CLUTCHING AT STRAWS

Although for many Marillion fans Fish's departure from the band was a severe blow to the quality of music from that point on few can honestly say that his final album with the band is a disappointing one. As a concept album Clutching At Straws works best listened to in its entirery but songs like the easy-going Prog- Pop of Warm Wet Circles, the bouncy kinetic feel of Incommunicado or the concept's melancholic backbone Sugar Mice are just as brilliant as stand-alone tracks. The storyline can be difficult to decipher but listening to That Time Of The Night its easy to picture the smoky, depressing barrooms in which much of the tale unfolds. Fans of Script For A Jester's Tear and Fugazi will be pleased to see the return of Fish's angry vocal delivery on White Russian, which was sorely missed on Misplaced Childhood, although there should be no mistake, Clutching At Straws is a definitive step forwards. By the end of the record you can't help feeling at least a little hard done by that this is the final farewell from the Classic Marillion line up.