FISH WAS CLUTCHING AT STRAWS TRYING TO REMAIN IN MARILLION

Haven't put much in the way of UK progresssive rock on here lately, quite frankly if you omit PINK FLOYD, GENESIS, MARILLION and ATOMIC ROOSTER out of the prog mix the UK was only ever good for serving up a dozen or so second generation wannabe bands that wanted to sound like RUSH and more sophisticated bands in america during the glory days of prog - the 1970`s. There aint too much obscure stuff of PINK FLOYD and GENESIS, so between the other two bands, i decided to run with a MARILLION song off the 1987 album CLUTCHING AT STRAWS, the last album to feature the Peter Gabriel soundalike vocalist FISH. Yes FISH was certainly an eccentric frontman, and much more charismatic than his replacement STEVE HOGARTH, who made his debut for MARILLION on the band's fifth album SEASONS END, released in 1989. CLUTCHING AT STRAWS is typically clumpy and unpolished sounding UK prog, very much like late 70`s GENESIS. Fish quite intentionally tried to sound like Peter Gabriel on the earlier Marillion albums SCRIPT FOR A JESTERS TEAR and MISPLACED CHILDHOOD, the latter providing the huge UK hits KAYLEIGH and LAVENDER, but with CLUTCHING AT STRAWS, he actually sounds more like PHIL COLLINS singing on GENESIS albums like TRICK OF THE TAIL and ABACAB than Gabriel. Regardless of who FISH sounds like on CLUTCHING AT STRAWS, it is very heavily influenced by GENESIS. Critics always categorised the album as a concept album, but then again, aren't all prog albums conceptual. I think that term is a bit of a generalisation. Besides the typically elegant and sweeping neo-european guitar playing of STEVE ROTHERY, the most standout element of the album, even more so than the band's earlier ones, is the grandiose keyboard of PETE TREWAVAS. Besides my favourite tune SLAINTE MHATH, other songs of special note are the anti-Nazi paean WHITE RUSSIAN, a song directed specifically at the rise of fascism across Europe during the 80`s and the more radio friendly WARM WET CIRCLES. I hate INCOMMUNICADO, just so irritating and annoying, but the few standout songs make CLUTCHING AT STRAWS a half decent album.