HAPPINESS IS THE ROAD

Two albums in two years, and this latest one ends up as a double feature ? Marillion are known to be notoriously slow with the creative process, yet they seem to have been inspired by some secret muse through 2007 into 2008. Surely some of this output must simply be filler, an effort to appease a hungry fandom ? But no, this assumption fails and they are truly writing music that is nothing less than passionate and exiting. How they are doing it does not matter, I'm just grateful that it is happening. Happiness Is The Road is a excellent listen from start to stop. To follow up 2007's fine Somewhere Else so quickly , the band must have somehow discovered some way of writing together that just.....well,....works ! There are new sounds on this record, and it has a really interesting vibe as well. The Essence disk has more flow throughout relative to CD2, The Hard Shoulder, but even then, it's a toss between them which is the better listen. In comparison, Marbles ( 2004 ), their last double-disk, had grander peaks, but it also slipped down a bit lower. A few spins and I'm certain quite a few of the new tunes will rattle around in your mind. The next thing you know your pass-port will be stamped and you'll be off to The Planet Marzipan. Final words for the road.....fun and inspirational.