HAPPINESS IS THE ROAD

Long and boring as a Sunday without football

It's not a secret for those who know me that I don't like the approach MARILLION took after "Fish" left, to be honest I don't like Hogarth's voice or style and believe the band moved from Progressive Rock to radio friendly mainstream, which would not be wrong if it sounded good, but honestly it's not my cup of tea.

But have read such good comments about "Happiness is the Road", that I decided to take the risk, and this is my opinion.

"Dreamy Street" begins with a nice piano intro, but as soon as "Hogarth's voice appears, I know most surely nothing has changed, the song goes repetitive and static the long 1:59 minutes it lasts.

"This Train is my Life" is a bit more interesting, not that we're in front of a Prog masterpiece, but at least there's energy and variations, but despite this fact it's not a great track either, some sort of Hard Rock with touches of POP and Hogarth forcing his voice far beyond his limited range. Acceptable song and a good change after a weak start.

"Essence" intro is absolutely predictable, no meaningful changes from the opener. But the music goes "in crescendo" announcing something really impressive that never comes, well, at least some expectation was created. Only at the end some strength is added, but not enough to save this track.

"Wrapped Up in Time" opens with an intro that resembles a music box, after some seconds it changes into a dreamy atmospheric sound created by the keyboards and Hogarth's voice hits us as hard as reality. Again nothing particularly impressive, maybe it's OK for people not familiar with MARILLION'S Prog background, because it's better than 99.99% of today's mainstream, but not acceptable for Progheads who expect some of the greatness they showed during Fish's era.

"Liquidity" makes me wonder how this guys manage to make all songs sound so incredibly similar, one thing is the style and particular sound of a band, but this MARILLION despite some very good piano moments, doesn't offer us anything really original after having listened the first song.

"Nothing Fills the Hole" makes me want to applaud, not because it's a masterpiece but at least is a healthy attempt of sounding different, great strength, excellent guitar work and more than acceptable drumming, but overall, the vocals sound fresher than before in this album, at least until the last third of the song when Hogarth adds again that particular and boring sound.

"Woke Up".That's what happened, the sound of a strong guitar made me wake up, because I was almost sleeping by this point. Hey even Hogarth voice sounds more interesting he uses some sort of semi-yodel that adds a bit of dramatics and reminds me a bit of Peter Gabriel, the keyboards create a proggy atmosphere, up to this point the best track by far.

What I can't understand is how if these guys have the obvious talent to create such a good track, why do they insist with the boring balladesque stuff?

"Trap the Spark" makes me remember the early Hoggarth's era, when they sounded much more varied and interesting, the piano is quite strong, but again they fall in the easiness of the pleasant but not transcendental ballad, started strong but the end is predictable, not even the nice mellotron saves the song.

"A State of Mind" reminds me of three men era GENESIS, just easy listening POP stuff, a couple of nice vocal moments but nothing to make this track worth of listening twice.

What? An epic? Yes it's true; it's the time for the title song and the first of the two long tracks of the album.

Sadly until the 3:42 minute, there's nothing really different from the previous tracks, but at this moment they start a light jazzy section, nothing impressive but at this moment, any change is for better. The closing section is very strong, something I can't say about most of the album, another high point.

"Half Empty Jam" starts with a rhythmic section that could announce something different, so I sit and wait..and wait...and wait.yes they start to increase the speed and the strength, but the sound is the same, so with a bit more of expectation I wait again and yes, MARILLION hits us with everything they have and surely they rock when they want, the drumming is outstanding, and the interplay between drums and guitar is outstanding...Please, somebody who knows the band please tell them that they are good musicians, just a bit of energy and they can make it.

"Thunder Fly" seems like another good song, as in the previous song they are entering into the Alternative territory and they are doing it well, great, a couple of changes, nice keyboards, musical explosions with a Beatles touch, yes they are better than I thought when they want to.

"The Man From the Planet Marzipan" starts promising but is a mirage, soon they fall into that sort of musical numbness, as if it was too much effort to give all they can, even though there is an increase of volume and a nice orchestration, the song never leaves the ground, being that is almost the same 4 or 5 chords repeated constantly. But around the middle there is a real change that makes the song much better until the end with lush keyboards and solid rhythm section.

"Asylum Satellite #1" is a real surprise, at last a full Prog song, starts soft and gentle but with a very interesting structure, even when the vocal section turns a bit less impressive, they manage to keep the interest of the listener, after a short soft break, they attack again with an almost Psyche guitar "a la" Hendrix and an excellent supporting job of the bass, it's a shame that as they approach to the end the song starts to fade until it vanishes, despite this, a very good song.

"Older than Me" is a return to the first songs, slow, boring and predictable, not much to say about it, thanks heaven it's short and leads to "Throw Me Up", which despite not being too strong, at least has an interesting structure and development with some strong musical explosions.

"Half the World" starts promising again with a nice guitar work, soon the vocal and keys join making a very nice interplay and then the volume rises towards a very nice passage where the band gives one of their best team works in the album, great track.

"Whatever Is Wrong with You" falls again in that sort of numbness I spoke about before, despite it has some dramatic and energetic sections, always returns to the beginning choir making it boring. Only at the end they manage to reach the climax.

