CLUTCHING AT STRAWS

By far my favorite Marillion album. Featuring gritty lyrics, gritty vocals, superb guitar work, catchy songs, and aggression and spite, this is the culmination of all the bad things that had been happening to Marillion at the time. This would be Fish's last studio effort with Marillion, but he left with a bang. From the opening of Hotel Hobbies to the closing duet of The Final Straw, the extremely personal and moody lyrics fit seamlessly with the brilliant guitar work from Rothery (in my opinion, his best), from his quiet Hackett-esque clean sections to his emotional solo sections. Ian Mosley and Pete Trewavas create cohesive and well rehearsed rhytms and Mark Kelly creates moody enviornments to accentuate Rothery's guitars.

The opener, Hotel Hobbies, begins the saga of Fish's struggle with alcohol (as does this entire album). It features a great solo from Rothery in the middle, a great chorus, and some great rhythm work from Mosley and Trewavas. It flows seamlessly into Warm Wet Circles, which begins with some great modulated guitar work from Rothery, and soon becomes one of the most personal songs of the albums. It features a catchy chorus and a great bass performance from Trewavas. Other songs worth mentioning are Incommunicado, which has a very catchy chorus, and a very upbeat riff that fits well with the mood of the song. Sugar Mice is an emotional tune that features some fo Fish's best vocals on the album. And the finale, The Last Straw, features a great duet outro between Fish and a female vocalist. On the Bonus disk of the remaster release, most of the songs are demos of the Clutching at Straws album, but the songs that aren't on Clutching at Straws are superb, especially Tux On. This single features a very catchy chorus, and some great guitar from Rothery.

Overall, Marillion's final album with Fish is a masterpiece of music to me. It's all a superb experience that I recommend that everyone check out. 5/5.