MISPLACED CHILDHOOD

I will preface this review by saying that "Misplaced Childhood" was the first thing I heard from Marillion, as my dad introduced it to me. He recommended this album to me around the time I started listening to Genesis. He's not a prog enthusiast, which says a lot. When I first heard Fish's voice, I thought he sounded like Peter Gabriel, and the music sounded like Genesis. After listening to this album hundreds of times, I no longer hear the same Genesis quality that I did on first listen, though the similitude is what made me fall in love with the first four Marillion albums. "Misplaced Childhood" demonstrates the band gaining maturity in terms of their sound. Gone are the days when Fish wore makeup on stage in the style of Peter Gabriel. "Misplaced Childhood" is the band's first concept album. Every song of each side bleeds into each other, forming two cohesive sides of music. I will resist any temptation to gush over this album.

"Misplaced Childhood" opens with the atmospheric piece, "Pseudo Silk Kimono," which gives the album a feeling of mystery and foreboding. "Kayleigh" is the pop hit single on the album, and is fantastic. The song contains great hooks and catchy melodies. "Lavender" contains one of my favorite Fish vocals, and is a beautiful, short but sweet song. "Bitter Suite" is, as the title cleverly describes, is a suite of music comprised of five parts: i. "Brief Encounter," ii. "Lost Weekend," iii. "Blue Angel," iv. Misplaced Rendezvous," and v. "Windswept Thumb." This piece starts off atmospherically with spoken poetry from Fish. A crescendo leads into a reprise of "Lavender", which is even more powerful than the first time. "Heart of Lothian" is a song of two halves: the first half being "Wide Boy" and the second half being "Curtain Call." Steve Rothery's passionate guitar playing during "Wide Boy" is magnificent. "Curtain Call" perfectly closes the first side of "Misplaced Childhood."

"Waterhole (Espresso Bongo)" opens the second side, and contains some of Fish's best lyrics with a groovy rhythm section accompanying his vocals. "Lords of the Backstage" is an upbeat rock song with odd time signatures galore. My only complaint of this song is that it's too short! "Blind Curve" is my favorite song on the album and a contender for my favorite Fish-era Marillion song. This song, like "Bitter Suite," consists of five sections: i. "Vocal Under a Bloodlight," ii. "Passing Strangers," iii. "Mylo," iv. "Perimeter Walk," and v. "Threshold." The last two sections of "Blind Curve" is, in my opinion, the climax of the album. The haunting atmosphere during "Perimeter Walk" is chilling and "Threshold" reprises the "Heart of Lothian" theme which is stunning. "Childhood's End?" is an upbeat pop song which leads seamlessly into the closer: "White Feather."

In conclusion, "Misplaced Childhood" is Marillion's crowning achievement with Fish as their frontman. This album encapsulates the accessible side of prog with borderline pop tracks such as "Kayleigh," "Lavender," "Heart of Lothian," "Lords of the Backstage," and "Childhood's End?" At the same time, the music is challenging like that of seventies prog on tracks such as "Bitter Suite," and "Blind Curve." This is an album I often point to when someone asks me, "What's a good starting point to get into progressive rock?" In all honesty, I'm never asked that question, but let's play pretend. "Misplaced Childhood" is the perfect marriage between prog, pop, and rock. This is top-tier eighties progressive rock. Don't let the neo-prog label discourage you from listening to this masterpiece.