"Especially True" starts especially boring and sadly doesn't change too much despite the efforts of Steve Rothery who makes some interesting guitar flashes.

The album is closed with "Real Tears for Sale", a proggy song with some folksy flute or dulcimer passages and interesting keyboard work by Mark Kelly, but nothing more to rescue, good but not great as most of the album.

It's clear for me that Disk 2 is far stronger than CD 1, but the question remains, is this enough to give a less than mediocre album more than 1 lonely star? At least for me the answer is no, "Happiness is the Road" doesn't make enough merits to be saved from oblivion, so I will remain with my original rating of 1 star.

I just hope the band starts to focus in the best and more imaginative material and cease to insist with the boring ballads. I'm sure they had enough material for a very good single CD, but sometimes the bands think that more is better, well, I believe not in this case.

Yet another H's MARILLION album.

Well, it's not like I had high hopes for this one. I just download it and listened for few times, just to confirm to myself, that this album is hardly different to any other MARILLION album after 'Seasons End'. Yes, there were some differences from time to time, some better songs, more bad ones, some experiments, more flaws, some catchy melodies and harmonies, more the same ones, and this time we have 20 songs with only 3 or 4 listenable enough to play them few times on repeat. It seems MARILLION want to chart, but they failed once again, losing their face and manner in attempts to sound like COLDPLAY. Poor you old boys, once you were big, and still you can't face that your time had gone. Relax and create music, not make or manufacture it. It could have been better with 8 or 10 songs, but with so many throw-aways it gets only 2 stars from me. What a pity

I picked up this album since it was a free download, and I'm rather glad it was free.

Not being terribly familiar with recent Marillion offerings, I was unaware just how far the band had strayed from anything progressive. Instead, we have a good pop double album with a couple of long songs. Many of the tracks blend together due to their lack of any real individual identity. Melodies seem uninspired and uninteresting. H is a wonderful singer, but he doesn't do much in the way of wonderful singing here. The band plays standard sorts of parts. I know the band is talented. I've heard them create some impressive music over the years. Yet I can't really understand why they are content never to stretch their legs or really get up and boogie. On the whole, I must say, this album is spectacularly dull and that there is really very little to recommend it as a release worth purchasing.

A couple songs are average, though none of them go any beyond merely okay. The best songs start coming at the end of the second disc--guaranteed that you will be mildly catatonic by the time you reach their strongest compositions. Half the World is a neat little song that wouldn't be out of place on a Coldplay album. Whatever Is Wrong with You follows this with some nice chorus melodies, the closest H actually gets to putting some volume and interest in his voice. In fact, if more of the album were like these songs, we'd have something more worthy of looking into. Instead, before and after these tracks, the music sits like noise in a jar of molasses. The Man from Planet Marzipan has a couple of neat moments, but on the whole it suffers from a lack of energy as well.

It's kind of a strange thing to say that a band isn't good enough at writing pop and should instead try their hand at writing prog, but that's the case. Marillion's pop is not very deep or compelling, while when they were the leaders of the neo-prog movement they made some of the best music of the 80s. This album is only for serious fans of modern Marillion. Everyone else will likely be pretty thoroughly bored.

Marillion's latest album is better in my opinion than their previous Somewhere else (2007) album but nevertheless not as good as 2004 Marbles. There are no major surprises, the album sounds in the manner of their post 2000 albums, some songs remind me of Anoraknophobia (The Man from the Planet Marzipan), other of Marbles (the title song especially) and Somewhere Else (Woke Up, Trap this Spark, Especially true to name a few).

The first CD is more mellow, dreamy, dominated by lush keyboards and hints of guitar work (I wish i heard more of Rothery on the first cd, maybe I'm mistaking), Trewavas' bass is great as usual, the drums are surprisingly good; Hogarth's vocals are not as great as they were in the 90s, but still really good. The highlights are for me This train is my life, Essence, Wrapped in Time, Liquidity (I love Kelly's keys here), Trap the Spark and the title track.

The second cd is dominated by guitars, has more energy (which is great). The rhythm section Trewavas/Mosley is really good, Kelly does some nice keys textures, not as dominant as on the first cd though. Rothery's guitars are quite good (although I for one wish there were more solos); Hogarth again does a good job on vocals. Highlights - Thunder Fly, The Man from the Planet Marzipan, AsylumSatellite # 1, Real Tears for Sale - there's nothing wrong with the rest of the songs, the ones I've mentioned just stand out IMO.

I recommend this album to any listener that enjoys the Marillion Hogarth era; as i said, although this release may not be as good as Marbles, there are a lot of great songs to enjoy, the songwriting is really good and I say the same thing goes with the musicianship. Therefore, 4 stars from me.

First , to start with two points - 1) thank you to those who tore this album apart in initial reviews and posts in various threads. I initially bought it through their digital download as a way of encouraging this distribution model. Once in my possession, I listen & re-listened to it to see if I could understand the backlash against this album and particularly Hogarth era Marillion; 2) I will not do a song by song review. As with many prog albums where atmosphere is part of the appeal (Floyd's WYWH, not to compare the two), I will rate this one on the whole, rather than the parts.

