HOLIDAYS IN EDEN (2022 LIMITED DELUXE EDITION)

The 2022 deluxe rerelease of Holidays In Eden takes an album which has always had Transitional Album Syndrome and makes the absolute best of it. Though the Steve Hogarth era of Marillion wouldn't really hit its stride until Brave, Holidays In Eden contained a brace of songs which would eventually become standards, and the brand new remix really teases out their charms whilst keeping the mysterious nocturnal atmosphere of the original intact.

On top of that, you have the usual extra bits and pieces all the deluxe reissues of their EMI-era material offer - you get a blu-ray with some nice video content on it as well as a surround-sound presentation of the album (the videos including a complete televised concert from Germany's Rockpalast), you get demos and whatnot, and you get a full live show (this one from Hammersmith in September 1991). The live show is solid, but - as with much other early live material from the Steve Hogarth era - it does show some mild hiccups when the band try to work in Fish-era material into the setlist, a necessity this early on after Fish's departure but still an awkward fit in some cases. On the whole, it's a four-star show accompanying a four-star album - but what a strong four stars.