MISPLACED CHILDHOOD

It is on 1985's 'Misplaced Childhood' that Marillion truly saw the stars line up, the former becoming their breakthrough album, a success both commercially and creatively, though some might argue that the band has released stronger and more coherent records after that What is certain is that 'Misplaced Childhood' saw this inevitable maturation of the neo-prog giants and skyrocketed them into the realm of the mainstream. Gone are the days of the gothic undertones, for what concerns the music, of course, as the strikingly vivid and profound lyrics of Fish only seem to be getting better with every release. The same could be said about his vocal performances, too. In a successful and compelling crafting of a more recognizable identity, while armed with a new produced, Marillion seem to shake off the symbolic dust of classic prog, as this album has an explicitly more accessible and streamlined sounds than its two predecessors, producing three fantastic singles, one of which a super-hit.

Does not the jester escaping from the window on the back side of the album's sleeve depict precisely this shift in the band's sound, this maturation that sees them embrace a much more authentic artistic presentation? A loose concept album focusing on Fish's childhood, the band finally let the songs flow into one another and manage to put out quite a concise and straightforward album, much in the vein of the classic rock albums of the previous decade. Heavily leaning towards being a very exemplary pop album, this is the record that finally sees Marillion embracing a more outstretched palette of influences. Staying true to their own style, however, the uplifting poetry of the words to the songs navigates the listener on a memorable sonic journey all throughout. The record does suffer a little bit from the hits overshadowing the other shorter songs, but the two longer pieces are great, with 'Bitter Suite' being especially good. A very important album that had put Marillion on another level.