Search - Marillion :: Less Is More

Wake me up when it's over

Fred Johnson JR | NY | 10/26/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I love this band. I don't hate H and I did love Fish. Marillion with Hogarth have made fantastic music we never would have heard from the Fish led group. They say if it's too loud you're too old. What if it's too slow?

That's my problem with the last few issues from these guys. Anything from Script for a Jester's Tear through [...] are fantastic. Songs that stay with you and some actual fast-paced songs that don't make me think about a bottle of pills and a noose. Anoraknophobia had my favorite song " Seperated Out" but was when the slide toward ssssllllllloooooooooooooooowwwwwwww songs really started. There's no real build toward anything. They still play great and I think Steve Rothery is one of the most underrated guitarist around. H can still sing. Mark, Ian and Pete ( especially ) are still fantastic at their instruments and i just wonder why I hate this new stuff so much. It's just really boring.

This album is just more of the same. I don't usually do live or remixed stuff so I didn't have much hope for this anyway. If you must buy everything that they put out you're going to hate this review and me so I renounce my candidacy for Marillion Fan Club President. I will still listen to the old stuff and hope for better days."

Marillion- Less Is More

Kim Thore | USA | 11/12/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Just when you think prog rock icons Marillion can't possibly do anything more creative than their last cd, they pull another rabbit out of the hat and the recently released, "Less is More" is just that and a testament to the cd's title.



Indeed, they speak the truth.



Taking previously recorded tracks and stripping them down, rearranging the music and looking at songs with 3D goggle glasses, you have a provocative cd that manages to sound like a collection of new songs vs. a reinvention of past ones. That is the true beauty of "Less Is More".



Re-releases always seem to hold tremendous promise and then fall short once you press play. You'll find some differences and maybe a change in production but rarely do you find diverse arrangements, new instruments, and vocals that work harmoniously and yet simultaneously pay homage to the original and varying it enough to make you feel you have doubled your aural pleasure.



All of this is especially commendable as Marillion has built their reputation on a bigger than life sound by embracing the use of state of the art electronic sequencers, midi and complex arrangements that lend themselves to an electric context.



Easy would be to stay wrapped in that electric blanket, but Marillion proves that easy isn't always the best choice and that sometimes you can find a new "voice" when you are stripped of any artifice.



4.5 Stars- Kim Thore All Access Magazine









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I so badly want to give this 3 stars but I can't

Music fan | California United States | 01/16/2010

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I so badly want to give this 3 stars. This is very much a step backwards for Marillion. I have nothing against the "Less is More" concept and have nothing against acoustic versions of songs. I even have the Steve Rothery side project The Wishing Tree which is very acoustic (although those are acoustic to begin with).



To me, when one is going to do a release like this, it would be a good idea to not only make the song different but perhaps better? In this case, most of songs are not very enjoyable when compared to their original. The album doesn't start good by butchering one of favorites, Go. I figured it could only get better. It did not. To me, there are only 3 good songs on here and that is Hard as Love, If My Heart Were a Ball, and the "hidden track", Cannibal Surf Babe. The bonus songs of Runaway and the cover of Fake Plastic Trees add nothing as does the one new track "It's not your fault" - what I think is actually the worst track.



I've been a fan of Marillion since BEFORE their first release (1982) - that is not a common thing for a U.S. resident. They have certainly had their share of ups and downs but this was very much a misfire. It hurts to have to give my favorite band 2 stars."