CLUTCHING AT STRAWS

Marillion is a guilty pleasure among purist of prog. Fine, I can live with that. But this one stole my heart over any other Marillion record. Among ProgArchives suggestions, THIS one should've been underlined and promoted as a suggestion. I think Clutching at Straws is a mini-tad over Misplaced Childhood. Althought it's not AS progressive as the others, this record scores on the lyrics and the intensity of Fish. Drugs, more drugs and so on. This is really an ultimate cry for help, which makes this record the breaking point for Fish' health. After this record he had to go in rehab in a place where nobody could join him. Not even his wife, somebody told me.

Sadness, resignation and fascination facing more popularity, the lyrics are mature and wonderfully coherent. Like Robert Smith (The Cure) or Tim Booth (James), Fish is explicit towards illegal substances but also so fragile and open hearted. We know exactly what he means in such few words. I guess every good thing has an end. Few bands kept such high quality throughout their musical route....

Now that everything's over, where do we go from here?