Clutching at Straws

Clutching at Straws is the fourth studio album of the progressive rock band Marillion. It was released in 1987 and was the last album before Fish left the band. A 2-CD remastered version with additional B-sides and demoes was released in 1999.

The melancholic lyrical pattern of "Torch", a writer seeking comfort in booze and drugs to fix his writer's block, is a strong hint at why the band broke up shortly after the album (see the external link below). Although commercially not quite as successful as its predecessor Misplaced Childhood, in retrospect, it is considered the best work of Marillion's Fish era by many, including Fish himself, as he has stated in several interviews.

The remaster has a slightly improved sound quality. However, most interesting is the newly added second CD with demo tapes from the writing sessions for the then-planned fifth album, right before before Fish left. Much of the musical material was then used on Seasons End[?] with the new singer Steve Hogarth[?], while the lyrics ended up in some form on Fish's solo albums.

Track List

1. Hotel Hobbies (3:35)
2. Warm Wet Circles (4:25)
3. That Time Of The Night (The Short Straw) 6:00
4. Going Under 2:47 (not on the original vinyl LP)
5. Just For The Record 3:09
6. White Russian 6:27
7. Incommunicado 5:16
8. Torch Song 4:05
9. Slainte Mhath 4:44
10. Sugar Mice 5:46
11. The Last Straw 5:58

The 1999 remaster has the following additional tracks on the second CD:

1. Incommunicado (Alternative Version) 5:57
2. Tux On 5:13
3. Going Under (Extended Version) 2:48
4. Beaujolais Day 4:51
5. Story From A Thin Wall 6:47
6. Shadows On The Barly 2:07
7. Sunset Hill 4:21
8. Tic-Tac-Toe 2:59
9. Voice In The Crowd 3:29
10. Exile On Pricess Street 5:29
11. White Russians (Demo) 6:15
12. Sugar Mice In The Rain (Demo) 5:54

External links

Liner notes for the remaster by some of the band members (on the marillion.com (http://www.marillion.com) band page):

• Fish (http://www.marillion.com/band/fish/cas), giving a verbose and interesting insight about the breakup
• Mark Kelly (http://www.marillion.com/band/kelly/cas)
• Ian Mosley (http://www.marillion.com/band/mosley/cas)