Less Is More [Import]

 

 

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Certainly one of the highlight of the year !

Marillion decided that after having released one of their best recordings last year (Happiness is The Road), and after the live performances, they needed a small break, and a well deserved rest. They relaxed a little bit, then grabbed some instruments, including xylophone, a home-made organ, acoustic guitars, acoustic bass, and on they went in their studio, re-visiting some of the old - and recent - material.

What do you get for that ?

An acoustic CD, right ? With superb production, rich sound, amazing vocals, tight bass, all you want is there, very well recorded.

But an acoustic CD by Marillion ! And it's brilliant. For 30 years they've done music like no other with an amazing talent, and they now make an acoustic album, sounding exactly like it should for a Marillion album. Amazing.

You owe yourself to carefully listen this to CD. And get back to it if you're not convinced at first listen, this music needs time to take it's hold on you. Then you can just enjoy one of the best band of this last 30 years.

Marillion - in their fantastic, unpredictable style - have resisted the temptation to trot out a typical acoustic album featuring popular hits with latest offering Less is More. Instead of streamlining and simplifying a dozen of the fan favourites, you can tell the band had fun in the studio revisiting tracks from their extensive catalogue. Obviously experimenting with new instruments and arrangements that go from sparse voice & guitar into unexpectedly deep, layered sounds within and between the tracks. The list of odd instruments they used goes on and on, but I think reading about the purchase of a church organ from ebay at the project outset says a lot about the breadth this project took on.

Album starter Go! is a perfect example, as it slowly builds, adding one instrument at a time before the iconic climax of the "wide awake at the edge of the world" section before - pardon the pun - completely dropping off. You'll wish for a couple more spins around that incredibly life-affirming moment. Then we are treated to rearrangements of some tracks that have traditionally split their fanbase - Quartz, Interior Lulu and If My Heart Were a Ball It Would Roll UpHill are all treated to some really creative instrumentation and rhythm play that could very well rival (or better!) the originals and make new fans of these songs in these versions.

The band were evidentally nervous about reworking an emotional favourite - Out of this World - that inspired the raising of Donald Campbell's famed and tragic Bluebird from the bottom of Coniston Water. But the result is sublime, emotionally longing and the reaction from fans has been overwhelmingly positive and appreciative. Beautiful, even if you don't know the story behind it. We're also treated to beautiful new versions of Wrapped Up in Time, Memory of Water and This is the 21st Century - all executed beautifully. The Space gets the treatment that was originally done live for "Unplugged at the Walls", with a bit of a twist on the ending. Excellent to have a studio-quality version of this. But Hard as Love is probably the greatest contender for a complete new twist of a track - based on the all-out assault of a track from legendary album Brave. This time, it's a plaintive, reflective and has a bit of a retro vibe and it's extraordinary. Easily could have been a single, if such things mattered much these days. There's a bonus new track - voice and piano - a lullabye of sorts for adults - in It's Not Your Fault that just about everyone will identify with. And a hidden track I won't spoil. But I will say it's darn good fun listening.

This, it should be noted, is not your typical acoustic album. The sounds and rhythms are much more playful and it's no Greatest Hits collection of pop songs either. The band took a much more creative and risky approach with Less is More and the result is quintessentially Marillion - quirky and difficult to define - somewhere along the rock-pop-folk-lounge spectrum and as hard to pin down as these 5 guys have been. Marillion are great at setting up expectations and breaking them for dramatic effect and interest. (You may catch the occasional hit of electric guitar where they wanted it, for example). Won't be every hardcore fan's cup of tea, but almost certain to win some new ones! Might very well be an interesting place to start if you're new to Marillion. And if you are, you really need to check them out.

I'll be honest here: I haven't been into Marillion much, post-Marbles. 2004's Marbles is my favourite Marillion album, and I wasn't into the two followups. I found Somewhere Else to be a rushed and somewhat uninspired, and the sprawling Happiness Is The Road inpenetrable (so far). Therefore I'm not as familiar with Marillion's recent live output as I am with the pre-Marbles stuff, so be forewarned.

I was, however, extemely enamoured with Marillion's previous acoustic CDs, the double Live At The Walls, and the fanclub exclusive Christmas acoustic album. (I know there are more unplugged style releases that they've done, like for example the download-only Los Trios Marillos, but that's not important right now.) Marillion are a band that truly shine in an acoustic setting, but I wasn't all that excited about Less Is More because I already had a bunch of acoustic Marillion. I didn't think I needed another one, but I bought it anyway.

I was wrong. Less Is More (a studio recording instead of a live one) is just as great as Live At The Walls, with many songs given a fresh arrangement. Some, such as "The Space...", are the same acoustic versions that the band has been playing for a decade now, but others are fresh and inspired. Truly, this album sounds like a labour of love to me. The band's lust for experimentation has come out beautifully in an acoustic setting, with a song like "Interior Lulu" actually quite better than its original 1999 counterpart. The songs are subtle, with slight percussion additions, but not a lot of bells & whistles. One of the best songs is the one new one, "It's Not Your Fault", which outshines some of the classics. I found the acoustic version of "Hard As Love" to be even more enjoyable than the original rocking version, and quite a surprise too, because I didn't think it would lend itself well to an acoustic arrangement. Other highlights for me included "Memory Of Water" and "This Is The 21st Century".

The two bonus tracks on this CD, "Runaway" and a cover of "Fake Plastic Trees", have been released before on Live At The Walls. ("Fake Plastic Trees" was also a bonus track on the CD single for 1998's "These Chains".) I have always been fond of "Fake Plastic Trees" and I prefer Marillion's version to Radiohead's. (I'm not a big Thom Yorke fan, but Hogarth really sings his heart out on this one.)

This album is so good, it really revamped by interest in Marillion. I'm glad I bought it! For non-fans, this is a great accessible introduction to a band that by all rights should have been huge. The quality of their songs, as displayed on Less Is More, is simply world-class.

5 stars.

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