Like on Marbles, song titles like the aforementioned “Woke Up,” and “Nothing Fills The Hole” also seem to suggest a running conceptual theme about the search for personal meaning. Regardless of what it’s about, this is quite simply gorgeous sounding music, and nowhere more so than when the vocal chorus kicks in with a thundering crescendo of glorious sound on the track “A State Of Mind.”
This is followed by the more reflective sounding title track, where Hogarth’s nearly spoken vocal weaves around Kelly’s haunting keyboard textures. From there, H’s vocal grows to a more impassioned wail, as Steve Rothery’s guitar soars above it all. Like I said, just gorgeous sounding stuff here.
The second CD, subtitled “The Hard Shoulder,” finds the band stretching out and displaying their musical chops a bit more. “Thunder Fly” opens the second disc with a muscular sounding guitar riff that somewhat recalls The Beatles’ “Paperback Writer,” while at the same time continuing the ebb and flow with dreamy sounding keyboards and vocal harmonies. This song is definitely a standout, ending with yet another one of Rothery’s soaring guitar parts.
“The Man From The Planet Marzipan” finds the rhythm section of bassist Pete Trewavas and drummer Ian Mosley locking into a tight little funk groove that serves as the launchpad for more of Kelly’s keyboard textures and Rothery’s dazzling guitar wizardry. The band basically plays their asses off here.
The Beatles influence once again rears its head in “Throw Me Out,” where the string arrangement recalls the psychedelic, yet decidedly British feel of the Sgt. Pepper era, while Mosley’s drumming kicks things into a more modern context. “Whatever Is Wrong With You” is an uptempo rocker where Mosley’s power drumming eventually makes way for a searing guitar solo from Rothery. The song also has the sort of catchy hookline in the chorus that almost suggests a potential single.
The bottom line here is that Happiness Is The Road is that rare breed of double-CD that is rich in great songs, with really very little in the way of filler. In short, this is a great CD. So give the band a break, skip the free downloads at those peer-to-peer sites, and go to Marillion.com and order it.
I can’t promise you the “better life” that the website does. But I can promise you a great album.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Tom Johnson
Glen, it's probably no secret that I'm thrilled to see anyone else, but especially you, enjoying Marillion today. Such a great band who have truly formed their own little niche. I find Essence to be the far stronger of the two and actually have a hard time carving out mental space for The Hard Shoulder so far - it just doesn't register yet. After the emotional rollercoaster of Essence, it's hard to jump into something less emotionally involving. I'll get around to it soon, I'm sure, but I'm particularly hooked on the first disc (and "This Train Is My Life" specifically - beautiful song.) I am very anxious to get the VERY long awaited (a year now!) deluxe edition, which should be gorgeous from the little I've seen of it.
2 - Glen Boyd
Thanx Tom. The second disc is a lot different than the first. Even so, I've no doubt you'll warm up to it. Where "Essence" is more of a unified piece, "The Hard Shoulder" is more like a collection of individual songs. The band also flexes it's musical muscle on the second disc, where on "Essence" I think there is a lot more emphasis on the studio craft and just setting a mood. Anyway, they are both great discs and together they add up to a really great record.
-Glen
3 - Mark Saleski
funny that you should mention Genesis, because i listened to this band once way back in the early days and they reminded me of why i can't stand The Lamb Lies Down..., and i never listened again.
4 - Glen Boyd
You should give them another try then Mark...they don't even sound like the same band that made those records in the eighties. I think you'd be pleasantly surprised...
-Glen
5 - Mark Saleski
i dunno. i listened to a few things on their myspace and it turned me off in exactly the same way. can't quite put my finger on it.
i guess, with a couple of exceptions, i'm not much of a prog fan.
6 - Glen Boyd
Ummm, correct me if I'm wrong here, but haven't I heard you sing the praises of Robert Fripp and King crimson on a couple of occasions? One of those "exceptions" I guess...
-Glen
7 - Mark Saleski
yep, that's the exceptions!
8 - Tom Johnson
King Crimson is not prog, nor is Marillion. Problem solved!
