AMG Review of Essential Collection

Eduardo Rivadavia
All Music Guide

Essential Collection is a rather misleading title for what amounts to a haphazard assemblage of material from neo-prog legends Marillion. Drawing exclusively from their early work with colorful vocalist Fish, this set combines bona fide hits like "Kayleigh," "Lavender" and "Punch & Judy" with less well-known (but mostly still top-notch) fare such as "Jigsaw," "Lady Nina," and the notoriously overblown epic "Grendel." A collection of quality music, to be sure, but hardly deserving of such an imposing title.