What's The Story?
Marillion are an 80's British rock band. That should conjure a pretty good idea of what to expect from one of their tracks from that description alone. This tune is the closing song from their concept album Clutching At Straws.
Who's To Blame?
Dick Raleigh. Pseudonyms are objective descriptions, right?
Why ♥ It?
Context important, so I repeat that this track is the final track on a concept album. Armed with that knowledge, I'm going to throw out that this song makes for a perfect finale. The intro riff and vocals seem like the topic sentence of a conclusion in an academic paper; energetically rehashing what's been said already. It's a great hook into the rest of the song, which drags pensively for a few bars after before picking up speed again.
The song really gets good from the guitar solo (3:27) out; the energy and pensive sections have finished, and the song kicks into the final movement that I'd compare to the last few minutes of Dream Theater's Finally Free. However, instead of a drum solo, there's a standout vocal performance, and instead of the same guitar riff over and over, it's the same intense piano chordage. From 5:05 until the end in particular is goosebumpworthy thanks to the female vocal, and an ideal end to the album.
What I do like and can't really quantify, however, is that this song is my favorite on the album, and I frequently find myself listening to it separate of the whole shebang. Along with the highlights itemized above, that makes this track worthy on its own merits.
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