ANORAKNOPHOBIA

Not quite sure whether this album still can be considered as prog or not because it seems to me that band had made an effort to get away from neo prog category of its music. Yes, you can find it at the album icon, Barry, which is described as disliking neo prog. It's not my intention to talk about music category here, I just want to have some words with respect to this album. I only have the single CD version from EMI and even I got the CD quite late - about one year - after official release date. It was for a simple reason: I don't really like the cover which seemed like copying the icons of children movies Teletubbies. It has a very poor artwork, I would say - or at least for my personal taste. But my wise friends told me that I should not judge the music by its cover so I followed his advice and finally purchased the CD.

As I had no preconceived mind or expectation about the kind of music Marillion offered with this album so I just spun it and I could enjoy it right away. Why? The music is so simple and does not require me to think about music complexity typical prog music offers. Say the opening track "Between You and Me" (6:28) it's basically a nice track in medium tempo with tight beat and good rhythm guitar. It's hard to deny that this is a good track as the music flows naturally. So is the case with "Quartz" (9:07) which has a thick bass lines combined with stunning guitar rhythm which shape a music in groove style. Again, common music buffs would easily digest this track with no difficulty at all. As matter of taste I enjoy the guitar rhythm combined with mellotron-like sound and excellent voice of Hogarth.

"Map of The World" (5:02) is basically a pop song with a straight forward structure. "When I Meet God" is a nice song performed mellow using keyboard as background and excellent voice of Hogarth. What surprised me - when the first time I first played this album - was "This Is The 21st Century" where it did not attract me at all at first listen because it's so boring. Lately, I found that this track is excellent and I truly enjoy how the music flows nicely.

It's a good album. For those who has been familiar with the music of Porcupine Tree, Radiohead or other prog with ambient style, this album may suit your taste. Good thing also, beside music, the sonic quality is reallygood. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

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