O.K., now that this is out of the way... In many positive reviews of the better Marillion albums since Fish's departure, the reviewer often states that the best starting point is to clear from your mind that you're going to listen to the album as a prog piece of music. I.E., just listen to the music without pre-conceived notions or expectations (thank you & bravo Gatot).

I listen to this album 3-4times a week since I've bought it. Call it melancholy prog, mood prog, pop prog, whatever. Once done, disc one and two, I am calmed. I feel my melancholy (sorry for the repetition) worked through and done with. I feel relaxed. I feel a mellow & peaceful joy.

A day or two later , the album calls to me again. As if to say, let me take you away for an hour and a bit. It has seemed like an oasis. It doesn't present me with complex chord structures to figure out, it doesn't show off virtuosic playing to analyze, it just feels like taking a deep breath and releasing it along with your stresses and cares. Happiness is the Road.

P.S. for those who did purchase the initial digital download, you should have received an email advising you of the availability of an upgraded mp3 - 256bit version , that you can download at no further charge. They are even humble enough to point out some bugs and I quote :

Now, I know what you are gonna say... Those screens at Music Glue look a bit unfinished! Sorry about that, we have put it together very quickly and it still needs a little work on the aesthetic side of things.

P.P.S. AS a comparison, I have also bought the new King's X, Cynic, AC/DC, Metallica albums recently. None have been played as much a Happiness is the Road. And this is from a big AC/DC and King's X fan.

Heck, toss in a few dollars and download it. Tell yourself you're supporting a promising new method of distribution which may bring greater financial support to musicians than the traditional (and dying) physical CD, with its' attendant money grubbing middlemen - the major record label and distributor. Then give it a listen or three while you're reading or posting something to a PA thread. Who knows , eh ?

I have been a fan of the band since the very start, watching them at The Marquee when Market Square Heroes was released. So, I get a little depressed when people post how disappointed they are with Hogarth. Please[- you will not get Fish, so get over it!!

The new LP is right up there with Brave and Marbles, two works of utter genius, and by far the finest works by the band. Happiness Is The Road comes at a particularly creative period for the band.

I will not review track by track - it would take too long.

The LP is produced magnificently and the soundscapes and atmosphere are intriguing and beautiful. Mark Kelly's work is particularly to the fore in this LP and Steve Rothery is used somewhat sparingly, but, as ever, adds so much. And yes - Steve Hogarth dominates with his vocals, and rightly so. Listen to Essence to see why I regard the man as the greatest vocalist in modern day progressive rock.

So....you will not get any early Genesis sounding tracks (and I love these, by the way). What you get is a modern band still pushingthe boundaries of progressive music and creating true radical music - surely what we are all after?

Download this from the Marillion website. You will not regret it.

When I received an offer from the CD inlay of "Somewhere Else" by the time I received the CD from amazon, I said to myself that "I am not gonna pre-order" the next album of Marillion. My words seemed come true after I had listened to "Somewhere Else" for a couple of times even though my chief reason for not preordering was previously that I was afraid the band would not keep their promise like they did with my Marillion "Marbles". Well, you know my rating for "Somewhere Else" at this site and I really hoped the band comes back to form like what they did with "Marbles", at least. There was great song from Marbles that I cannot deny .it's called "Drilling hole" and it's truly a masterpiece. I was quite happy that the band still could compose the music brilliantly with their Drilling Hole track. There was another excellent track "The Invisible Man" as well as nice pop song "Don't Hurt Yourself". Unfortunately, I cannot find here in this "Happiness Is The Road" album.

It's OK at track level

Trouble with this new album by Marillion is that you will find some good individual track but not good as an album in its entirety. Why? I tend to get bored because the music does not seem to move in energetic way from one track to another. There sounds like no balance between hi and low points, everything moves in a flat mode. I presume you would say that there are nice songs at the first three tracks "Dreamy Street", "This Train Is My Life" and "Essence". I would guarantee you would love them individually or in fact the three of them played consecutively. But then try spinning the album until the end of disc one, I would suspect you would be bored with the mellow style in almost every single track or you turn sleepy while the music is playing. The more I spin the album, I find some other track is good at track level. That means, every time I play this album, I should not play the whole album in its entirety. Rather I should select three songs and play other music and then play another three tracks and so on and so forth. Otherwise, I get bored. By the time I am writing this review, my Sennheiser PX-100 is playing "Especially True" of disc two that sounds excellent to my ears. But how come when I played the album in its entirety I could not feel the same thing about this song? It's because the music has lost its beauty when it's played in its entirety.

Crossover Prog?

Since their Anoraknophobia album the band proclaimed their departure from being neo progressive band. However, they actually did not create new sub-genre of prog music because the music was bit of Radiohead-like, not something unique, Marillion sound. The music direction is more towards what so called as Crossover Prog (progressive music in crossroad? Well, you may guess it .). Unfortunately, the kind of music Marillion makes nowadays is something that has Muse, Radiohead or U2 in it, nothing special about it. I know, Mr H voice is quite unique and I admit that. But it does not really help the overall composition of the music.

