Marillion

Marillion.Com

An Hour Of Musical Ecstasy!

Review Score:

(10/10)
The best rock band in the world that no one in America(well, nearly no one)has heard of, Marillion, have returned with possibly their finest work ever, Marillion.com. And it's their loss, because this is a truly great hour of music from beginning to end that any true fan of modern cutting-edge progressive rock would be crazy not to have in their collection. Having been a fan of his band for about 10 years now(I own all of the albums, from both the Fish and Steve Hogarth eras, in some form or another), I picked up this CD two weeks ago, not quite knowing what to expect, since I felt the Radiation album was a bit of a disappointment compared to the other albums of the Hogarth era. So I was a bit skeptical this new offering would be similar. My doubts were erased before "A Legacy", the lead-off track had ended. This was a return to form, the sweeping drama evident here, building up to suck the listener in without thinking of one particular part of the song, but about the "experience" as a whole. (Listen, and you will know what I mean.)Rather than review this album track by track(I could go on forever!), for the sake of this restricted space, I'll just cut to the chase. There are NO weak tracks on this album, no filler. Every one of these songs are excellent! I even loved the made-for-the radio-yet-will-never-make-it to-the-radio tracks, "Deserve" , "Rich", and "Tumble Down The Years", even though, historically, Marillion songs of this nature have not been among my favorites. I've always preferred the more uncommerical material, the songs that always seem to defy description, the ones that make this truly unique band great. Yet, these three songs are full of great hooks guaranteed to please even the harshest critics of so-called "pop" songs. Then, there are those more uncommercial tracks. And several of them stand out, the hypnotic "Go!", the etheral yet euphoric "Enlightened", and last, but not least, the sweeping epic "Interior Lulu", a song that will undoubtedly please Marillion fans on both sides of the fence between Fish and Hogarth.The band has regained an energy that seemed to be lacking on the Radiation record. The performances here are more emotional, more inspired. It is as if the entire band returned to the womb and came out again, reborn. Steve Rothery's guitar work is his best in years, Mark Kelly's keyboards are back in full force(thank God!)and the Pete Trewavas/Ian Mosley rhythm section is better than ever, especially on Lulu. And lastly, Hogarth's voice really shines here. A truly great vocalist who should be heard by more than the small legions have discovered and come to love this artist's awesome voice!For some, this may an uneasy first listen. But do not be discouraged, most albums of fine well-crafted music are. They tend to grow on you, revealing a little more with each subsequent listen. Even though this was not the case with this record, I recall another Marillion record, Afraid Of Sunlight, that took several months to grow on me. It then became my favorite Marillion album(even above Seasons End, as great as it was, and still is). That is, until now.For those who absolutely loved Afraid OF Sunlight, this is the record for you! 62+ minutes of musical ecstasy you will want to relive over and over again.

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