Since the departure of original singer FISH and the release of their last LP Season's End in '89, with new voxman Steve Hogarth, MARILLION have developed something of a new identity that transfigured itself mainly in the mood of their music, which is steadily vying on the edge of commercial acceptability with the release of their 6th studio album Holidays in Eden.
"Splintering Heart" opens in true Marillion fashion, as it builds up into a crashing crescendo of soaring guitar and gliding vocal meanderings. The debut single "Cover My Eyes (Pain and Heaven)" (a song about dangerous dream girls) and the moving "No One Can" have an almost you U2-ish quality to them, as Hogarth Bonofies his larynx around the flag-waving weavings of Messrs. Rothery, Mosley, Kelly, and Trewavas - beautiful, poignant, and polished to perfection, extremely inspiring and warm.
In retrospect, "The Party," "Waiting to Happen," "The Rake's Progress/ 100 Nights" harp back to the subjective Season's End, while the heavy metal riffer "This Town exudes a brandishing sense of lively frolicking fun, which is chemically compelling. Only the title track "Holidays in Eden" feels somewhat out of place as it rollicks along with its synchronic POLICE-style vocal harmonies (not RUSH as some dorks have indicated!).
This is a radical departure for the band, surprising maybe, but extremely accessible (produced by Chris Neil whose credits include A-HA and MIKE AND THE MECHANICS) with a string of possible hit singles in the offing. Widening their musical horizons should give them even greater international success with FM radio play beckoning on both sides of the Atlantic for the likes of "Cover My Eyes," "No One Can" and the subtly textured "Dryland" (a song originally recorded with Hogarth's previous band HOW WE LIVE).
For diehard Marillion fans the album may be somewhat confusing in terms of its blatant commerciality. However it's evident that an effective balance has been successfully reached between both sides of this musical coin. Marillion could well be on the verge of metamorphosizing into a "super group" along the lines of SIMPLE MINDS, U2, et cetera. If any album's going to put them on this pedestal then this is the one which will!
Grade A
Mark Crampton
Riff Raff
July 1991
This is a radical departure for the band, surprising maybe, but extremely accessible (produced by Chris Neil whose credits include A-HA and MIKE AND THE MECHANICS) with a string of possible hit singles in the offing. Widening their musical horizons should give them even greater international success with FM radio play beckoning on both sides of the Atlantic for the likes of "Cover My Eyes," "No One Can" and the subtly textured "Dryland" (a song originally recorded with Hogarth's previous band HOW WE LIVE).
For diehard Marillion fans the album may be somewhat confusing in terms of its blatant commerciality. However it's evident that an effective balance has been successfully reached between both sides of this musical coin. Marillion could well be on the verge of metamorphosizing into a "super group" along the lines of SIMPLE MINDS, U2, et cetera. If any album's going to put them on this pedestal then this is the one which will!
Grade A
Mark Crampton
Riff Raff
July 1991
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