MISPLACED CHILDHOOD

So we have hit the top 20 albums on the countdown, with the highest ranked Marillion album on the list [Prog Magazine's Top 100 Prog Albums of All Time]. I am going to call myself a level 2 as I have heard several songs from the album. The best-known songs on the album are Kayleigh and Lavender, both of which I know quite well. The album is a concept album conceived of by Fish during a 10-hour acid trip, with many of the songs having autobiographical elements. The tracks on each side of the original LP are connected to one another, much like Dark Side of the Moon. The theme seems to be about the loss of childhood innocence.

Let's check it out.

Track 1 - Pseudo Silk Kimono

We begin with a melodic synth part from Mark Kelly. Fish soon joins in with soft vocals. This seems to be primarily Fish & Mark, with an occasional atmospheric note from Rothery on guitar.

Track 2 - Kayleigh

We go straight into Kayliegh, one of Marillion's best known songs. It has a somewhat commercial mid-80s sound and structure, with the keyboards, and guitar with a lot of delay being the main focus, instrumentally, along with Fish's vocals (think Mr. Mister kinda vibe). I love the song, regardless of that. Drums and bass enter at around one minute into the song for the first chorus. Rothery follows that with a beautiful, melodic guitar solo. The solo closes with the keys harmonizing with his guitar lines. The second verse had subtle rimshot drumming and simple bass. The second chorus is similar to the first, but Fish is a bit more ad lib. The song closes with an arpeggiated piano part that leads us to?.

Track 3 - Lavender

This is based on a traditional children's song. Even though it is quite short at under 2:30, I believe it feels more proggy than Kayleigh. I love the way Fish delivers the lyrics, along with the arpeggiated pattern that Kelly & Rothery play. There is a brief melodic guitar solo after the chorus that brings us to?

Track 4 - Bitter Suite

This is a nearly 8 minute long 5-part suite as follows:

i) "Brief Encounter"

ii) "Lost Weekend"

iii) "Blue Angel"

iv) "Misplaced Rendezvous"

v) "Windswept Thumb"

A synth drone and some drum fills kick this one off. It sort of has the vibe of the intro from Dire Straits' Money for Nothing. The drums give way to Rothery's guitar. At around 1:40 Fish gives us a spoken word part. He begins singing at around 2:20. Just after 3 minutes in, the rhythm section kicks in with a Latin-style beat for a Rothery solo. However, at 3:40 the rhythm abruptly shifts to one similar to Lavender. After Rothery finishes his lead, Fish re-joins with vocals. Another solo follows as we remain on the lavender theme. Solo piano carries on with it until around 6 minutes, when they switch to a sustained rhythm bed without drums for Fish to sing over. Around 7:15, solo piano takes over again with Trewavas joining on bass along with Fish's vocals. Great track! A dancing piano part begins to carry us to?

Track 5 - Heart of Lothian

Lothian is the region of Scotland from which Fish hails. The title is a reference to the Heart of Midlothian in Edinburgh, a mosaic embedded in the road there.

There are 2 sections to the song as follows:

i) "Wide Boy"

ii) "Curtain Call"

Rothery joins the piano riff with staccato notes at first then the band kicks in then the notes are sustained. I believe we are in 7-8 at first, not sure after that. At 1:05 the tempo slows dramatically, with Rothery playing lead fills along with Fish's vocals. Excellent prog here. At 3:00 sustained keyboard chords accompany Fish's quieter vocals. This one fades-out entirely, as it concludes side one of the original LP.

Track 6 - Waterhole (Expresso Bongo)

This one begins with a mysterious sounding synth and lead guitar, before quickly exploding into a quick rhythm. The song is quite short, just over 2 minutes. Fish joins in after about 25 seconds. One of the keyboard parts sounds like a xylophone. However, just before the 1-minute mark, the rhythm changes and gives way to a heavy guitar riff. The change is very brief as the original rhythm is back after a few seconds. The cycle repeats then there is a transition to?

Track 7 - Lords of the Backstage

We are in a meter of 7 as this (also short) track begins. This is a very proggy riff. Very cool little song. This one abruptly gives way to:

Track 8 - Blind Curve

This is a suite in 5 sections as follows, it is also the longest track on the album at 9 and a half minutes:

i) "Vocal Under a Bloodlight"

ii) "Passing Strangers"

iii) "Mylo"

iv) "Perimeter Walk"

v) "Threshold"

We begin at a power ballad tempo with big power chords and Fish soon joins in. At one minute the beat pauses for some sustained chords. Fish joins in with the band playing accents on the first beat of each measure and some moving notes behind him. The beat kicks back in around 1:50 and Rothery takes a guitar solo. At 2:30 there are harmonized parts. Another verse follows with arpeggiated clean guitar and rhythm section backing. Things shift at around 4:20 with Rothery playing clean guitar by himself. The music turns ominous at around 5:20. Low droning chords with eerie keyboard notes over the top of barely audible spoken words. Mosley is playing an almost tribal rhythm on the tom-toms. Fish gets louder, repeating the phrase "the childhood" several times. The music explodes at 6:40 with big chords over a slow rhythm. Fish joins back in at around 7 minutes. The rhythm shifts again at around 8:45 with Rothery playing a melodic lead part. A sustained synth note closes this dynamic, excellent track, leading us to...

Track 9 - Childhood's End?

This begins with Rothery playing a staccato tune with a delay effect. The rhythm section comes in shortly thereafter. Fish starts singing at around 30 seconds. Sudden sustained big chords hit for the chorus at 50 seconds. The popcorn rhythm returns at 1:10 for a second verse, partly sung with harmonies. The chorus returns thereafter. Rothery takes over for a solo at around 2:20, followed by another verse and chorus. This is quintessential Fish-Era Marillion. The rhythm changes to an odd meter at about 4:15 as the song is nearing completion. That takes us to?

Track 10 - White Feather

The closing track is short at under 2 and a half minutes long. Rothery has a solo with lots of effects as the song begins. The song has a slightly marching feel to it, Fish is singing in a defiant way; basically saying "they" won't conform to the way society wants them to be. The song fades out and the album concludes.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

An excellent album, I loved every track. I believe this is the pinnacle of the Fish era albums. Interestingly, only one of those 4 albums was NOT on the list, the second album, Fugazi.

I gave Script a 4.5 and Clutching at Straws a 4.75. This one gets a solid 5/5. Additionally, there were 3 "H" era albums on the list as well, with Marbles & Afraid of Sunlight each getting a 4 while the amazing Brave got a 5. Marillion had a very strong showing on the list. [Prog Magazine's Top 100 Prog Albums of All Time]