Marillion...Clutching At Straws turns 30

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Eric Weinraub, Oct 4, 2017.

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  1. Eric Weinraub

    Eric Weinraub Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Oregon
    Incredibly, I realized today that Clutching at Straws was released 30 years ago. I was (am) a huge fan of FISH era of this band. Misplaced Childhood was my prog anthem of the 80s. Something about CAS never grabbed me. So today, for maybe the 3rd time EVER, I listened to it end-to-end. And, my opinion is unchanged. I didn't agree with the rave reviews then and still don't. Have you listened to this recently? It is Mark Wilkinson's fav Marillion album. Is it yours? Mine will always be Misplaced Childhood.
     
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  2. Phillip Walch

    Phillip Walch Forum Resident

    Clutching at Straws is among my favourite albums.
     
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  3. gary191265

    gary191265 Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    WAY better than Misplaced Childhood...The Last Straw alone ensures that. The only song I don't like on the album is Incommunicado which always felt like a 3rd rate Who single and an obvious attempt at another hit.
     
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  4. Harry Hood

    Harry Hood Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    Big fan here. Got all the albums, seen them a few times across the years, first in '86, used to buy all the 12" singles as well. I said all the best freaks are here, please stop staring at me!

    Anyway, I'd rank the Fish era studio albums same as the order they were released, with Script being easily the best.

    Misplaced Childhood, for me, can go in that thread about albums where you only ever play one side. Sure the poppy hit singles were nice, dilly dilly, but side 2? Can't remember a damn thing about it, and ain't gonna bother jumping back in either.

    But it's still better than Clutching At Straws, which has Sugar Mice, the nasty bit at the end of Slainthe Mhath, and maybe Incommunicado (although a cynic might say that's just a speeded up Market Square Heroes), but that's about it really.
     
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  5. Shak Cohen

    Shak Cohen Forum Resident

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    Masterpiece.
     
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  6. Zongadude

    Zongadude Music is the best

    Location:
    France
    I started to listen to Marillion with Fugazi.
    They were my very first concert I've ever attented to. It was the Misplaced Childhood tour, I was 15.
    When Clutching came out, I was a bit disapointed. This is the Fish-era album I like the least.
     
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  7. scribbs

    scribbs Resident Mockery

    Location:
    Surf City USA
    C@S is my favorite Marillion album.
     
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  8. Thievius

    Thievius Blue Oyster Cult-ist

    Location:
    Syracuse, NY
    Can't believe its been 30 years, holy crap.

    I don't currently own CaS, but I did for many years and will again, but I'm very familiar with the material. I still prefer Misplaced Childhood, but not by a lot. Its a great album and it reminds me of much better times.
     
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  9. Thoughtships

    Thoughtships Forum Resident

    Location:
    Devon, UK
    CAS is my favourite Marillion album.
     
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  10. Sammy Waslow

    Sammy Waslow Just watching the show

    Location:
    Ireland
    I love Clutching At Straws. It's my second favourite Marillion album after Misplaced Childhood.
     
  11. Merrick

    Merrick The return of the Thin White Duke

    Location:
    Portland
    Clutching at Straws could easily be a desert island disc for me. I listen to it all the time, have for years, and it always feels fresh. The songwriting is top notch, both musically and lyrically. For me it’s undoubtedly Marillion’s high point and I wish Fish had been able to stay on after it. If you told me I could only listen to one Marillion album again for the rest of my life, I would pick Clutching at Straws without a second thought and would be happy.
     
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  12. PTgraphics

    PTgraphics Senior Member

    Great album. I listen to it more than Misplaced Childhood.
     
    ytserush likes this.
  13. Instant Dharma

    Instant Dharma Dude/man

    Location:
    CoCoCo, Ca
    Clutching is ma jam, bruh.
     
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  14. Instant Dharma

    Instant Dharma Dude/man

    Location:
    CoCoCo, Ca
    Tux On should have made the album. In the cd age it would have.
     
  15. HiredGoon

    HiredGoon Forum Resident

    I remember reading a review for this album when it was released. Some British magazine (Melody Maker? Can't recall now) and feeling utterly deflated when it got zero stars. Zero. Nada. Something about "endless false crescendos".

    Probably my least favourite of the Fish era albums (I particularly like the opening suite and Going Under) but zero stars? Pffft.

    --Geoff
     
  16. Rodney Toady

    Rodney Toady Waste of cyberspace

    Location:
    Finland
    It took me quite a while to warm up to Marillion - until Clutching at Straws, in fact. As luck would have it, then they went and changed lead singers and became an almost entirely different entity altogether (albeit gradually rather than instantly), so it's bound to be associated with rather mixed feelings on my part. I like it, though. Of the Fish-era albums I would say it's second only to Script for a Jester's Tear in my ranking.

    The band went on to different great things with Steve Hogarth, so I don't particularly hanker for the Marillion of old. It may be just hindsight, but there's something in Clutching at Straws that tells me that this line-up had run its course. Maybe it's for the best that things went as they did.
     
  17. JamesLord

    JamesLord Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Add me to those who rate Clutching as Marillion's high water mark. Looking forward to seeing Fish do the album in its entirety in December.
     
  18. PJayBe

    PJayBe Forum Resident

    After being blown away by MC, it took me a while to get into Clutching... but when I did it has become a firm fave of mine. An album that lyrically shows Fish at his best responding to both his personal situation and the world around him. Classic stuff.
     
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  19. Barnabas Collins

    Barnabas Collins Senior Member

    Location:
    NH
    Marillion have put out a number of great records over the last 30+ years, but CAS is still my desert island Marillion disc.
     
  20. Kiss73

    Kiss73 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    Brilliant album! I thought it was a perfect follow up to Misplaced Childhood. Agree slightly with comments regarding Incommunicado, however this was the era of Here I Go Again, Can I Play With Madness etc and those types of songs attracted radio play. I was fortunate to see thier last gig in St.Andrews on a perfect summers night following a day of heavy rain.

    Was hoping we would see a deluxe reissue similar to the recent Misplaced Childhood hardback edition, but no sign of it....seems Brave is next
     
  21. Wild Frank

    Wild Frank Forum Resident

    Location:
    Shrewsbury, UK
    Probably my favourite Marillion album, along with Afraid of Sunlight and Marbles. I really love some of the tracks that were released on the two-disc set in 1999. Songs like Beaujolais Day and Sunset Hill were great and, along with Fish’s first solo record, give a fascinated glimpse into where Marillion were heading prior to the split.
     
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  22. sennj

    sennj I'm slower than I look...

    Location:
    Muskegon, Michigan
    Love Clutching... Top tier Marillion in my book.

    What a wonderful catalog of music these guys have put together over the years--I can't think of many bands working today that can match them.
     
    ytserush likes this.
  23. Probably my most played album back in the 1980's.
     
  24. KDubATX

    KDubATX A Darby Man Never Says When

    Location:
    Austin
    #1 Marillion record. Love it.
     
    Nick Dunning likes this.
  25. scribbs

    scribbs Resident Mockery

    Location:
    Surf City USA
    A million times better than Incommunicaca.
     
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