... And Skipped Straight to the Chorus

Marillion - Somewhere Else - Review

Well, CD-WOW came through in the end with 'Somewhere Else', the new Marillion CD. I tried to listen to it over the weekend, but, as my son was ill, I didn't give it the attention it probably deserved. My first impressions were that is was poorly-produced, with everything happening in the middle and no really memorable songs or parts of songs.

However, I listened to it again first last night, then again on my iPod. Sounds a lot better, but it's missing some searing Steve Rothery solos and Mark Kelly is taking up the same sort of role played by Richard Barbieri in Porcupine Tree - ie. providing texture and background and not much else. The bass is not at all prominent.

The Other Half - a SR solo in here, but a fairly ordinary song,
See It Like a Baby - OK, the new single, but doesn't do much for me,
Thank You Whoever You Are - another bland song - reminds me of another of their songs, but the name escapes me... maybe bits of Brave,
Most Toys - OK, a change of gear, which was needed, but it's very annoying,
Somewhere Else - the best track. Develops nicely, has a great middle section, and features more MK and SR,
A Voice of the Past - nice sentiment, but a bit long, too much of the same laid-back sound established in 'SE', though it wakes up towards the end,
No Such Thing - another laid-back track. I like it. Good on a sunny day like today,
The Wound - good enough, although it does tend to drift,
The Last Century for Man - Nice, in a soft-rock kind of way. Another short SR solo, in the similar vein of what went before,
Faith - a strangely muted end of the album; a very short track, unlike many of their recent albums. Left me wanting more, but not in a good way - 'Is that it?'

Just too many lyrics for me. Not enough space for the music and no really iconic SR solos that I can remember. Stand-out tracks: Somewhere Else, No Such Thing. I think that my feeling for this album will largely depend on my mood at the time.

Overall rating: 7/10

Marilion and I have a long history, but must admit it took a me long to buy their albums after 'This Strange Engine' - with the exception of the title track, and perhaps 'Estonia', I found the rest uninspiring. I eventually caught up with Radiation, Marillion.com and Anaroknophobia in 2002. I think it's fair to say I really loved a couple of tracks per album, but a lot of it just passed me by. I loved 'Marbles', though, and even signed up for the special edition to fund the making of it before I'd heard any of it... Will I be putting my name down for the 14th album, though? You bet I will...