Disco de Marillion: “Brave”

When I finally "broke down" and gave Marillion an open berth to my ears and lobes, I didn't know where to start. I let a friend who had been into them for years guide me, and I wound up buying "Brave", "Season's End", and "Clutching at Straws" all at once. On first listens, I would say that "Brave" was my favorite of the three.

Now it's over 3 years hence, and all 3 CD's have grown on me immensely. However, when all is said and done, "Brave" is still my favorite. I don't quite get the debate over Fish vs. Steve Hogarth as to who is the better singer. I think it's all in the material they worked with. Both are strong. Now wash your hands.

So after CLUTCHING AT STRAWS, singer Fish left the band. In comes Steve Hogarth for 1989s SEASON'S END, a terrific balance of staying true to their art and moving forward. Next came HOLIDAYS IN EDEN, an obvious attempt by he band and the record company to go for popular appeal. HOLIDAYS has some terrific material, and I would that all pop had its level of musical integrity. So what did the band do next? A friggin concept album--and guess what? They scored a huge hit with the fans. BRAVE is what Marillion listeners were waiting for since MISPLACED CHILDHOOD. BRAVE is moody, depressing, tragic, touching and rocking. It may make you cry. It certainly will hold your attention if you let ot sink in and if you really listen. I bought the CD upon its release many years ago. I listened to it several times and some tracks caught my interest while others did not. That's fine. Many years later I began to give the album as a whole more attention. The full picture began to develop for me. Generally, BRAVE will show up as one of the top Marillion albums among fans, and it deserves to be.

After Marillion moved in a generally more commercial direction for their previous album "Holidays In Eden" the band did an about face and put out "Brave" which is one of the most uncommercial albums of their career. "Brave" is a concept album that tells the story of a runaway girl who attempts suicide by jumping off a bridge. The album tells her life story. The album was augumemted by a film that also fleshed out the tale. The music on this disc is for the most part dark and brooding. It tends to be an album that Marillion fans tend to either rank as one of their best ever or as one of their most pretentious. It is another one of those discs that had to grow on me over time. When it first came out I thought the concept was solid, but the music was somewhat lacking. The beginning and the end of the album were great, but it bogged down a bit in the middle. Over the years I kept coming back to "Brave" from time to time and appreciate it more with each re-visit. This is not at album that you listen to while driving down the road in your car. "Brave" is an album that you listen to on a good stereo or with headphones while you can sit down and really concentrate on it. The individual tracks don't work that well by themselves (with a few exceptions), but taken as a whole this is a brilliant piece of work. As mentioned prior, the majority of the music on this disk moody and dark. There are a few heavier rock sections such as "Hard As Love", but you are not going to find a lot of the more high energy Marillion on this one. The final section of the album consisting of "Brave", "The Great Escape", "Last Of You", "Falling From The Moon", and "Made Again" is simply gorgeous contains everything that makes Marillion great. "Brave" is not an album for casual listening. It needs to be consumed as the whole that it is. The album may not grab you at first, but give it time and you may find it to be a very rewarding listen.

The blast of a boat's horn pulls the listener in for a 70 minute rocket ride that doesn't conclude until the final note fades away on "Brave," Marillion's seventh studio release. In this conceptual masterpiece that serves as an ample update on The Who's classic "Quadrophenia," Marillion spin the tale of a young girl whose trauma has literally led her to the edge...the railing of the Severn Bridge. The myriad situations that drove her to this point are explored in brilliant fashion as the band shows its ability to transform whispers into screams at a moment's notice on songs such as "The Big Lie," "Hard as Love," "Runaway Girl," "Made Again," "Falling from the Moon," "The Opium Den" and the haunting title track, "Brave." Guitarist Steve Rothary and keyboards standout Mark Kelly are at their best around Hogarth's vocals that delve into the psyche of the story's main character. Bassist Pete Trewavas and drummer Ian Mosley fill out the band's most critically acclaimed album of the post-Fish era. Listeners who like to read along or who enjoy the conceptual work of artists such as Pink Floyd, Gabriel-era Genesis, Jethro Tull, Rush, ELP, The Who and Yes will enjoy this album if they give it a chance.

Brave is without a doubt my CD for a desert island. I feel it may possible be the best 71 minutes (and ten seconds)of music ever recorded!! I have over 650 cd's and this is the only one that I listen to from start to finish......along with Misplaced Childhood. BUY IT!