As a matter of fact, while I played this album (it has been a month already) I also played the music of Kayak at the same time period. Let me tell you, I'd rather play Kayak's "Starlight Dancer" or "Daughter or Son" or "Daphne (Laurel Tree)" or "Woe and Alas" than Marillion "Happiness is The Road". Kayak is a crossover prog band with its tendencies of being pop, but it's really enjoyable compared to Happiness Is The Road.

Straight forward structure

Most musical compositions offered here with this album are straight forward in structure. This is different with their excellent "marbles" album where you can find many tracks with curved structure like "The Invisible Man" or the masterpiece "Drilling Hole". But here you will not find such track. In fact the title track "Happiness Is The Road" is actually a nice track but it's too straight forward in structure, even though the melody is quite good actually. One crucial thing that is missing is also the lack of inspiring interlude. In fact there is barely no interlude at all in all music offered here with this album.

Conclusion

If I put more negative words on the above review, it does not mean that this is a bad album. It might be my expectation is high with this band. I have been emotionally involved with the band since the day of its debut album release in 1983, and the reason I am still listening to this album is because of my emotional involvement. I was disappointed when Fish left but I tried to love H era as well. Most of my colleagues who preordered this album have the same reason: "emotional involvement" with the band. They feel guilty is they don't order and especially they don't want the band they have loved so far die or turn to dust. Unfortunately, I am quite disappointed with the band's recent music direction - no energy, no power, no killing melody. As a matter of fact right after reviewing this album there is an energetic and heavy music that embraces my ears and when I look at song list at my iTunes, it's Megadeth's "Holy Wars .The Punishment Due" .it cheers me up! (even though it's not prog at all. Well, actually Happiness Is The Road is not prog album also ..).

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW (i-Rock! Music Community)

After stumbling a bit with their previous release, Marillion get back on track with their second double-disc album, Happiness Is the Road. The album is actually comprised of two unrelated discs that are more the result of the band overflowing with ideas than anything else. The first disc, titled Essence is a conceptual disc, in which songs flow together and revolve around the theme of celebrating life while the second disc, The Hard Shoulder is a disc of individual songs that still function together very well. The sound shows the band continuing on the atmospheric, progressive pop- rock path they embarked on in the 21st century but expanding their textural palette through some added instrumentation and a more diverse set of songs.

Happiness Is the Road may not be perfect, but it is overall very consistent and a large quantity of songs featured on each of these two discs is of the highest caliber. I'm quite shocked at the negative reception this album is getting; it really doesn't seem deserved. I think what the band has done here is taken the shorter, highly pop-tinged sound of Somewhere Else's bulk and refined it, and the dark, brooding, spacey sound of the remainder of that album and made it more dynamic & epic. I don't want to analyze all of the tracks here, but suffice it to say that all of the tracks are good, and most are great. "Dreamy Street" sets the perfect mood for the first disc and the album really, and "Real Tears for Sale" ends the album with such power and emotion that only Marillion is capable of expressing. The band starts to slip in the middle of each disc but they manage to stay upright both times. I don't skip through any tracks. Odd as it may seem, the band is possibly more consistent on double-disc albums than they are on single discs.

Marillion has always been on the vanguard of creative means of disbrution, so it should not have come as a surprise when they announced that they would release their album for free before it's official release. I don't know if the band's sales went up as a result of their experiment or not, but I hope they did. The band has been working hard for years, and though they have a track record of inconsistency, when they're on, they're on. And they are definitely on on Happiness Is the Road.

For me, Marillion is a band like no other in that it has the power to monumentally both overjoy and dissapoint... this time, its a big dissapointment.

There is a certain unfinished feeling that pervades this album, its songwriting being repetative, unambitious, and performed in such a way that it becomes introverted. The persistent sombre feel makes it difficult to make an impression, and even more difficult for the listener to connect with the lyrics. Even the band seems uninterested in these songs, since they lack literal and figurative depth in their sound and timbre.

Rothery pretty much phones this one in, his rare solos bouncing right off the listener, while the rhythm section feels lost-- like they're going through the motions without knowing what direction the album is suppossed to be going. The song's laid-back, wishy-washy feel makes it sound like they're playing time in many sections.

While song writing remains the largest problem, Hogarth's usually stellar performance does nothing to turn the tide. He sounds very tired, detatched-- off in his own world crooning out half-finished lyrics without caring about the listener. After his amazing singing in Marbles and the only slightly less amazing Somewhere Else, this is a big let-down for me.

A few highlights don't make up for two-discs of filler, which unfortunetly puts the sombre Happiness is the Road near the bottom of Marillion's offerings.

4.5 stars for "Essence" and barely 4 stars for "The Hard Shoulder". The music and the lyrics are so positive and emotional on the first disc "Essence". It's very atmospheric and it really plays out like one piece of music. It took me many listens to really get into it but i'm hooked now. The second disc is a collection of unrelated songs really that are more immediate and catchy. I can see why a lot of people would enjoy the second disc right away, but for me it's not as good or consistant overall. By the way the pictures in the liner notes on these cds are both thought provoking and beautiful.