Marillion today is VERY far from the band that made "Genesis lite" stuff in the mid-80s. They're an adventurous pop-rock band today. I never describe them as "prog" because that term is loaded - it describes 1970s sounding material and people immediately think of Peter Gabriel-era Genesis, Yes, Gentle Giant, etc. Marillion is about as far from that as can be today. They just happen to write long songs and have some thematic albums. I don't take offense at people not getting them, however. Marillion are an acquired taste. I would be curious to know what songs it was that you heard, Mark - if it's older Steve Hogarth (vocalist that replaced Fish) stuff, I'd say you should still give their new stuff a chance because it's quite different. I'm not sure if you'll get into them, given the kind of stuff you're into, but who knows . . .
And, Mark, you really have to give them enough of a chance to hear Steve Rothery's guitar work. He's incredible, plain and simple. Very David Gilmour-esque without being a ripoff of him. Extremely emotive playing. One of my very favorite guitarists.
9 - Mark Saleski
i dunno. i listened to "Whatever Is Wrong With You" and i just can't stand that guy's voice. guitar can't save it.
10 - Tom Johnson
Well, you know, I have to say that, despite it being their "single," it is not one of the better songs to draw in new listeners. (This is something I never understand with bands - they always pick the song that I find underwhelming as the first single. They need to consult me first. I know the strong ones. Call me!) I would say to head over to that Music Glue thing and grab "This Train Is My Life," "Nothing Fills The Holes," and "Trap The Spark." Those are the ones that have the Marillion magic, where "Whatever" is just "a song" that, as a big fan myself, I enjoy, but I don't see anyone outside of people like me going out of their way for. The three I listed above are examples of Marillion at their best. If you don't like those, I think it's safe to say you just won't like anything of theirs. And maybe you won't - but you can't use Steve's voice as an excuse because you listen to some weird stuff, man! ;-)
11 - zingzing
prog sucks. i tried out marillion. i've got "brave," which i've never made it through. it's just not my cup of tea. even if you attached a vagina to it, i don't think i could take it.
and make no mistake, marillion is prog. proggy as all prague. has that pun ever been made before? god, i love being drunk in the afternoon.
to say king crimson is not prog is to ignore that the whole term was invented to describe that kind of music. god knows crimson was almost unlistenable until the early 80s, and even then they sounded like a nail being driven into your ear drum.
now, i love robert fripp. outside of his work in crimson, which i can't stand. his stuff with eno--spectacular.
the only prog i can stand is as follows: roxy music, brian eno, robert wyatt. that's about it. there may be someone else, but i can't recall right now.
pink floyd sucks.
12 - Tom Johnson
Zingx2 describes a bunch of music that is not prog. What's best about all of these artists is that while they are progressive, meaning they change (something most "prog" bands don't do, I may point out,) they are certainly not prog, which is a fairly limiting term (and often derogatory) as I mentioned previously. And, yes, I know all about how "prog" came to be associated with King Crimson, believe me - but it does not relate to the band after about 1972.
And, like any truly progressive artist, it is unfair to judge them based on one release. Brave especially, since it is one long story and a big chunk of it functions as one long suite. It's very, very dark, very depressing, one I rarely listen to, but it is very powerful when I do.
13 - zingzing
what does "prog" mean then?
i thought it meant "progressive," meaning art rock that has any progressive leanings.
it's a pretty open term.
robert wyatt is certainly prog, coming out of soft machine, etc.
soft machine certainly had some jazz-rock or fusion leanings, but that fit in with "prog" at the time. eno and roxy were certainly part of that crowd.
you seem to be defining "prog" differently than i would. yes, soft machine, floyd, eno, roxy, genesis... all would apply. in my book, at least.
if you don't mind, throw out some (relatively famous) names you would associate with prog.
certainly, i'm interested.
"brave" still sucks though.
14 - Mark Saleski
oh my gawd, i hated "This Train Is My Life" worse than that other tune.
15 - Mark Saleski
oh my gawd, they remind me of (****shudder****) Coldplay.
16 - Mark Saleski
p.s. i can't stand Roxy Music either.
