It’s hard to believe that Misplaced Childhood was released 23 years ago – two thirds of my life have passed with this in my music collection! – but it’s true. I love it as an album, although it signalled a change in the perception of the band as it shot them towards the top end of the singles chart with the ballads “Kayleigh” and “Lavender”. Marillion went from being a bunch of Genesis wannabes to a bunch of Kajagoogoo wannabes (I know, I’m exaggerating) overnight, and they were mocked equally for both of them!

In truth, after the first 12 minutes or so of the Misplaced Childhood album there was more to back up the first accusation than the second – but having those two singles right at the front end (after the introductory track “Pseudo Silk Kimono”) creates the impression of a very commercial record. The album then slips into this track and then the third single “Heart Of Lothian” closes out side one (the purists amongst us think of this album as having only two tracks, side one and side two, as they are effectively continuous pieces of music)

It’s amazing listening to this album just how a lot of it’s darker moments have the same vibe as it’s predecessor Fugazi. Take out the two big singles and those albums would sound fairly consistent, but as a whole they could hardly feel more different. Fugazi was definitely a grower for me – my first exposure was through Childhood and then Clutching At Straws before I worked back to Fugazi and Script For A Jester’s Tear, and I’ll admit to hating Fugazi on first listen – but it quickly became my all-time favourite Marillion album.

Misplaced Childhood is definitely a more complex album than it first appears though, and is well worth the ridiculously low price it’s available for nowadays. Go on, click the button.

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