ANORAKNOPHOBIA

Marillion

Neo-Prog

3.39 | 646 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Marillion's Anoraknophobia was underwritten by more than 12,500 fans who pre-ordered a copy.

Anoraknophobia is very much in the same vein as the previous releases Radiation and Marillion.com, but whereas I found Radiation and Marillion.com rather disappointing, Anoraknophobia has the band approaching its best with excellent production and musicianship and ambitious song structures.

The album starts with classical style piano that leads into a nice rocker "Between You And Me" (6:28). This is followed by a longer song Quartz (9:07) which has a number of moods and time changes. "Map Of The World "(5:02) is a very pleasant if pop-ish song with a very good hook. "When I Meet God " (9:18) is another longer track. Excellent. "The Fruit Of The Wild Rose" (6:57) is another pop-ish song.

"Separated Out" (6:14) has some rather weird effects and music and is a real highlight. The track includes excerpts from the 1930's Tod Browning film Freaks. It includes the passage at the conclusion of the song "You, dirty, slimy...FREAKS!... FREAKS!... FREAKS!...Get out of here!". I am not sure if this is reference to the early days when "all the best freaks are here". Freaks was a b-side from the Misplaced Childhood sessions and available on "B-Sides Themselves".

The album concludes with another two longer tracks. "This Is The 21st Century" (11:07) is one of the Marillion's best. Generally slower paced but with some soaring guitar work. In earlier times this may have become a classic. The final track "If My Heart Were A Ball It Would Roll Uphill" (9:28) has some great bass-lines from the under-rated Trewavas.

Overall rating. 4.2. Stars. A worthwhile addition to any prog collection.

KeepItDark | 4/5 | 2010-12-20

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