Review of Marillion's Misplaced Childhood

Released 1985

"And a ring of violet bruises, they were pinned upon her arm. Two hundred francs for sanctuary and she led me by the hand to a room of dancing shadows where all the heartache disappears And from glowing tongues of candles, I heard her whisper in my ear "'J'entend ton coeur", I can hear your heart".

I have a confession to make. In the summer of 1985, I had Marillion's logo embroidered into my denim jacket. I know, I know. I was young and I was foolish, I had big hair, smelt of patchouli oil and could be found, in my private moments, throwing Fish-like poses and no doubt pouting in a meaningful way. If my youngest brother is reading this, he will testify to the acute embarrassment of having a Marillion fan in the family.

In the rock music press in the eighties, Marillion were feted as the champions of contemporary prog rock with countless column inches given over to their colourful career progression. As a fan who had followed them closely it was a rare treat to have such exposure to the trials and tribulations of a prog rock band in the here and now.

Although the fans still loved Marillion, the critics weren't fond of Fugazi and their were rumours of drink and drug problems within the band and a definitive feeling that their next album had to be good or the honeymoon period would be over.

Marillion then did something almost unheard of amongst prog circles; they released one of the most successful singles of the 1980's - Kayleigh - and swiftly followed it up with another - Lavender - and thereby secured themselves a successful, albeit very brief residence in the upper echelons of the pop charts. As undeniably catchy as both singles were, I along with many other Marillion fans raised a quizzical eyebrow at this distinctly non-prog direction, and feared that the follow up to Fugazi would spell the end of the prog renaissance. To see the splendidly mulleted Fish dancing his way through the video for Kayleigh was enough for any self respecting prog fan to consider unpicking their logo from their denim jacket.

The album packaging was reassuring. Mark Wilkinson produced one of the finest sleeve designs of the eighties which was very, very prog with themes from the last two albums such as the jester, the magpie making appearances. It was a bit glossy overall, but then again it was the eighties.

I was prepared to expect two side long 'suites' of continuous music which was markedly more ambitious than their previous efforts. I therefore had mixed expectations based just how effectively these commercial singles could reside within prog-like suites.

Pseudo Silk Kimono provides a very prog like prelude to the two singles which ran back to back and, although I was loathe to admit it, worked very well as part of the concept. These ran in turn into possibly the strongest part of the album, the five part Bitter Suite. Fish's lyrics were much more accessible and becoming more accomplished with each album. Yes, the first part was particularly silly and perhaps unnecessarily theatrical, but it certainly worked. It wasn't difficult to imagine it being 'acted out' on stage. The feel of this first side was undeniably prog, but it was also extremely listenable and flowed very well indeed.

My problem with it then and so some extent now, was that it was too straightforward and not complex enough. Now, if you have read my last review - of Genesis' Foxtrot - you'll no doubt wonder what it would take to satisfy this fussy seventeen year old: I saw Foxtrot as impenetrably complex and Misplaced Childhood as too simple. Obviously there is a conundrum here. I put it down to my tender years. Twenty five years on though, I now acknowledge Foxtrot as a masterpiece and view Misplaced Childhood as 'interesting' but not great.

The second side is, to be fair, much more complex and probably better for it. This side touches more emphatically on Fish's chemical diversions and subsequent psychological issues and is more edgy, denser and has more soul and substance.

I couldn't fault the playing or the writing especially. It was just less challenging than their previous albums. For these reasons, it has been far and away their most commercially successful album. However, for me it ranks as the weakest of the four Fish era albums.