LESS IS MORE

Less Is More might be a studio release, but I personally wouldn't consider it to be a mainline Marillion studio album - more of an album-length EP, perhaps. This is far from the first time the band have take on the idea of adapting their music to an acoustic setting - there was the Unplugged at the Walls set, for instance - but it's the first time they've felt the need to produce a whole studio album of such versions. It's a very pleasant listen, packed with surprises when it comes to how the band adapt their material, but when you consider that Live From Cadogan Hall presents a complete live performance of all the tracks here (minus the bonus track of Cannibal Surf Babe) and tacks on a whole other CD of material besides, I think many fans would consider that release to be a much better deal.

Equally, though, this is an undeniably charming release which teases out a new gentleness in the material for the most part. Let's say that Less Is More walked so that the Cadogan Hall album could run.