MARBLES

Scrolling through the reviews, it's great to see Marbles get such high marks and praise. The few bad reviews left me puzzled; but, then again, if we all agreed, the world would indeed be a dull place.

The thing that sticks in my memory regarding the deluxe edition of Marbles is how @#*&! long it took to arrive! A good 3 months after I ordered. Once it made it, however, I was treated to nothng less than shear brilliance! I have all of their stuff, but for a while it seemed that Marillion were going to float around with mediocre releases (primarily Marillion.com). Anoraknophobia showed some spark was left in the engine, but Marbles solidified that this is still a band with which to be reckoned. Since it's release they've released a live DVD and 2 live albums surrounding the Marbles material, and for good reason. It's something that Marillion are definitely proud of.

This CD has some instant classics. "Ocean Cloud", "The Invisible Man", "Neverland", and the beautiful "You're Gone" and "Fantastic Place" stand out. The latter two just grip my very soul with brilliant musicianship, and lyrics that makes it hard to believe they were written by a mortal ("I can see you in my minds rose tinted eyes. Somewhere you're drifing by--your heels rolling sparks on the lucky street" and "Say you'll understand me, and I will leave myself completely. Forgive me if I stare, but I can see the island behind your tired, troubled eyes). My only gripe is I wished the deluxe edition followed the single and started off with "The Invisible Man", "Marbles I", and "You're Gone" because I think it flows a bit better; but, that aside, it's understandable why Mark Kelly considers this to be their best album ever. Beautiful work!