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Parlophone Records [Release date 16.09.22]
For 30 years I have banged on about ‘Holidays In Eden’ being one of Marillion’s finest albums, sometimes overlooked even by the faithful who thought it was a bit too commercial. Even the band (guitarist Steve Rothery in particular) thought this might be the case also.
It was the second album with Steve Hogarth on vocals. In 1991 he was still finding his feet although the previous outing ‘Season’s End’ had been well received. Marillion were torn between forging a new path with their new frontman and record label pressures for more hit singles.
In some ways ‘Holidays In Eden’ marks a transition to the more bombastic and sometimes introspective prog that they were to develop subsequently. It came as no surprise that after their following album ‘Brave’ – a concept piece of some depth but lacking the short and sweet single – they were dropped by EMI.
This was a blessing rather than a curse and opened up the way for their crowd-funding approach later in the decade, freed of record company shackles and financial expectation. The fans went with them.
The latest and last but one in a series of definitive album reissues, this new package is a sumptuous refurbishing of that 1991 album. With a new (2022) remix and, on the Bluray, a high definition 48bit/24kHz and 5.1 mix. All sounds sumptuous as you would expect but nothing can really detract from or enhance such great songwriting and original production (by Chris Neil). The new mixing does give even greater definition to Hogarth’s quite superb vocals, reveals more of Kelly’s keys, and toughens up the sound overall.
The writing of the album may have been tortuous but – even with essentially a pop producer on board – the band unleashed the powerful opener ‘Splintering Heart’, the rocky ‘This Town’, whilst ‘Dry Land’ (reprised from Hogarth’s previous band How We Live) is an utterly superb paean to unrequited love.
I can understand that because of events surrounding the album’s gestation – disagreements within the band about work methods, direction of travel and production and not least the pressure from EMI – they may be a little ambivalent now about ‘Holidays’. But sometimes out of adversity comes greatness (‘Pain And Heaven’?). In short, ‘Holidays In Eden’ is one of Marillion’s most accessible albums and, yes, I still think it one of their best.
Lyrically, the album also holds together because in the main it’s all about relationships: either infidelity (‘Holidays In Eden’, ’100 Nights’), break-ups (‘Splintering Heart’), a newly born (‘No One Can’) or finding a soulmate (‘Waiting To Happen’). It really does contrast with the likes of F.E.A.R. and even An Hour Before It’s Dark.
This limited edition includes a handsome book with lyrics and liner note, two discs recorded at Hammersmith Odeon on the promotional tour in September 1991 whilst the Bluray also includes the B-sides and demos from this period and an 85 minute “making of” video documentary. Promo videos and a German TV concert complete the definitive package. *****
Review by David Randall
Steve Hogarth diaries Vol.1 (Book review, 2014)
How We Live, reissue (Album review, 2016)
Steve Hogarth chatted to Get Ready to ROCK! Radio in 2014 about his career including ‘Holidays In Eden’.
On Monday 19 September in the GRTR! Archive sequence on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, we replay our interview with Steve Rothery (16:00, repeated Thursday 22, 23:00 GMT+1).
Marillion on tour (September 2022)
Sun September 18 2022 BLACKBURN King George’s Hall
Mon September 20 2022 GLASGOW O2 Academy (rearranged date)
Wed September 21 2022 YORK York Barbican
Thu September 22 2022 SOUTHAMPTON O2 Guildhall
Sat September 24 2022 AYLESBURY Friars Waterside
Sun September 25 2022 STOKE Victoria Hall
Tue September 27 2022 SHEFFIELD City Hall
Wed September 28 2022 BRIGHTON Brighton Dome
Fri September 30 2022 LONDON Eventim Apollo
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