4 ALBUMS

"4 Albums" is a very special compilation from Marillion. It was released in 2011. It's an economic package that includes four studio works of the band, "Misplaced Childhood" of 1985, "Clutching At Straws" of 1987, "Seasons End" of 1989 and "Holidays In Eden" of 1991, on only one package. This is an interesting compilation. It can be a worth purchase if you don't have the four original albums yet. It means that, if you buy "4 Albums", you can save on money and space. However, for those who have already the four albums, "4 Albums" only can be a nice addition for your collection.

As I've already reviewed these four albums previously and individually on Progarchives, in a more extensive way, I'm not going to do it again. So, if you are interested to know, in more detail, what I wrote about them before, I invite you to read those my reviews. However, in here I'm going to write something about them in a more short way. So, of course, I'm not going to analyze them as extensively as I made before, but I'm only going to make a global appreciation of them.

"Misplaced Childhood": Besides be their most commercially successful album, "Misplaced Childhood" is their best studio album and is also one of the best studio albums made by any prog band. Even the former drummer of Dream Theater, Mike Portnoy commented this was the best Marillion's album. With "Misplaced Childhood", Marillion proved they weren't a clone of Genesis and reached the status of be considered one of the best prog rock bands. "Misplaced Childhood", put Marillion at the same quality level of Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd, Gentle Giant, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Van Der Graaf Generator, Camel, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Rush and Dream Theater. It put them as one of the greatest and most influential prog bands. If you don't know the band yet and want to buy a Marillion's albums, this is the best.

"Clutching At Straws": "Clutching At Straws" is an excellent album, probably a more mature work than the other three previous studio albums. The lyrics and compositions are more emotional and dramatic as ever and the band found their musical identity and balance. It's the last break with Genesis' influence. I think there is some truth in these. I think that "Clutching At Straws" is, in a certain way, more a Fish's album than a Marillion's album. Lyrically, the character was inspired by Fish's life experiences, and it has everything to do with his personal life in those times, with his problems with the alcoholism and drugs. Musically, it's also closer to the music that Fish would make on his solo works. Despite "Clutching At Straws" be a great studio album, it isn't as good as "Script For A Jester's Tear" or "Misplaced Childhood" are, it remains an excellent work representing the last contribution of a great artist who left the band by the front door.

"Seasons End": This first album of Marillion without Fish worked well. When we are listening to "Seasons End", we can conclude that the group recorded a beautiful album, rich in melodies, with a meticulous guitar work and impeccable instrumentation. Here, Marillion managed to survive of the replacing a revered front man mainly yielding good results. And although as a whole it doesn't quite manage to reach the same musical peaks as reached by some of the material from the Fish era it will, to people who give it a thorough listen, prove a strong and worthy follow on. Despite I always had some problems with Hogarth's era in Marillion, "Seasons End" remains one of my favorite Marillion's albums, even if I still sort of sorted it in my head under an imaginary other band's name. This is a band looking for a new beginning.

"Holidays In Eden": "Holidays In Eden" is one of the most commercial and poppy offspring in Marillion's career. At times it's hard to believe that the rhythm section is the same that we admired and praised in "Fugazi" and "Misplaced Childhood". Kelly has been held in check, we miss his virtuoso's solos and poignant piano laps. The cuts made to Rothery's solos are too evident in some cases, with the duration reduced to a minimum. The voice of Hogarth could only emerge, very suitable for charts, and the lyrics has been taken a step back compared to "Seasons End", they're much more oriented towards romanticism, neglecting demanding themes. I think the band realized this direction was leading them nowhere. Fortunately, they got right back to where they belonged with their next studio album "Brave".

Conclusion: After what I wrote before and despite I have mentioned that "4 Albums" is only important for those who don't own the four original studio works or for the hardest collector fans of Marillion, in reality, this compilation album is very interesting. It comprises the two last studio albums of Fish's era and the two first studio albums of Hogarth's era. However, it isn't a very uniform compilation album in terms of quality. If the two albums that belong to Fish's era, "Misplaced Childhood" and "Clutching At Straws" are both two excellent works, mainly the first one, we cannot say the same about the two works from Hogarth's era. It's true that "Season's End" is also an excellent album but "Holidays In Eden" is clearly weaker. Anyway and as a whole, we can say that "4 Albums" is a very good compilation album. In a way, it can do a nice picture of both worlds in Marillion's career. If you haven't those works, it can be a nice purchase.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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