"Dreamy Street" is my least favourite song on here which is disappointing considering it's the first song. It's only 2 minutes long though. Piano and vocals lead the way on this one. "This Train Is My Life" is relaxed with a beat and vocals to start. It does get fuller 1 1/2 minutes in and it sounds amazing. It's even better before 3 1/2 minutes. So much emotion. Nice guitar solo follows. "Essence" builds from a whisper to a full sound then settles again 2 1/2 minutes in. It then builds again to a good guitar/vocal section 4 minutes in. I like when Hogarth shouts "Live in the moment or you'll never be free". Nice. "Wrapped Up In Time" has lots of atmosphere as reserved vocals come in after 1 1/2 minutes. A fuller sound 3 minutes in. "Liquidity" is an instrumental of piano and lots of atmosphere. Beautiful. "Nothing Fills The Hole" is interesting the way the vocals and sound get clearer as it plays out. Like a picture coming into focus. A calm before 2 minutes to the end. "Woke Up" features prominant guitar as vocals join in. Love this song. "Trap The Spark" opens with a relaxed sound and vocal melodies before Hogarth starts to sing. I really like when it calms down 1 1/2 minutes with piano. Another great section 4 1/2 minutes in as guitar and piano play out.

"A State Of Mind" features light drums and keys with the sounds of nature. Vocals join in. I like it ! My favourite lyrics on the album are on this one. Check out the passion 3 1/2 minutes in. "Happiness Is The Road" is easily the longest track at 10 minutes. Floating synths to open as fragile vocals join in. Emotional section. Drums before 3 1/2 minutes. Piano and guitar join in as well. Vocals follow and they become more passionate 5 minutes in, especially on the chorus. Pure emotion before 7 1/2 minutes. Check out the line "And each baby-a human sunrise". There is a hidden track called "Half Full Jam" which has it's focus on the vocals early. Strings come in. It kicks in 2 1/2 minutes in. Great sound. Emotional vocals, and check out the drumming !

On "The Hard Shoulder" there's a song called "Especially True" where Hogarth sings about watching baseball (my favourite sport). Anyway it's pretty humerous. If your into atmospheric music with great lyrics and plenty of emotion, then this is a must have.

Like some others, I, too, am shocked at the generally negative comments about this album. And I am as deep a Marillion fan as anyone. First, however, let me get the quibbles out of the way.

I agree with those who feel the album is not well recorded. In fact, there seems to be something amiss with the EQ, as volumes and relative volumes seem to change from track to track, and there is an overall (but only slight) "muddiness" to the recording. (In fact, had the production been better, I would have given the album four stars.) I also feel that the segues between songs on the first disk are a bit too amorphous: they could (and should) have been more "specific." Finally, I agree with those who feel that H overuses his falsetto: it is a wonderful tool, but its overuse causes it to lose its expressive power.

That said, the suggestion that this album is not "progressive" enough is bizarre: if anything, there is almost TOO much creativity going on. And although one could quibble that that creativity is not always as well-realized or cohesive as it might have been, HITR is unquestionably the most "thoughtful," creative and PROGRESSIVE album since AOS (with the sole exception of Marbles). And I agree with the reviewer who noted that the album has a sort of "melancholy" feeling about it. But that is fine with me, since that feeling is the same one I get from Brave - which to my mind is the best H-era album of all, and among the best progressive rock concept albums ever.

Re the musicianship, I agree with La Villa, who noted the superb performances. Rothery may seem "AWOL" at times, but this is a misperception. Not only are his solos among the best - and most urgent - he has ever done, but he has never been more "Hackett-like" in his subtle contributions to the overall sound. Mosley is simply amazing here, more present and "crisp" than he tends to be, and he meshes with Trewavas better than the two have in quite some time. But this is definitely Kelly's album: not only are there lots of great piano parts, but his atmospheres and textures, both overt and subtle, are among the best I have heard from him.

Although I will not go song by song, the standouts for me on disc 1 are This Train, Essence, Woke Up, Trap the Spark, and the title track. [N.B. The "Half-Way Jam" - which is superb - appears on disc 1, at track 12. Amusingly, track 11 is two minutes of silence.] The two obvious standouts on disc 2 are The Man from Planet Marzipan and Asylum Satellite #1. Both of these hark back to AOS in many ways, both lyrically and sonically (amusingly, Marzipan is the first title food reference since Gazpacho). Also interestingly, if you tweak the production just a bit, both are amazingly Bowie-ish (the Eno period) - one could even imagine Bowie singing them.

All the other songs on disc 2 are about women and/or relationships. And H (romantic that he is) is as masterful with his lyrics here as the band is masterful with its arrangements. There is the lovely Older Than Me, the weirdly Beatlesque Throw Me Out, the playful Half The World, the amusingly ironic Whatever Is Wrong With You, and the sardonic Especially True. Oddly, the band chose to put the most "depressing" song last, as Real Tears For Sale is almost too painful to listen to.

As noted, although it does not measure up to Marbles, HITR is without question Marillion's most creative and progressive album since Afraid of Sunlight. A better production would have lifted it even further. But it nevertheless stands as a solid contribution from the band, and a must-have release from them.

