A Brave Decision (Brave - Marillion)

Member Name: cyberem78

Product:	Brave - Marillion
Date:	12/01/09 (119 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Musically brilliant.

Disadvantages: The subject matter is difficult to deal with.

I own most of Marillion's albums and this one is the most difficult to listen to. Why? Well, it was written and inspired by the band's imaginings (and real life experiences) of child abuse. In typical progressive rock style, the group invented a young female character whose horrific journey from abused child to troubled teen is chartered in their eleven songs. Not surprisingly, the allbum is the band's darkest and most intense album to date.

Whilst many of the songs assume the perspective of the female victim there are less personal songs which, when played alone, are not as difficult to hear. Some of the songs conjure up emotional trauma by using a cacophony of sound. Some of the tracks are instrumentally heavy and have bare bones, moaning vocals. Other songs are lyrically confrontational and deal with concrete ideas and events which rest uneasy in the concious mind.

Whilst 'Brave' is a challenge to deal with emotionally I think that it is worth confronting this horrific subject matter. Artistically, this is an amazing, high quality production and possibly the best music Marillion have ever written with their lead singer Steve Hogarth.

The album is now available on a special two disc features CD. This contains the original album plus a disc of demos, accoustic versions and outtakes recorded whilst making the album. The CD booklet contains lyrics, pictures and band interviews.

Track listing is as follows:

1. Bridge: A song which deals with the idea of a young girl about to kill herself by throwing herself into a river.
2. Living With the Big Lie: A song with highly poetic lyrics from the perspective of an abuse victim. She talks about her experiences within the family home. The track induces a sense of claustrophobia and makes us feel dirty and harangued.
3.Runaway: The attempted escape and cry for help from the abused child.
4. Goodbye to all that;
Wave;
The opium Den;
Standing in the swing: The mid section of the album is a mad mix of whirlwind instrumentals whipping up an emotional frenzy. The lyrics are abstract and poetic and dela with a dreamy sense of hell.
5. Hard As Love: A possible accont of the abuse victim's battle with her abuser.
6. The Hollow Man: A song with an identifiable structure, this sad song recounts the emotional state of our vicitm.
7: Alone Again In the Lap Of Luxury: A commercial success, this track is rocky and raunchy with a memorable guitar riff. The lyrics 8. Paper Lies
9. Brave: The sense of guilt and shame faced by an abuse victim.
10. The Great Escape: Dealing with the recovery of the vicitm
11. Made Again: A brilliant song of hope on which to end the album, this track is both charming and uplfiting, urging positivity with the lines: "I woke up from a bad dream to a bright new morning, to a bright new world, like the whole world has been made again..."

The second disc includes 11 tracks including several unrealeased demos of album tracks.

For more information on the band see their website:

www.marillion.com

Summary: An amazing, shocking album by Marillion.