SEASONS END

Ok, so now Fish is gone and then it's the turn for many of the progheads that had Marillion as one of the few proggressives hopes of the 80s to scream in horror. From my particular point of view, at this point Marillion lost a quite concerned and brilliant songwriter our Scottish friend is, but gained a much more balanced and listenable vocalist. Was it worth it? Well, let's not fool ourselves, from this point on the thing would not be the same, but I think it could have been worse. Steve H is not probably as talented as a songwriter as Fish was, and probably he is more inclined to a more straightforward approach, but I also think that under his leadership Marillion has achieved many good things, and this album is one of them.

In this case Hogarth still doesn't have complete control here (John Helmer is in the shadow), and we can appreciate that this record has some continuity and shares a similar spirit to "Clutching at Straws". We still find a powerful and trademark guitar work by Mr Rothery and Mark Kelly continues to provide an excellent keyboard atmosphere, more mellow, but still brilliant.

"King of Sunset Town" gives us a welcome to this new era in a grandilocuent and ambitious way, with powerful guitar arrangements and Steve H sounds like saying "Hey, I'm here". "Easter" is my favourite track from this album, and probably one of the most memorable songs from the Hogarth's era. It is a delicious ballad full of inspiration, probably divided into two structural phases, both of them quite romantic. "The Uninvited Guest" put a controversial touch to the album. The song is pretty good although the lyrics seem to be a bit out of place, I don't know. "Season's End" is a song quite reminiscent of the previous era, and I think Fish could have sung it with no problem (it shows quite a "CAS" feeling). "Holloway Girl" is another poweful and grandilocuent song, but also with slower and more mellow moments. It is similar to the opening track from my point of view, although probably better. "Berlin" introduces some saxo touches, being another enjoyable track, showing again Hogarth's vocal talent. We find that this song is nearly 8 minutes, like some others here, which shows another similarity with Fish's Marillion records. It is another strong track. "After me" starts in a similar way to "Easter", although it is a weaker song. "Hook's in you" is probably the addition I found most strange to this album. It is a quite easy-listening and a bit unispired rocker if you ask me. It doesn't fit much with the rest of the songs. "The Space" brings some choir arrangements and shows once again another piece of Rothery's virtuous skills. It is a somewhat melancholic piece where Hogarth expands himself again (for the delight of some and probably the annoyance of others)

Then, I don't think we could consider that Marillion "died" here, it only resurfaced with a slightly different face (that would change with the years, that's true). But you know, you can't expect a band to be doing always the same, and given the circumstances this album and some of the following would be worthy records.