B'SIDES THEMSELVES

"B'Sides Themselves" is a compilation album by UK progressive rock act Marillion. The compilation was released through EMI Records in January 1988. "B'Sides Themselves" features all single B-side tracks released by the band up until then. "Market Square Heroes" is originally a single A-side, but it´s included here as it is also featured as a B-side to the 1984 "Punch and Judy" single (in a re-recorded version, which is the version included on "B'Sides Themselves"). "Three Boats Down From The Candy" was also originally included on the "Market Square Heroes" (1982) single, but it´s included here in the re-recorded version which appears on the "Punch and Judy" (1984) single.

"B'Sides Themselves" opens with the 17:14 minutes long "Grendel", which is the band´s grand epic progressive rock track, but it´s also an early composition, which means it´s not quite as sophisticated or as mature as later works. It´s however still an important high quality composition. "Charting The Single" is a decent track, but not one of Marillion´s best tracks. The two re-recordings of "Market Square Heroes" and "Three Boats Down From The Candy" are both great tracks. The former an anthemic and catchy rocker, while the latter is a subdued and relatively eerie sounding progressive rock song. "Cinderella Search", "Lady Nina", "Freaks", and "Tux on" are all greatly enjoyable B-sides and well worth a listen and an inclusion here. "B'Sides Themselves" closes with the 12:17 minutes "Margaret", which is a live recording. Along with "Charting The Single" it´s probably the least interesting track in Marillion´s discography.

So a few decent tracks and a lot of great ones is my impression of "B'Sides Themselves". As a "rarities" compilation it serves its purpose perfectly, giving the fans a chance to hear a compilation of tracks they either haven´t heard or would have to purchase quite a lot of different minor releases to be able to (or reissues of the various studio albums, where some of them appear as bonus material). The fact that even the two sub par tracks on "B'Sides Themselves" are still decent compositions speaks volumes of the high quality of Marillion´s music (that volume gets even higher considering that these are all non-album tracks). A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.