Unlike when Somewhere Else was released and felt I wanted to get a review in immediately, I wanted to give Marillion's 2008 release Happiness Is The Road a good long soak (probably a bit too long). I thought people were hasty and a bit harsh on Somewhere Else, but the popular opinion was that the follow-up to the masterful Marbles (2004) fell way short, so everyone was wondering if Marillion would 'right the ship', so to speak.

Happiness Is The Road is divided into 2 separate albums: Essence and The Hard Shoulder. As both embody different characteristics, I feel it's only fair to judge them separately rather than a cohesive whole. The first disc, Essence, is more conceptual touching upon spirituality and the search for something more. Much like numerous Marillion albums (especially since Steve Hogarth came on), the listener is eased into a warm tranquil state with "Dreamy Street", which is a short meditation that leads directly into "Train Is My Life". A brilliant track that isn't very musically dynamic, but flows very nicely and picks up a bit. The title track "Essence" is a very interesting track, while Hogarth implores us to 'Choose life. Choose living,' the song acts as if it's going to really kick in, but relaxes a bit. And if anyone thinks that Hogarth's vocals have diminished only needs to hear this song with it's triumphant climax. Beautiful track.

The middles section of Essence gets trippy with "Wrapped Up In Time" through the Motown (Yes, I said 'Motown') influenced "Nothing Fills The Hole". "Wrapped Up In Time" is absolutely stunning, yet unassuming. The music just sort of sways for 5 minutes. Funny track as I can't say it's a favorite, but so very pleasant. Sandwiched between this and "Nothing Fills The Hole" is the cohesive "Liquidity", which is a musical interlude between songs.

Essence finishes off strongly with "Woke Up", "Trap The Spark", "State Of Mind" and "Happiness Is The Road". Up until now, Marillion haven't really let it fly. "Woke Up" is my personal 'sleeper track', with swirling keyboard work from Kelly and the undeniable slide work of Steve Rothery. Just absolutely killer! "Trap The Spark" continues with exquisite arrangement that solidifies what I love about this band. Hogarth has been exercising his right to the falsetto throughout Essence, and the guy can still hit those high marks.

The album closes with one of my favorites in "State Of Mind", which starts off a bit jazzy (like maybe a Keane song), but really changes into a sonic orgy for the senses with the band exploding at the end with Rothery's guitar cutting right through and powerful lead vocals by h. Not played on the Happiness On The Road tour, Marillion did perform this live at both conventions and it works brilliantly in a live setting. This and "Real Tears For Sale" are instant classics for me.

Side 1 closes with the soft and soulful "Happiness Is The Road", a 10 minute therapy session pumping us with optimism. The first few minutes showcases the synth heaven of Kelly and h's voice. Mark Kelly gets my MVP vote for this song, as his orchestrated textures add so much to the meaning of this song.

Wrapping up Essence, I find it to be masterful, exciting and yet another layer explored by Marillion. I find it funny to hear people refusing this incarnation of Marillion because Fish is no longer a part of this band; however, Marillion continue to push the envelope, refusing to become a dinosaur band by trying new things and refusing to settle. Essence is unlike anything they've ever attempted. Highly respect this band. 10/10 rating.

Disc 2, The Hard Shoulder, still remains an enigma with me. As some songs just strike me immediately with exhilarating musicianship, production and arrangements, some songs just seems like throwaways and I tilt my head in wonderment on how they could've made it. These songs keep Happiness Is The Road as an album to be considered a masterpiece like Marbles, Brave and Misplaced Childhood.

The first three songs start off very promising with the rocking "Thunder Fly", "Man From The Planet Marzipan" and "Asylum Satellite #1". From what I've gathered with talking with others is these three songs will ultimately be favorites and live staples for a while. These songs confirm that Marillion still have the 'it' factor with progressive bands--exploring other ways of making a statement without dipping into the same old bag of ingredients. "Asylum Satellite #1" is especially interesting, and hopefully not a true prediction of the future where people of different viewpoints are exiled to a far off satellite because they no longer belong on Earth. And while I agree that we need more Rothery, he does pull off one of his most memorable solos, and one that he truly enjoys playing live.

Now, this is where The Hard Shoulder starts to lose me. Sprinkled in the next several songs are some gems, like "Half The World" and "Whatever Is Wrong With You". But songs like "Older Than Me", Throw Me Out" and "Especially True" just leave me cold. I've tried and tried, but feel they have no place being included. "Especially True" shows promise with some nice guitar work from Rothers, but the lyrics are 'silly', for lack of a better word. This is where I lose a step with this album. But, it does end on a very promising note.

I'm reserving this spot for the amazing "Real Tears For Sale", which could be in my top 5 Marillion tracks of all time. About the pitfalls of losing oneself into a world of glamor and fame, the song is like a razor and it cuts through with some harsh lyrics ("Even whores don't kiss with tongues"). So relevant in today's society of placing these 'stars' on a pedestal and assigning them God-like status; however, strip away the make-up and designer clothes, they're no different than the rest of us. Marillion do a brilliant job in expressing this in both lyric and music. And for me, "Real Tears" is a tried and true formula where a powerful song has an exclamation mark stamped firmly on it with an absolutely killer finish (like "Somewhere Else" before it). This song saves The Hard Shoulder from falling completely off the tracks after starting off so strongly. Rating for The Hard Shoulder 7/10.

