MARILLION

MARILLION
AFRAID OF SUNLIGHT (1995)
REMASTER
256 KBPS

I find it puzzling how Brave, the album preceeding this one, is often told to be Hogarth's Marillion's magnum opus. To me it's but a tired attempt at resurrecting Marillion's past fame in the progressive department after the commercial miss of the band's most commercial release, Seasons in Eden. Anticipation was high for me to listen to Brave but I've found nothing but disappointment with it.
So, to tell you the truth, expectations were quite low when Afraid of Sunlight was finally released and I was caught by surprise at how different and sastifying it turned out to be. Were Marillion still to be considered a progressive rock band with this one? I honestly doubt it. In my opinion, this was when the band really started finding itself as the modern pop act they now are.
On Afraid of Sunlight, with the exception of the soft and hollow Beautiful, there are no weak tracks though some songs really stand out. For example, Marillion's homage to the Beach Boys, Cannibal Surf Babe, is a delightful surprise. King, though slighly better in its live version, is another awesome track and the rest doesn't fall too close from grandeur. whatsmore, the addition of the bonus cd one the remastered version featured here adds enough salt to the final product so to make this one a must have for any music lover.

Disc 1
1. Gazpacho
2. Cannibal Surf Babe
3. Beautiful
4. Afraid Of Sunrise
5. Out Of This World
6. Afraid Of Sunlight
7. Beyond You
8. King

Disc 2
1. Icon
2. Live Forever
3. Second Chance
4. Beyond You (Demo)
5. Cannibal Surf Babe (Studio Outtake)
6. Out Of This World (Studio Outtake)
7. Bass Frenzy
8. Mirages
9. Afraid Of Sunlight (Acoustic Demo)