MISPLACED CHILDHOOD

Marillion's biggest success to date, but in my humble opinion, of the four Marillion-with-Fish records this one is least good. Script and Fugazi were nostalgia fests of heaviness and progressive melodies, but this one... mwah.

The concept is ok with me, but the final result is too much vocally oriented. Musically it's still a bit patchy. Sometimes this works fine (the first 2½ songs of the second half), sometimes I get lost with it a bit. Hearing Kayleigh being played on the radio for the millionth time (it's the only song that got something like regular airplay in the Netherlands, only very occasionally changed for Lavender or Incommunicado), I conclude that it's a correct love song, but they have done so much better.

And that actually sums up the whole record: quite good, but they have done so much better (with Fish as well as with Hogarth).