SOUNDS THAT CAN'T BE MADE

I was one of those who were rather disapppointed with Marillion's album. The production is great, yes. Gaza starts like a thunderstorm, and Power has a modern feel to it that Somewhere Else had nowhere near in its whole existence. But that s about it, after all. The Sky Above The Rain has wonderful lyrics - and boring music. Lucky Man is boring as hell... I mentioned Gaza for its enormous potential... but the downside is that there are no transitions or musical ideas whatsoever to pull the parts together. Same goes for Montreal - lovelessly put together. Pour My Love and Invisible Ink... could be on Radiation, and that is a nasty thing to say. The title track is also rather unemotional, pure flow normality.

So, Marillion sounds uninspired and tired. This is a very bad thing to say about every band, but for this one, who really lives from its energy and emotion, it is a catastrophe. The good moments are still good, but a critical producer would have been necessary to turn this music into a meaningful whole-