Description

This edition of Happiness is the Road The Hard Shoulder is released as a double LP pressed on to 180g heavyweight audiophile vinyl and presented in a gatefold packaging.

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 Hogarths masterfully emotive vocals, building up to the riff-heavy and more accessible The Hard Shoulder.