17 - Tom Johnson
"Prog" is what most people think of when you say "prog" in general. They think ELP, Yes, early Genesis, etc. Prog is a very specific sound and style that, despite its origins in the full word "progressive," does not actually progress. Note that when these bands strayed outside of that traditional "prog" sound that they were all identified with, everyone said they were no longer prog - but they had truly progressed. Peter Gabriel solo was by far more progressive, and still is, than Genesis ever was when they were prog. Then, of course, they turned pop. Peter Gabriel still managed to do it without sacrificing his progressive nature.
Being labeled "prog" is like being labeled "punk" - there is a very specific sound associated with those four letters. Otherwise, all kinds of other music gets lumped in that doesn't fit - long songs don't make something prog, or Zappa would be prog, and he's NOT. Pink Floyd doesn't fit because they only ever flirted with it, like they did with pretty much every genre they explored. They're kind of their own thing, and prog is too insultingly limiting to contain them, especially the early stuff.
The only way prog as a label for all these bands works is in an extremely vague, very, very wide umbrella, which, as you can guess, I totally disagree with. Just like saying both Britney Spears and Leonard Cohen get to exist under the Pop/Rock umbrella, but do they really?
18 - Tom Johnson
You're a music terrorist today, Saleski.
19 - Mark Saleski
The only way prog as a label for all these bands works is in an extremely vague, very, very wide umbrella
like emo?
20 - Mark Saleski
zingzing (#11) ("even if you attached a vagina to it, i don't think i could take it")
i laughed hard. almost sucked a piece of pizza up my windpipe.
21 - zingzing
well, tom, "prog" meant something at one point, and that music rightfully died a horrible death at the hands of punk. having listened to the latest marillion now, i can say that they aren't much of a prog band at this point. more a "proggy" band. there's not much nice i want to say about them, so the less, the better.
mark, roxy music is amazing. you have to be touched not to appreciate them. come on, they're ambitious as well as schmaltzy. it's like you're slightly insane uncle making come ons to your sister whilst cooking you a fantastic dinner, all the while regaling your father with fantastic war stories. they get it all done. really, everything they did up til about '75 is pretty damn good. and then they put out avalon, which should have been #1 from 1982-1985, every damn week.
and yeah, i liked the vagina line as well. proud of that vagina joke, i am.
22 - Mark Saleski
you have to be touched not to appreciate them.
Briany Ferry's voice makes me want to shove an ice pick in my ear.
23 - John Medecto
The notion that punk killed prog is one of the laziest media-perpetuated notions out there. Go and look in the back of most music mags and you'll find adverts to go and see the same prog bands touring that people are constantly claiming were killed by punk. They simply weren't and it's a ridiculous thing to say - it's not even a matter of whether one likes them; it's simply not true.
Personally, I think the Marillion album's magnificent, but it's about as prog as U2 are punk.
24 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
[Progressive]it's a pretty open term.
Since my inception to this great form of music, I was always under the impression that the term "prog/progressive" was referring to how the band progressed through different genres & time signatures in each song. That incorporating jazz, classical,metal,rock,blues,world music,etc.. was the experiment of expression or vice-versa. Though the music was still held together by some solid song writing,technical prowess & didn't necessarily wander off like a hippie jam.
I guess that's my perspective considering I was raised on YES,RUSH,Watchtower,Dream Theater,Atheist,DEATH,Spastic Ink,etc..
25 - CompanyGimp
I dunno what 'Prog' is to be honest.
I think it's probably a convenient pigeon-hole for lazy journalists -
Mellotron present & correct ? Check !
Over 12 minutes average track length ? Check !
Copious Lord of the Rings references ? Check !!
Singer dressed up as spaceman ? Check !!
Then it must be 'Prog' ! Hurrah !!
I love Floyd, I love Marillion, I love Genesis, but apart from really early Marillion, those bands aren't all that similar, so how they kinda get lumped together is beyond me.
Anyhoo, I'm loving the new Marillion CD(s) - Older Than Me is currently playing, and I'll be off to see them on tour in a little over 2 weeks time. Lovely stuff.
; )