CLUTCHING AT STRAWS

The most mature album Marillion did with Fish. There's a darkness about it all emphasised by the dark bar scene cover. I bought it new on the day it came out and played it constantly for months. Early in the album the lyrics to 'Warm Wet Circles' paint a scene as clearly as any Fish has done, but the song seems to drift along and emphasise that he and the band were moving apart.'White Russian' has no such problem, however, and is punchy and aggressive Marillion at their best.

The album sounds as fresh today as it did then and has aged really well, but the music generally still doesn't move me as much as on 'Misplaced Childhood'.