Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Marillion
Label: EMI Records
Release: 1991
Length: 13:41
Rating: 4.5/5
In the early nineties, with the excellent album “Holidays in Eden” (1991), British art rock giants Marillion made a fairly radical change of musical style, getting closer than ever in their career to what we usually call pop rock. Much of the credit for this turnaround goes to the still relatively fresh ‘new member’, charismatic singer Steve Hogarth, who from here on proved himself not just a great vocalist but also a versatile musician with an exceptional knack for songwriting and a solid extra keyboardist on electric piano. That wasn’t all that surprising, since he started his professional music career as a keyboardist in The Europeans. At the same time, with his new wave/pop rock pedigree, he was key to the big sonic changes and the birth of what was practically a brand-new band.
The phenomenal pop rocker “Cover My Eyes (Pain and Heaven)”, probably the most commercial creation in the band’s entire history, with certain rhythmic-ambient echoes of some eighties U2 material and above all of the Pink Floyd classic “Take It Back” (even though that one only came out three years later), was picked as the first “Holidays in Eden” single. Mr. H originally wrote “Cover My Eyes” under the name “Simon’s Car” for his previous band, How We Live. The real treat of this classic is its extremely sensual, ultra-melodic chorus with excellent extra vocal harmonies, plus a mystical, galloping rhythm paired with subtle guitar riffing. Lyrically, it deals with all sorts of fantasies about beautiful femmes fatales from popular culture, which you can also tell from the promo video, where there was no shortage of long female legs. Today it seems downright unbelievable, almost criminal, that this great song never reached much bigger popularity and didn’t bring the band the worldwide success it deserved. It was most likely down to the rise of grunge in the early nineties and the decline of melodic rock/AOR, which means the story would have been completely different had it been recorded just a couple of years earlier.
The 12-inch vinyl and CD versions of the “Cover My Eyes” single also include “How Can It Hurt”, a solid, punchy hard rocker with snarling riffs and a dramatic edge, and “The Party”, which can also be found on the regular “Holidays in Eden” tracklist. “The Party” is H’s lyrical memory of teenage parties from his childhood. This too is a thoroughly solid piece that, after a calm intro, tips over into a more energetic ambient direction, where a mighty vocal performance is accompanied by melodic passages on keyboards and guitar. An excellent contrast in the second half comes from a sprawling guitar solo and the dramatic transitions of Mosley’s drums, which further lift the overall atmosphere.
“Cover My Eyes”, the ultimate pop rock revelation of the most sensual fantasies, is one of those radio hits that never actually became hits, even though they deserved to. It’s one of those Marillion classics that, after the break with neo prog rock in H’s era, helped redefine their sound and more or less foreshadowed their further artistic direction, which is why the band members are still well aware of its value today.
Lineup
Steve Hogarth – vocals
Steve Rothery – guitar
Mark Kelly – keyboards
Pete Trewavas – bass guitar
Ian Mosley – drums
Production
Chris Neil
Tracklist
1. Cover My Eyes
2. How Can it Hurt
3. The Party
