This edition of ‘Happiness is the Road – Essence’ is released as a double LP pressed on to 180g heavyweight audiophile vinyl and presented in a gatefold packaging. Marillion are currently enjoying the successes of their 2016 album ‘Fuck Everyone And Run’ and are continuing to tour worldwide in 2017.

Marillion formed in 1979 and have sold over 15 million albums worldwide. Rightly regarded as legends of progressive rock, the band have also continued to evolve and have been keen to embrace the possibilities of the internet, using innovative ways to interact with listeners resulting in an incredibly loyal legion of fans around the world; this album was originally financed by fans’ pre-orders.

The first recorded songs for ‘Happiness is the Road’ are the classic-Marillion harder rock sound, which are contained on the second volume – ‘The Hard Shoulder’; but the first volume, ‘Essence’, features Marillion at their innovative prowess with a tortured, melancholic concept album written during the recording for ‘The Hard Shoulder’. The result was an experimental album of two halves: an atmosphere-heavy ‘Essence’ focusses a spotlight on some impressive synth production and Steve Hogarth’s masterfully emotive vocals, building up to the riff-heavy and more accessible ‘The Hard Shoulder’.