Customer Reviews

Misplaced Childhood

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I remember buying this when it was first released in 1985 and rushing home to listen to it. It is one of few albums where upon the very first listen everything sounded fantastic, the whole album from start to finish was so well put together and I must have listened to it 20 times over the next few months.

What stands out to me are the very passionate and emotional lyrics and singing from Marillion's lead singer Fish. From the opening "Pseudo" through to the closing "White Feather" he never misses a note. As a couple of points of reference I feel his vocal style is similar in delivery to Peter Gabriel and Elbow's Guy Garvey in places (Fish's emotion and control on the high notes is the big difference for me). The story feels like a very personal one and is conveyed with such power that I could only feel "wow, this is someone putting it all on the line and sharing their deepest emotions with the listener". I feel that nothing beats a band or artist who is truly writing, singing and playing from the heart, and believe in what they are doing - rather than for someone else or some other agenda. I often think of this album as a shining example of that. I believe that this is what makes this album (and indeed the Bands next - "Clutching at Straws" - 1987) a true classic.

The band sound incredibly tight and everyone gives a great performance - Fish, Steve Rothery - Guitar, Mark Kelly - Keyboards, Ian Mosley - Drums and Pete Trewavas - Bass (who would also join up with Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Neal Morse (Spock's Beard) and Roine Stolt (Flower Kings) to form a superb "sideline" band called "Transatlantic" in 2001). There are so many highpoints on this album (eg "Kayleigh", "Lavender" (the transition between these two songs is stunningly beautiful), and "Heart of Lothian". The best thing though is the whole albums flow (eg "Blind Curve" / "Childhoods End / "White Feather"), this "closing section" of the album at a combined 16 minutes in length is as emotional as anything I have heard.

In summary a real classic, a beautifully written, sung and played story from beginning to end that has power, passion, emotion and sublime playing in abundance. With Fish's lyrics / emotion / honesty / from the heart approach (and it appears leadership and direction) combined with the bands incredible sense of musical accompaniment Marillion have produced a classic that to this day has new listeners saying... "Wow, who is that, it's brilliant!" That is the ultimate compliment for any music. 20 plus years old now and it still sounds great and sends shivers of emotion up my spine - stunning stuff!

I really enjoy this album, every time I play it, it brings back great memories of a tremendous band and their lead singer giving their all, it's superb.

If you like Genesis, Rush, Dream Theater, Yes or King Crimson, then this album is a must listen. Often overlooked or misunderstood, Marillion was THE prog-rock band of the 80s and 90s. This concept album is an emotional journey with great highs and melancholy lows. Put on the headphones, turn down the lights, have a glass of wine and let this album take you on a 40 minute emotional journey. The lyrics are gut-wrenching and the music is top of the line.

I remember when this album was released. I was just finishing high school. I remember hearing "Kayleigh" and thinking "Huh, theres something here". I bought the cassette and was a Marillion(and FISH fan) from that point on.
It wasn't until CD's came out that this was the first CD that I bought. I bought myself a personal player slapped it in and was overwhelmed by the journey. This is a definite headphones album. The story-cycle follows a pattern and the vocals(by THE MAN Fish) and the music that accompanies this is awe-inspiring.
I turned more people on to this album in college than I can probably remember. It's just that good. For me it reminds me of "me younger days" whenever I listen to it. I guess this is because it was in such heavy rotation for years after I first heard it.
I recommend the remastered double disc, because of the sound quality and the story about how this concept by Fish and Marillion came about. Fascinating and funny story.
All in all, this album would please anyone who sat down, put on the headphones, and just let the journey begin.

Very good CD. Fish is a born suicidal romantic. Excellent musicians, deep lyrics and moody subjects propel this above most Euro-motional 80's era sagas. Recommended.

First of all, I must admit that I am a fairly new fan of this incredible band. I have to thank Dream Theater for that since I have on multiple occasions heard their name dropped by Petrucci and Portnoy. Oddly enough, I have vague memories of seeing the video for "Kayleigh" on MTV in the mid 80's (strangely on Headbangers Ball). My first purchase was Seasons End based on the performance of "Easter" on the Dream Theater DVD "5 Years In A Livetime". It was then that I remembered the song Kayleigh, a song I'd only heard once as a teen some 20 years ago. How's that for the power of a melody?
I was delighted to discover, upon buying Misplaced Childhood, that Kayleigh is merely a taste of the grander scale of this release. Fish, while very Peter Gabriel-ish in terms of range, is a very subtle yet compelling vocalist. With every breath, you can feel the emotions in each syllable, note, and phrase. I can't simply pick out favorites on this because it flows so well as a whole work of art. From the opening notes of "Pseudo Silk Kimono" to the angst of "White Feather", each track gels into place. Having listened to this album, I am convinced that they are worth every single bit of praise issued by their peers and the multitudes who site them as an influence. If you have heard of Marillion, yet have not had the pleasure of giving them a listen, I would highly recommend Misplaced Childhood as a starting point. I am looking forward to purchasing more releases from their catalog. I hear great things about "Clutching At Straws" and "Script For A Jester's Tear"

"Misplaced Childhood" is Marillion's third album, originally released in 1985. It's a concept album, and every track is special, I think.