Although VERY solid, Happiness Is The Road still doesn't measure up with Marbles. I do believe Mike Hunter did a brilliant job with the production and keeping it simple; whereas, Dave Meegan likes to tinker a lot with little nuances. Meegan is in a class all by himself, but Hunter handled this beautifully. As for Marillion, I still hold on to the fact that they could've easily cashed it in and played "Kayleigh" at festivals and sleep walked through the remainder of their career. I don't believe I see a band out there today working nearly as hard as Marillion in keeping their music fresh, relevant and alive. Most bands don't make music THIS good this far into their career. Yes, some spots on this album comes up way short, but as a whole it's still a brilliant album.

Let my happiness fill your hole.

I was first introduced to Marillion with the Script For A Jester's Tear album. I liked it a lot but not enough to follow their career after that until I was re-introduced to them after Afraid Of Sunlight came out. That one and Brave remain my favorites and have yet to be surpassed for me. I've never been interested in exploring the earlier Hogarth era albums, but I have added a couple more from the Fish era. After Sunlight I've always picked up their new releases whenever they came out. I consider them to be good and there is the occasional great song, but I can't even find the album Marbles, probably one of the best regarded of their most recent output, to be a great album. Maybe it's just each new release tends to be overshadowed by something else new I'm listening to at the moment. If so, the Happiness twins are no exception. I think I prefer Volume 2 to 1.

To the extent that I have a problem with this is group is that there tends to be a lot of repeat of musical and lyrical themes. They've certainly found their sound but at this point I feel they really need to stretch out and do something completely different. But perhaps a certain staleness sets in after a while. After all the only personnel change in their 25 or so years has been the vocalist.

So, definitely one to try before you buy. And why not as the band is offering the whole thing as a free download? The music is always enjoyable but if you want groundbreaking, you'll need to look, uh, somewhere else.

What a surprise!

After the very good but maybe not excellent "Somewhere Else", and after only a year after its release, my expectations about "Happiness is the Road" were moderated. But to my surprise, it's a great double album, almost reaching the quality of the masterpiece "Marbles".

The style of this new Marillion statement is not really different from the last "Somewhere Else", but perfectionated and more cohesionated. Taking the best prog moments of "Marbles", the usual amount of pop elements, and a renowed epic feeling wich brings the best moments of the first Hogarth's albums, "Happiness is the Road" is a catchy album, full with great details, and marvellous songs.

The first Cd, "Essence", is specially fine... I like every track on this one, being maybe the most luminous and happy Marillion's album to date. This train is My Life, Wrapped up in Time (wich remembers me to You're Gone from "Marbles"...), Wokes Up (I love this one!), Trap the Spark, Happiness is the Road... This album is simply excellent, showing a band in top form!

Sadly, "The Hard Shoulder" doesn't reach the outstanding level of the first Cd... Although It's proggier, less pop, and darker. It has great tracks, like Thunder Fly, Specially True, Real Tears for Shale, the precious Older Than Me... And a curious return to the "Anoraknophobia" style in The Man from the Planet Marzipan. But it also has Whatever is Wrong with you, a failed Marillion's attempt to sound more actual, and Asylum Satellite One, wich is a bit dull. Nevertheless, the level of this album is also very high, specially the tracks I named before.

Conclusion: although "The Hard Shoulder" is under "Essence" in quality in my opinion, "Happiness is the Road" works really good in its integrity... The first Cd is happier, offering the best pop-prog that Marillion can do. The second one is deeper, proggier and more experimental, but it also has great songs. So if you call yourself a Marillion aficionado... You must hear "Happiness is the Road", because together with "Brave" and "Marbles", is their best album from the Hogarth's era (ok, "Afraid of Sunlight" is also great...)

"Essence" rating: *****

"The Hard Shoulder" rating: ****

Not only has Marillion continued walking down the path of absolute yawn, they even decided to do it over the course of another double CD, lasting almost 2 hours and sounding like it's 2 days.

There's almost no music on it. It's all just voice, voice and voice, always on the same tone and emotion, aimlessly straying on top of forgettable piano and guitar drivel. I can't even find one song to single out and mention here. It's even a small wonder I can get 100 words together to voice my disappointment! With not one vocal or musical hook worth remembering over the course of 2 CD's, the exiting band that Marillion once was is far far gone.

An improvement over its predecessor, but too long for its own good.

MARILLION had, until this year, released only two real good albums during the Hogarth era: Brave, and more recently, Marbles. 2007's Somewhere Else was a disappointment, so I was not expecting much of Happiness is the Road. When I first heard it, my expectations were confirmed. But after repeated listens, it's safe to say that this is the third-best album in the second-era of the legendary neo-prog band.

