Album of Last Friday

Seasons End, by Marillion (1989): By the time I became a Marillion fan in college, the question of whether the band could make it without original front man Fish had been answered. But that outcome was anything but certain when this album, the first (of 11 and counting) of the Steve Hogarth era, came out. The band needed a home run and they nearly got it. Although the lead off single, "Hooks In You," struck some as too straight on, the disc produced a host of future classics - "Easter," "Berlin," "The Space." A pretty awesome beginning to Marillion 2.0.

A note of irony. The title track, which is about climate change, speculates "that it might never snow again in England." Of course, earlier this year, London was shut down by an unexpected blizzard. It so happened that the storm hit on the day that Marillion's latest, Happiness is the Road, was released in stores. The stores which, due to snow, nobody could get to. These guys just can't buy a break!