Amazon.co.uk Review
After the commercial breakthrough of
Misplaced Childhood, their somewhat syrupy previous album, Marillion returned with a much more focused record. Both musically and lyrically much tighter and more hard-hitting,
Clutching At Straws was Marillion's finest hour. The band's final album with
Fish as vocalist and lyricist, it unfortunately did not gain the acclaim of its predecessor and those put off by the flaws evident in their earlier work may never have had a chance to re-assess the band on the basis of the strengths present here. Partly this relative lack of success must have been due to the intensity of the album's lyrics. They are a soul-baring manifesto centred around alcoholism, self-deception, self-loathing, fear, pride and lack of communication. The flashes of inspiration and reliance on ingenious word-play evident on previous releases are here transformed into a remarkably coherent and sustained set of perspectives of which much has the force of the best pop poetry. Only "White Russian" and "Torch Song" do not really live up to the promise of the rest. Musically, the rest of Marillion once more prove their humility and professionalism by providing a gloriously tuneful, adept and fluent backing to the sweep of Fish's vision. In keeping with the subject matter, the music is both grittier and more subtle than any they had produced before. Together, words and music make a seamless package that is well worth investigating. --
James Swift