MARBLES

Let me first state for the record: I am not, and never have been a Marillion fan. The Fish era is, IMO, horribly produced (especially the murky, soft, poorly captured 'dynamics' of Misplaced Childhood and Script for a Jester's Tear), and also often sounds so cheezy and outdated (especially Fugazi and after). The Hogarth-era stuff, while capturing more emotion and better recording engineering, just lacks, IMHO, power, prog dynamics, and even the intricate constructs that are familiar to prog lovers (and essential to some). I do think Steve Hogarth is a far superior vocalist than Fish.

The music here on Marbles is pretty straightforward art rock, kind of mellow, with a lot of atmospheric texturing.

For me the highlights of this album are the four brief "Marbles" vignettes, and the trip hoppy, SEAL "Crazy"-like, "The Invisible Man" (13:37) (8/10), and; "You're Gone" (6:28) (8/10). The rest is space-occupying, time-sucking drivel. But, that's just my opinion. And remember: I am pretty much deaf to lyrics. (A learning disability.)