HAPPINESS IS THE ROAD

After listining to this CDs several times at home and in my car since September, in my opinion it gets better day by day, even my wife, who doesn't like Marillion, likes some of the songs. HitR is no Marbles and and off course no Brave, but it's better than most of the H-era Marillion CDs. Many of the reviews i read compare todays Marillion again and again with the Fish-era. I think, that's not only boring, it's really not fair as Marillion are alive (instead of Fish, who's repeating only himself and the Marillion-material), even if they are doin' less prog than in the old days. So, don't judge H, just listen to the music. And that's the prog faktor, Marillion developed their sound year by year. In one of the former reviews i read the question, how they manage it that one song sounds like the others. Since listining HitR so often, i can't find any song which sounds like other. The only thing, a lot of songs are sharing is a little dark or melancholy mood, simulary to Marbles.

Maybe, it would have been better, not to release SE in 2007, HitR in my ears is a well done follow up to Marbles, SE instead was a fallback to Radiation or Com times, just an (unnessesary) filler.

Again the question, is HitR really prog? I think yes, it's prog like (nowadays) Porcupine Tree or Radiohead, not prog in the terms of early 70's or even the 80's neo-prog!