Marillion, One of my favorites, with Fish preferrably, but I do love "Brave", "Afraid of Sunlight", and selective tracks from This Strange Engine, notably "Estonia", Season's End, notably "Hollaway Girl", the follow up to Season's End was awful, and identity-less,I don't remember the name. But the Best Marillion disc is hands down "Clutching at Straws", then Misplaced Childhood, but It's incredibly hard to put aside Script for a Jester's Tear, and Fugazi. The thing is that Fish back then was a damned good writer, very character driven clever brooding images, " Hotel Hobbies, passing dawns hollow corridors , Bell boys checking out the hookers in the bar. Slug like fingers trace the star spangled cloud of cocain in the mirror the short straw took it's bow...." or something like that. Anyway I don't believe he became as big in the states after going solo, and although, I'm curious at times I stopped buying his work years ago because I always felt he lost the writing edge he used to create with "the" band. Actually It's the great band that is missing too.Regardless their history(Marillion) was interesting Anyway got me going there Mick and Dale, I suppose you are both into Gabriel Genesis for instance "Trespass", which spawned my all time favorite "stagnation". Oh and by the wayside Marillion's/Fish's Illustrator Mark Wilkinson was a major influence artistically early on, as well as Drew Strewzan, Stan Watts. I wanted to work with a band thematically and reocurring, like Roger Dean, or Storm Thorgeson and Hypgnosis. You can tell when Fredrickson loves his work, or when he hates it,by looking at his art, possibly being art directed to death? It's evident. Other times it's flawless.

JW