses in my wallet to help me ward off the urge to overindulge in even the most harmless vices.
But this album has another meaning as well. Being that Fish left the band right after the tour to support it, it could be seen, as ALLMUSIC GUIDE said, as Fish saying that the band is, in his mind, not only over, but is, as far as he's concerned, null and void. This meaning, for me, is how I feel regarding my old school, as I have pictures of numerous actresses on my wall as a deterrent to going to food-related reunions there. In other words, this is also a CD about letting go of the past.
Thus, it can be fairly said that CLUTCHING AT STRAWS is actually saying a lot of things, and not just one thing. This CD will give you a reason to believe that looking good for your significant other and/or your favorite celebrity sometimes means letting go of the past, even if it sometimes feels safer to hold on."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1