Fish Sunset

After Fish's departure, Marillion teetered on the brink of collapse: The frontman's distinct voice and poetic prose made him the defining member of the band. One can only imagine how record executives held their collective breath as Steve Hogarth was brought in to take the reins. His first outing with band, 1989's Season's End, removed all doubts about the band's future. Hogarth's unique, expressive voice fit Marillion perfectly; on the full-throttle rock assault of "The Uninvited Guest" or the emotional "After You," Hogarth's singularity is unmistakable. The heartfelt "Easter," with its imaginative electric-acoustic arrangement, is another showcase for Hogarth's talents…

Seasons End was the first album recorded by Marillion after the split with Fish in late 1988. The band started to audition singers while writing the new album, and they eventually chose Steve Hogarth. The music for Seasons End was mostly finished by the time Hogarth joined Marillion, and only a couple of songs on it actually have some pieces written by him, most notably "Easter" and "The Space". A number of the lyrics were written by John Helmer, who the band had commissioned before Hogarth joining. He would continue to contribute lyrics throughout the 1990s. Much of the music on Seasons End had been composed while Fish was still in the band. The bonus disc of the 1999 re-issue of Clutching at Straws contains a number of nascent versions of songs that would end up on Seasons End with vocals and lyrics by Fish, these demos having been produced during the writing sessions for the ill-fated fifth studio album with Fish. (A number of the lyrical concepts from these demos, such as The Voice In the Crowd, would later resurface on Fish's debut studio album, Vigil In a Wilderness of Mirrors.) The album was produced jointly by Marillion and Nick Davis (who would go on to work with Genesis and associated acts).

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.")…

In 2002 EMI released a box with twelve CD singles by the British progressive rock formation Marillion from 1989 to 1995. It was the second single box of this type. While the first box covered the era of the charismatic singer Fish, the second now includes the story of the no less fascinating successor Steve Hogarth. The 57 pieces in the box, which is now out of print (the twelve CD singles were contained in cardboard boxes with original covers) will be released on April 19, 2013 as a 4-CD box.

After the successful reissue of Marillion‘s 1985 album Misplaced Childhood in 2017, Parlophone will reissue the British quintet’s fourth studio album Clutching at Straws in November.