A HANDFUL OF MARBLES

I'm not going to dock this E.P. a lot of points, simply because it is an E.P. or promo item. I was one of those listeners, mentioned in the release info, who wandered away from Marillion after Hogarth came on board. It certainly wasn't because I thought Fish was irreplaceable. Considering how long H has been with the band now, I think Marillion's batting average is as high as it was with their old singer. I thought SEASON'S END was amazing, possibly my favorite. If anything, I was apprehensive that the band wouldn't be able to keep up its winning streak. So if part of the reason for this release is to bring the stray sheep back to the flock, I am the target audience.

A HANDFUL OF MARBLES is primarily great music, from an album that is widely regarded as one of Marillion's best. "The Damage" is not one of the album's best tracks. "Drilling Holes" could gain from being trimmed, instead of cutting the instrumental part from the album version of "You're Gone". Those songs are exceptions. Listening to the rest of this E.P. made me want to check out the MARBLES album. So I did, for the first time in quite a while. I'd also buy the single CD version of MARBLES to have all the best songs; that's just my preference. For the time being, I'm convinced that A HANDFUL OF MARBLES definitely works.