MISPLACED CHILDHOOD

My first impression of this album was one of extreme disappointment. I loved the first album, and felt that while weaker, Fugazi was still pretty good and actually seemed like they were developing their own sound.

This album just comes off as so smooth and uniform, that it's hard to really give it the time it needs. However, after repeated plays I came to appreciate the cohesiveness of it. It truly works as a concept album, even if I find the actual concept a bit thin and not terribly interesting.

Still, there are some decent tracks on here that work for me, Bitter Suite and Blind Curve being the most striking from a prog perspective (though more in a Pink Floyd and neo prog way than the heavy Genesis influence of the first album). The opener is a good way to introduce the album, but they had to follow it with Kayleigh. Frankly, I won't be unhappy if I never hear that song again. It's a fine catchy 80's pop number I suppose, but I just find it way to cheesy for my taste. Waterhole is a decent, if short, lively track to start what would have been side 2 in the vinyl days. Lords of the Backstage is a good followup to this, leading to the aforementioned Blind Curve, with it's Pink Floyd Animals type eerie section. The final two tracks I find, once again, a bit too pop orientated for my tastes, but I suppose they create a suitably dramatic conclusion.

Despite not be terribly interested in the concept, most of the lyrics are quite good and Fish is in fine form vocally. As a concept album it holds together very well musically and lyrically, even if the concept doesn't thrill me.

For the time of its release, I suppose it was pretty proggy, with Kayligh giving the band a hit in the UK, and a minor hit in America (I played this for a female friend of mine and her face lit up as she remembered that her and her older sister had loved the song when it was played on the radio back in 1985). For myself, I don't remember hearing it, but I was not much interested in hit songs by that time.

All in all, a decent if not great album that I can appreciate for what it is. While I'm tempted to give it 2 stars, I'll settle on 3, as I think it's at least a genuine work that the band put their heart and soul into and that was fairly influential at that time, and it also hangs together very well as a concept piece even if the music is a bit too "pop" for me at times (it was the 80's, after all).