Marillion are a neo-prog rock band, one of the 1980s groups who were really inspired by the sounds of classic progressive rock. Their sound is probably closest to "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" era Genesis, I think. "Lord of the Backstage" on Misplaced Childhood sounds a little like a cheerier "Lost in NYC", for instance. The production though, is understandably more 1980s though. Marillion's lead singer, Fish, sounds a lot like Peter Gabriel in his angrier, charged moments, actually. It's not like the similarity comes out of impersonation, well I don't think so. Fish is definitely singing from the heart, and the tone of his voice seems to come pretty natural to him. He's Scottish, and during the spoken word parts of the album (like the start of "Bitter Suite") you can hear his accent. When he starts singing again though his accent quickly disappears. The contrast is a little weird, but it doesn't really matter.

The album is one continuous piece of music. That's not to say it's on long song. It's more like the tracks change in time with the rhythm, if that makes sense, so as one song ends, you are thrown into the next one on the next beat. While a couple of tracks ("Psuedo Silk Kimono","Blind Curve",etc) work best in the context of the album, most of the tracks make good stand alone tunes. "Kayleigh" was actually a hit single in England, in fact, while the name Kayleigh went on to be really popular in Britain thanks to this song. I looked on Marillion's myspace site, and there are lots of girls named Kayleigh wanting to be their friend. Kind of funny.

There's a couple of themes running through this concept album. There's the breakup of Fish's longtime girlfriend and his desire to write a song for her, there's the haunting presence of a child-like figure, and the intense experience of life on the road and in the public eye. In "Childhood's End", one of my favorite tracks, Fish (or the character he portrays) realizes that all the joys of childhood are still there in his heart, and no breakup or touring is going to steal it from him if he doesn't want it to. He says to himself, regarding his ex, "she's got to carry on with her life/and you've got to carry on with yours", then with the final song "White Feather" encourages the listener, more or less, to be true to themselves. I'm not sure if this was how the concept was meant to be, but that's what I get out of it.

The booklet of the remaster's fairly good. It contains liner notes by Mark Wilkinson (who drew the cover of the album) describing the making of both the album and of the cover. There are also lyrics, and pictures of the sleeves of the singles, which go along with the themes of both the album and the cover artwork.

Overall, it's a great concept album, a great 1980s group, and a good addition to any prog rock collection. A lot of progressive rock fans, when suggesting Marillion albums to newcomers, often say "Script for a Jester's Tear", their first album. Though there's some great tunes on that album, I'd say this one would be a little better to start with. It was for me, for quite a few reasons. Every track is quality, the lyrics are particularly thoughtful, and it contains Marillion's biggest hit. Definitely worth a listen. Recommended.

One of the best productions from Marillion, back in their golden age.

As a fan of all kinds of music stretching from groups like Genesis and Yes to metal bands like Queensryche and Judas Priest to more soft rock like Journey and Madonna I find Misplaced Childhood to be one of the best and definitely one of the most melodic albums that came out in the eighties. Linking the record's beautiful painted cover with the music it creates a colourful journey through melodic guitar riffs and solo, a deep and saga-like keyboard sound and Fish's catchy and beautiful singing. With its mix of symphonic rock and progressive rhythms it inspired bands like Dream Theater and also became one of Mike Portnoy's (drummer of DT) favourite albums of all time. But while many of modern day's progressive groups have more of a edge and aggressiveness to their sound Misplaced Childhood, and Marillion as a whole during this era, was more melodic and clear sounded with a relaxing tone.

The first long track of the album, Kayleigh, has a very memorable, melodic and original guitar riff filled with Fish's melodic singing and a high and memorable chorus, followed by one of the most beautiful and melodic guitar solo in rock history; a five star song that almost holds up the entire album on its own. I would have given the record five stars if it had the same spectacular sound and melodies on the second part of the CD and if they managed to end the record in the same perfect way as they started it. But as I said, it' still a very good record and definitely worth a buy for anyone who likes melodic progressive rock or good and intelligent music in general.

Even non-progressive rock fans will enjoy this one, just on the melodic strength of the compositions. My only disappointment is that these songs are not longer. Take, for example, Kayleigh or Lavender, or pretty much any of the other mini-tunes on the disk... any of these could easily have been stretched out to 3-5 minutes and I would have thoroughly enjoyed every sweet melodic note. At the same time, though, I must admit that turning Misplaced Childhood into a string of chart-toppers would deny the album its creative genius. It is what it is, and it is an incredible composition. Fish's lavish lyrics are notorious for their heavy dose of poetic stylization - sometimes a study in metaphore, simile, double entendre, vocabulary. But here the lyrical backflips are toned down just enough to make the music shine, while still getting the message across poetically.

This recording brought back memories of distant daze at university - smoke filled rooms, large speakers and strange coloured lighting. despite the gap - some 15 years, I re-aquired this album again on cd. Often cited for being an imitation of Genesis (Gabriel era) Marillion exceed their loftier counterparts in several areas. Firstly the album is a moody one - by which I mean it has highs and lows. The orchestration is superb, and the lyrics spell-bindingly constructed and executed by the lead singer. The album is a non-stop rollercoaster ride from start to finish which will have you singing loudly after a few plays. Similar in concept to the lamb lies down on broadway, the album has an over-riding theme (childhood and its consequences). Listen out for great lyrics such as " ....black plastic body bags under nations flags...." and "....I see a war widow in a laundrette washing the memories from her husbands clothes... with cemetary eyes...." oooh! I loved the album and still do now, and play it on occassions when I want to get rid of excess energy. Have your tennis racket handy for those guitar solos.! A definite classic from an era when most music was synth based. Buy it! The band have since gone their separate ways - the lead singer (Fish) had a short solo career. On the album as well are some B side recordings and other vinteresting bits that didn't make it onto the album. The 'a' cd is the origional album re-mastered , the 'b' cd other stuff.