Had the original CD for years and never tire of it. The songwriting is brilliant, dark, and lonely. Musicanship is a 10+. For me, this is the very best of the Fishy-era, the VERY best. Talk about leaving on a high note! Many of the songs "devoted" to Fish's long-standing obsession with the cocktails! He is poetic and his words read like a book, extremely thought provoking and well done. I can almost see the comparisons with the early 70s Genesis, but these guys are WAY better. Someone I played this cd for once commented "He's putting too many words in". I told them "You don't get it!". I'm writing this review because I just ordered the 2-cd version from the UK Racket Records company (sorry Amazom, but I need the FULL re-master with the 2 cds). This disc drops some of the more "pop" stylings of the "Childhood" record and gets right to the point. I notice anyone who reviewed this disc gave 5 stars. This is a stunning record, and, if you like QUAILTY music, this is for you!

A friend who was in the army at the time (81-82 I think it was) came back from England raving about this band he'd seen at Reading over there and had the Grendel EP. It was almost a year before I saw the "Jester's Tear" album and I have been listening to Marillion and Fish ever since!!

With all due respect to "Misplaced Childhood", this is my favorite Marillion album (when pressed I'll actually admit that Childhood is my LEAST favorite Fish era album)! I don't think there's a bad song on it and consider "Slainte Mhath", "White Russian" and "The Last Straw" to be among the best songs Marillion has PERIOD. Too bad it was their last recording together; they did seem to be evolving into an even better group. (Was darn glad to see the Loreley DVD finally get released!!)

I've had the original release of this CD since it came out in 1988 but recently bought an enhanced version, can't tell if it's this one or not. It says enhanced and import but I don't see any mention of what's on the 2nd disc of the one I bought.

On mine the 2nd disc is the never before released demos of what would have been their next album...basically Fish singing the words to "Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors" over the music that became "Season's End"!!! FASCINATING examination of what could have been. The best is the words that became "Family business" over the music of what eventually became (I think) "Easter"!!

If you are a fan of Fish and/or Marillion and you don't have this, your collection is incomplete...get it NOW! If you have the original release but want to hear the (I'll say again) fascinating "what could have been", then shell out the extra $$ and get this. If you are as big a fan as I am, you won't be sorry.

CLUTCHING AT STRAWS, Marillion's last CD with Fish on lead vocals, is an album whose songs have multiple meanings. The obvious theme of the album is that alcohol, or any vice, simply numbs you but doesn't get rid of what's going on around you, and that sooner or later, you have to face the reality of what's happened to you or is happening. It is this interpretation that led to my decision to choose cranberry juice over wine for certain Jewish prayers at holiday times, and to put pictures of pretty actresses in my wallet to help me ward off the urge to overindulge in even the most harmless vices.

But this album has another meaning as well. Being that Fish left the band right after the tour to support it, it could be seen, as ALLMUSIC GUIDE said, as Fish saying that the band is, in his mind, not only over, but is, as far as he's concerned, null and void. This meaning, for me, is how I feel regarding my old school, as I have pictures of numerous actresses on my wall as a deterrent to going to food-related reunions there. In other words, this is also a CD about letting go of the past.

Thus, it can be fairly said that CLUTCHING AT STRAWS is actually saying a lot of things, and not just one thing. This CD will give you a reason to believe that looking good for your significant other and/or your favorite celebrity sometimes means letting go of the past, even if it sometimes feels safer to hold on.

Marillion's last CD with FISH on vocals falls just short of the level they attained with Misplaced Childhood, but not by much. In true prog-rock fashion, the first few tracks slip seamlessly into one another. Incommunicado is the liveliest track, on par with Market Square Heroes and for a long time was met with as much exuberance in the live shows as that original Marillion anthem. The content of most of the songs deals with the introspective view of Fish (or his alter ego), drinking too much (Torch Song), dealing with fame (Incommunicado) and waxing melancholic over lost loves (Sugar Mice) and watching others lose love and get confused by it (At That Time of the Night and Warm Wet Circles). The band give a political warning shot over their view of rising anti-semitism with White Russian. As always, the CD is a powerful musical journey though perhaps too solemn or depressing for some.

SIN LUGAR A DUDAS, LAS EXPECTATIVAS DESPUES DEL GRAN EXITO DE "MISPLACED CHILDHOOD", ERAN SIN DUDA LA CONSAGRACION DE "MARILLION" COMO LA MEJOR BANDA SURGIDA EN LOS 80'S, Y LA ESPERA VALIO LA PENA, REGRESANDO CON SU MEJOR TRABAJO HASTA ESE MOMENTO, Y EL TIEMPO NOS DARIA LA RAZON DEMOSTRANDO QUE SERIA SU MEJOR OBRA DE TODOS LOS TIEMPOS, UN TRABAJO CONCEPTUAL QUE COMIENZA CON "HOTEL HOBBIES", PASANDO POR "WARM WET CIRCLES" Y "THAT TIME OF THE NIGHT", NO SOLO LLEVANDO UNA CONTINUIDAD EN LA HISTORIA QUE EL GRAN MAESTRO DEREK WILLIAM DICK (MEJOR CONOCIDO COMO "FISH" )NOS RELATA A TRAVES DE SUS VIAJES E INCURSIONES EN LA OBRA DE ALGUNOS AUTORES COMO KERUAC, SINO A TRAVES DE LOS SONIDOS CASI MAGICOS DE CADA UNO DE LOS INSTRUMENTOS DE ESTOS CUATRO VIRTUOSOS, QUE NOTA A NOTA, JUNTO CON CHRIS KIMSEY EN LA PRODUCCION, PARECEN HABER PULIDO ESTA OBRA MAESTRA PARA PERMANECER INTACTA EN SUS ARREGLOS AL PASO DE LOS AÑOS, NO DEJA DE ASOMBRARNOS; HASTA LLEGAR A "SUGAR MICE" Y "HAPPY ENDING" CON UNA RIQUEZA MUSICAL QUE HASTA EL DIA DE HOY NO ME CANSO DE ESCUCHAR DESDE PRINCIPIO A FIN,DESDE ESE SEPTIEMBRE DE 1987 HASTA LA FECHA MI ALBUM FAVORITO DE TODOS LOS TIEMPOS,... Y HACE 25 AÑOS QUE VIVO ENGANCHADO EN ESTE FABULOSO MUNDO DE LA MUSICA Y ESTE GENERO LLAMADO ROCK EN TODAS SUS FACETAS. ¡GRACIAS MARILLION Y GRAN DESPEDIDA A FISH!