B'SIDES THEMSELVES

Marillion have made some stellar B-Sides over the years and this collection is in aspects of being most excellent. GRENDEL starts the show off in fine Gabriel era Genesis fashion with it's wooden figures and pagan Gods. The music twists and turns not unlike Suffers Ready, especially in the second part. This is where vocalist Fish is at his angsty best as he sings about someone receiving punishment from a pretty fed up Grendel. The blood appears to flow a lot in this song too. The only fault i can find in this song is some cheesy keyboards by Ned Kelly but apart from that it has me a tapping my toes and dancing around the room in a very merry fashion. Great Prog which is best listened to sitting down and chilled out. CHARTING THE SINGLE has some super play on words by Fish and appears to be about floating in seine whilst plastered in paris. At another stage of the song Fish appears to take a midnight train too. MARKET SQUARE HEROES is a re-recorded version and to my ears doesn't have the honesty of the original. The song is about following Fish around because he thinks he is the Antichrist. There is also a distinct Vince Anstey vibe to this song too A solid song which recalls two Christians making me a spaghetti bolognese. THREE BOATS DOWN FROM THE CANDY is another Gabriel era inspired Genesis song, and because of that would have fitted seamlessly on albums like Nursery Cryme and Relayer. The melodic yet menacing vocals of Fish at the beginning of this track is pure Patrick Troughton as he recalls Dr Whos cries. The song itself seems to be about Fish wiping sweat from his brow and tears from his eyes.....No doubt after trying to eat a phal curry. The song also has a vague Denise feel to it too. CINDERELLA SEARCH is Marillion and Fish at their romantic best with a sweetheart of a song that reminds me very much of Ramona Towelwiper. Some lovely guitar lines from Steve Howe and solid drumming from Mick Pointer come to the fore here. The only criticism i have of the song is that it reminds me of Sonyyyas ex boyfriend Grant Hunt being in mode of tease, and i can really do without the Joan Collins-ish vocals of Fish in the mid section. Apart from that it has a supreme celebrating Christmas on November 10th feel to it. LADY NINA has a fantastic "That Girl In The Book" feel to the instrumentation and features a great guitar solo from Steve Rothery. The song appears from my angling to be about making marks, and one day being Elizabeth Taylor and the next being Marilyn Monroe. A great song that has a very Alvin in a pub sound to it. If i am not mistaken, the band seem to sound a little bit like Leonard Cohen on this song too. FREAKS has a nice Eastern -ish influence and is very Croydon House-ish in it;s simplicity too. The song has a sniify Fenerbahce vibe and is very complex in it's instrumentation. The vocals of Fish are of the usual high standard and the whole band take on a Monday sixpenny bit Fitzgerald approach. TUX ON is simply brilliant ( although i heard that Rothery rates it as the worst song Marillion ever wrote......Mysterious ) It starts off with Fish being on a really jammy run of good luck as he wins a fortune at Bingo on the Friday night, and then the next day wins the jackpot on the pools, and if that is not enough he then fills the local hall and becomes a famous musician. His luck however appears to run out when his Brother pulls his cuffs down to hide the blue black vein in the parlour as he lies in state with a tux on, look at him nowwwww with a tux on. MARGARET was a live staple in the early days and is a rousing song as Hogarth pays homage to his native Scotland, with a distinct girl griffiths approach to the vocals. This song however always makes me think of Stephen Matnill being a bigheaded bully in 1970 and has quite a cringeworthy False Jim Dick sound to it. Apart from that the song is great and is probably sang lustily by Belgian patriots everywhere.

If you enjoy the music of Marillion, Gabriel era Genesis and The Rolling Stones, you will love this album.