Artist: Marillion | Album: Clutching At Straws | Released: 1987, 2018 | Label: Parlophone, UK | Catalog #: 0190295605049 | Genre: Rock, Progressive Rock | Country: UK
Written and conceived during a period of inner-band turmoil, Clutching at Straws would prove to be Fish’s swan song, and perhaps Marillion’s most unheralded masterpiece. Teaming up once again with producer Chris Kimsey, Clutching at Straws showcases some of the band’s most satisfying compositions, including the magnificent “Warm Wet Circles” and “That Time of the Night (The Short Straw).” Bookended by Fish’s disgust with not only himself, “Torch Song,” but also with the burgeoning neo-Nazi uprising in Europe, “White Russian,” the great Scot delivers an inspired condemnation. The commercial pomp and circumstance of “Incommunicado” also gives way to a self-parodying confessional inspired by Fish’s inability to see himself as a bona fide rock star and celebrity (“I want to do adverts for American Express cards, talk shows on prime time T.V.”). Tour opener “Slainte Mhath” is simple and elegant, building to its dramatic crescendo only to be upstaged by “Sugar Mice” — quite simply, one of Marillion’s best commercial singles ever. The album’s stunning closer, “The Last Straw,” is Fish’s self-realization that yes, the band is not only over, but that in his mind, it’s null and void (“and if you ever come across us, don’t give us your sympathy”). Steve Rothery’s blinding guitar solo brings the whole thing down to a crashing finish (prophetically, announcing his arrival as the band’s true musical instigator on subsequent Fish-less records).
CD1 – Clutching At Straws (2018 Andy Bradfield & Avril Mackintosh Re-Mix)
01. Hotel Hobbies (3:35)
02. Warm Wet Circles (4:26)
03. That Time Of The Night (The Short Straw) (6:01)
04. Going Under (2:48)
05. Just For The Record (3:11)
06. White Russian (6:26)
07. Incommunicado (5:17)
08. Torch Song (4:05)
09. Slàinte Mhath (4:45)
10. Sugar Mice (5:47)
11. The Last Straw — Happy Ending (6:00)
Duration: 00:52:21
CD2 – Live At The Edinburgh Playhouse 19th December 1987 (2018 Michael Hunter Mix) (Part 1)
01. La Gazza Ladra (2:47)
02. Slainte Mhath (5:04)
03. Assassing (6:48)
04. White Russian (6:26)
05. Incubus (10:36)
06. Sugar Mice (6:14)
07. Fugazi (9:57)
08. Hotel Hobbies (4:05)
09. Warm Wet Circles (4:17)
10. That Time Of The Night (6:00)
Duration: 01:02:14
CD3 – Live At The Edinburgh Playhouse 19th December 1987 (2018 Michael Hunter Mix) (Part 2)
01. Pseudo Silk Kimono Intro (1:06)
02. Kayleigh (3:48)
03. Lavender (2:34)
04. Bitter Suite (8:32)
05. Heart Of Lothian (7:24)
06. The Last Straw (7:17)
07. Incommunicado (5:00)
08. Garden Party (6:26)
09. Market Square Heroes (Incomplete) (10:09)
Duration: 00:52:17
CD4 – Clutching At Straws Demo’s (1999 Remaster)
01. Beaujolais Day (4:53)
02. Story From A Thin Wall (6:50)
03. Shadows On The Barley (2:09)
04. Exile On Princes Street (5:32)
05. Sunset Hill (4:24)
06. Tic Tac Toe (3:01)
07. Voice In The Crowd (3:32)
08. White Russians (Demo) (6:18)
09. Sugar Mice In The Rain Demo (5:58)
10. Hotel Hobbies/Warm Wet Circles (The Mosaic Demos) (15:36)
11. Just For The Record (Demo) (3:44)
12. Torch Song (Demo) (2:01)
13. Slàinte Mhath (Demo) (4:25)
Duration: 01:08:22
Category:Rock
Main catalog
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