MISPLACED CHILDHOOD

Many consider Misplaced Childhood as Marillion's crowning achievement and a masterpiece. For some reason, Misplaced Childhood just doesn't do the same thing for me. Maybe I'm just a goofball, but it doesn't come close to their debut Script for a Jester's Tear and I don't even find it to be at a level of quality similar to Fugazi. For me, Misplaced Childhood doesn't develop into anything interesting musically as it chiefly seems to focus more on lyrics than composition. Also, the concept doesn't seem to really interest me and often seems vague and wandering. I find that the production seems more flat than on previous albums and it is quite obvious that the songs are more commercial sounding (in fact Kayleigh and Lavender did very well on the singles charts in the U.K.).

Even though I don't think this album is as good as previous albums, it's still a good and mostly enjoyable listen. For me, it's the entire "side two" set of songs (tracks 6-10) that I enjoy the most. On side 1, I like Lavender the best, which sort of reminds me of the type of song Fish would perform on his future solo albums (Kayleigh is also a precursor of Fish's solo style). Not a bad album, but far from a masterpiece to my ears. Good, but not essential. Three stars.