The album, divided in two discs, still has a few flaws. It's still too long, which in the end can only mean that there are some songs that should have been left aside. MARILLION had a successful double-album with Marbles, because most of the songs were at least good. This time around, many of them feel like filler material, and that's why Happiness is the Road can't achieve the level of quality of that 2004 double disc release.

But when the album succeeds, it does it without compromise, true to the new MARILLION-style of slightly-progressive, atmospheric, calmed modern rock. Songs like "Wrapped up in time" have some of the nostalgic magic that the band gave us in their best times. The band can also, eventually, rock it out, in tracks like "Whatever is wrong with you", though Hogarth's voice is at its best in moody, darker songs like the short-epic that closes the fist album, the title-track, which is also the best in the whole work.

This is not Fish-MARILLION but a very rich Hogarth-MARILLION album that needs to be judged on its own merits. If someone doesn't like it because it's not progressive enough, it's not the band's fault, but the listener's, for not being able to understand that, after more than 20 years, this is no longer the same band. Judged as a piece of modern rock with progressive tendencies, or better yet, as a piece of music, Happiness is the Road is a flawed success.

I give this album three stars, which could've been four had the record been a little bit shorter (maybe as a single disc). I recommend, though, to any prospective listener, to give it time to grow, which it will definitely do.

Happiness Is The Road is the fifteenth studio album from legendary British progressive rock act Marillion. Though it was met with rather mixed reactions upon its 2008 release, Happiness Is The Road has slowly become one of my favorite Marillion albums - surely no small feat when one considers how much I adore their vast discography. This ambitious double album pushes the boundaries of their trademarked sound, with its bleak atmospheres and 'seemingly' straightforward song structures coming nothing short of captivating. This lushly beautiful album is sleek, modern, and unique, yet it still manages to sound distinctly like Marillion when taking a look at its more subtle characteristics. It took at least two years of listening to Happiness Is The Road before it completely clicked, but this observation has eventually grown to become one of my favorites of theirs. Though the long playing time may scare away potential listeners, Happiness Is The Road is beautiful in nearly every sense of the word.

If you haven't followed Marillion since Fish was behind the microphone, you'll be in for quite a shock when you take out Happiness Is The Road for a spin. There isn't any neo-prog to be found here, and in its place is an atmospheric brand of alternative/art rock characterized by Steve Hogarth's gentle vocals, Mark Kelly's lush keyboard palette, Steve Rothery's spectacular guitar playing, Ian Mosley's relaxed drumming, and Pete Trewavas' clever basslines. The mood portrayed throughout the vast majority is Happiness Is The Road is rather melancholic and somber - while never sounding 'dark', the subdued synthesizers, spacey guitar tones, and gentle vocals always give me a deep emotional connection to the compositions offered on this observation.

The two discs of Happiness Is The Road have different names, with the first disc entitled "Essence" and the second one called "The Hard Shoulder". As far as I'm concerned, both are virtually the same in terms of quality and musical style, and I tend to view Happiness Is The Road as more of a collective album than two separate ones. Both discs are filled with fantastic tunes, and my favorites from the first disc are probably "This Train is My Life", "Essence", and the epic "Happiness is the Road". "The Hard Shoulder" is also filled with highlights, with songs like "Asylum Satellite #1", "Older Than Me", "Whatever Is Wrong With You", "Especially True", and the jaw-dropping "Real Tears For Sale" especially standing out.

One of the best things about Happiness Is The Road is the absolutely killer production - the crystal clear sound makes every single note audible, and all of the instruments are placed perfectly in the mix. This production has just the right amount of atmosphere and clarity, and the end result is nothing short of breathtaking.

Happiness Is The Road isn't one of the most highly regarded Marillion efforts, but I tend to think that it's one of their best albums in recent memory. This is a beautiful, charming, and deceivingly complex album that slowly unveils itself as a painstakingly infectious observation. Yes, it demands quite a bit of patience on behalf of the listener, but I assure you that it's more than worth it in the end. While the unique brand of art rock embraced on Happiness Is The Road is bound to upset progressive rock purists, odds are that most of them have already given up on Marillion a long time ago. Happiness Is The Road is an essential purchase for the open-minded listener, and a criminally underrated album from one of history's greatest and most important progressive rock acts. This is worth nothing short of 4.5 stars in my book.

Happiness Is the Road is a real grower; at first listen I thought it was another collection of more commercial songs along the lines of Somewhere Else, with some token longer tracks thrown in, but on closer inspection it seems to be a little more interesting than that. The first half of the album, Essence, is a dizzying journey through a range of musical genres - including some pretty convincing soul on Nothing Fills the Hole - but the really progressive aspect of the thing is in how the tracks all fit in together, blending musical styles with ease in a dream-like trip. The second disc, The Hard Shoulder, sees the band mingling this approach with more obviously proggy pieces - the closing Real Tears For Sale sounding like an off-cut from Marbles.

On the whole, it's a rather atmospheric album with some great songs on it, and certainly deserves the multiple listens it requires to unpack. It might not be stereotypically "prog", but it's certainly progressive in terms of its musical approach and its willingness to experiment. The major downfall of the album is that it's simply far, far too long - 107 minutes of hit-and-miss stylistic experiments is way too much. If it were half as long it might be twice as good.