Brave by Marillion

I’ve often talked about Pete Trewavas, one of the pillars of the band, mentioning him not only for Marillion, but also for his role in Transatlantic (a prog supergroup often discussed on this blog), with his technical skill and his key contribution to the band’s modern sound.

Marillion are also pioneers in crowdfunding and in independently managing their own music, a virtuous model for the whole worldwide progressive scene, which I’ve especially appreciated.

In short, I consider Marillion one of the most authoritative and creative forces in today’s rock landscape, for never stopping at the nostalgia of their early hits.

Brave, more than Marbles (which many consider superior), is in my view the band’s best work of the Hogarth era so far.  It was a huge project, which took about nine months of work.  They worked with Dave Meegan, who had already worked with them as an assistant back in the Fugazi days. Meegan was famous for his attention to detail, to the point of re-listening to every single recording of the day to find melodic ideas to develop.

The band moved to Château Marouatte in France for three months, to isolate themselves and create the album’s dark atmosphere. Then they finished recording at Parr Street Studios in Liverpool.  To get real ambient sounds, they recorded in an underground cave near the castle (for the water reverbs) and even placed microphones in the chimneys to capture the crackle of the fire.

The band found its definitive line-up in 1989, when Steve Hogarth joined the group, replacing the legendary frontman Fish. Since then, the band has remained virtually unchanged for over 35 years, an almost unique feat in the rock world.

Here are the band members at the time of recording Brave and today:

- Steve Hogarth: Vocals, additional keyboards and percussion.

- Steve Rothery: Guitars (one of the founding members).

- Mark Kelly: Keyboards.

- Pete Trewavas: Bass.

- Ian Mosley: Drums.

This album is one of the most ambitious and complex concept albums in modern progressive rock.  The inspiration came from a real news story: a radio announcement Steve Hogarth heard while driving. The police were seeking information about a young girl found wandering on the Severn Bridge, the bridge linking England to Wales, in a state of confusion. The girl wouldn’t speak and had no documents, and she didn’t want to say who she was.  This left the authorities wondering whether she was mute, had amnesia, or wanted to end it all. Hogarth was struck by this mystery and decided to invent a story about what had driven that girl onto the bridge.

One really interesting thing about this record is that it has a double ending. The second disc, at the end of side 4, has a double groove. So, depending on where you place the needle, you can hear a tragic ending or a hopeful one with the song “Made Again”.

Brave is an album that marks an important shift for Marillion, moving away from the more straightforward neo-prog of the ’80s to embrace a more atmospheric, nuanced sound.  Imagine a record that plays like a soundtrack, with tracks like “Bridge” and “The Opium Den” creating a unique mood thanks to samples of water, wind and natural reverbs recorded in French caves, giving a sense of near-claustrophobic isolation.

The album plays heavily on contrasts: it moves from the voice-and-piano minimalism of “The Hollow Man” to the rock energy of “Hard as Love” or “Paper Lies”, up to epic, grand suites like “The Great Escape”.  Producer Dave Meegan pushed the band to experiment with modern elements, valuing the space between notes rather than virtuosity for its own sake.

On this album, Hogarth finds his style, shifting from intimate whispers to desperate screams, becoming the main narrator who guides the listener through the protagonist’s psychological distress. Steve Rothery, instead of focusing on long, clean solos, explores sound textures, delay and feedback, while Mark Kelly uses synths to create dark orchestral beds that support the entire story.

Pete Trewavas on bass and Ian Mosley on drums form a rhythm section that brings the album’s concept to life. Trewavas’s bass lines are surprisingly melodic and often steal the spotlight, as in “Alone Again in the Lap of Luxury”, where he almost feels like a second soloist. Mosley, with his powerful yet controlled drumming, excels in the most intense parts like “Hard as Love” and shows exceptional taste in the almost-jazz brushwork of the more atmospheric tracks.

A great deal of credit goes to Dave Meegan, the producer, who was crucial during the editing. He pushed the band to give their best, making them record hundreds of takes to find the right “vibe”, giving the record great sonic depth.

I have the 2018 Deluxe Edition, with the remix by Steven Wilson that makes everything clearer and more defined.  

It starts with the atmosphere of “Bridge”, then moves to the dramatic rock of “Living With The Big Lie” and the melancholic ballad “Runaway”.  The long suite “Goodbye To All That” gives way to the grit of “Hard As Love”, the piano of “The Hollow Man” and the pop-rock of “Alone Again In The Lap Of Luxury”.  The ending is epic with the title track, at the peak of “The Great Escape” and with the catharsis of “Made Again”, which closes beautifully.

Although Brave is the record that cemented Steve Hogarth’s identity, my feeling is that there are several elements that build a bridge to the Fish era, and I find them first of all in the production, with Meegan having worked as assistant sound engineer on Fugazi (1984) and bringing back into Brave that obsessive care for detail and certain drum and keyboard sounds typical of the band’s classic prog. 

With Brave the band also returns to the concept-album structure, a formula they hadn’t used since Misplaced Childhood. Even if the stories are different, Brave’s dark, tormented and almost theatrical atmosphere recalls the psychological introspection of Clutching at Straws. And above all, the four musicians behind the singer are the same; the way Mark Kelly weaves the keyboards with Pete Trewavas’s bass has that “Marillion” stamp that has remained constant since 1982.

Brave is, in my opinion, a masterpiece that redefined Marillion’s identity in the post-Fish era, and in my humble, personal ranking of records, for the emotions it gives me, it’s an Essential album.

My Version

Label: Parlophone – 0190295719593
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Deluxe Edition, Reissue, Remastered, Steven Wilson Remix
Country: UK & Europe
Released: 22 Jun 2018

Tracklist

A1        Bridge    2:58
A2        Living With The Big Lie    6:45
A3        Runaway    4:43
B1        Goodbye To All That / Wave / Mad / The Opium Den / The Slide / Standing In The Swing    12:26
B2        Hard As Love    6:45
C1        The Hollow Man    4:08
C2        Alone Again In The Lap Of Luxury / Now Wash Your Hands    8:14
C3        Paper Lies    5:51
D1        Brave    7:53
D2        The Great Escape / The Last Of You / Fallin' From The Moon    6:34
D3        Made Again    5:03

LineUp

- Steve Hogarth - lead vocals and backing vocals, keyboards, 
percussion - Steve Rothery - guitars
- Mark Kelly - keyboards, backing vocals
- Pete Trewavas - bass, backing vocals 
- Ian Mosley - drums and percussion

With:
- Tony Halligan - uilleann pipes 
- The Liverpool Philharmonic - cellos, flutes
- Darryl Way - orchestral arrangements

Listening links on the main streaming platforms at the following links:

• Spotify: You’ll find both the original version and Brave (Deluxe Edition), which includes the Steven Wilson remix.
• YouTube: The full album is available in "Auto-generated" format on the official channel. You can listen to the opening track Bridge (2018 Steven Wilson Remix) or the full playlist dedicated to the remix.
• Apple Music: Available in the Marillion section, including the Brave (2018 Steven Wilson Remix) version.
• Deezer: The album is in the platform’s catalog, also in the Steven Wilson Remix. 

Note: All links to the musicians’ works are in the TAGS under the article title or on the "Artists"