Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inspired!, 10 Nov 2000
The first two albums under new singer Steve Hogarth had seen Marillion move more in a "pop" direction and become less and less the "progressive" band of their roots. So by the time Brave was released, many fans of the Fish era had abandoned the band. Marillion were by this point recording for a much smaller fanbase. Brave saw the band make a much unexpected return to progressive rock. It is a concept album that explores the life of a young girl and examines the problems that lead to her attempted suicide. In my opinion, the album is simply brilliant. It is deep, richly textured throughout, shows Marillion's musicianship used to best effect, features some of Steve Rothery's best guitar playing and the concept is strong enough to stand the scrutiny of an entire album. The opening track, Bridge, takes you to the incident of the attempted suicide itself, and almost all of the rest of the album attempts to explain why she was driven to it. Living With the Big Lie details her distrust of the establishment; Runaway actually encompasses much of her story in one song; Hard as Love is about the difficult emotion that love can be (and is actually one of Marillion's hardest rocking tracks); The Hollow Man is about the feeling of loneliness and how fragile an individual is when nobody cares about them (though Hollow Woman would have been a more apt title considering the stroryline!); The Lap of Luxury (which with radioplay would have been a big hit single) is about her feeling of isolation and fear of domestic violence in her apparently comfortable, respectable, middle class suburban home, Paper Lies (another hard rocking track) is about how the tabloid press twist the facts to make a good story; the titletrack is musically very different for Marillion, with its distinctively Celtic feel; The Great Escape trilogy is quite simply the most stunning, powerful and emotional piece of music I have heard, when the central character finally cracks under the pressure. The final track, Made Again, ends the album on a positive note. In the end, she has chosen to rebuild her life instead of commit suicide, and she has also discovered a close companion who shows her the kind of love and care she has never known before. A truly beautiful and uplifting ending to a superb album of musicianship, vocals and songwriting. Marillion will never better this.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sublime, 27 Jan 2003
This is my favourite album from any band and I don't say that lightly. However it didn't start off that way. After Holidays In Eden - with blow-you-away tracks like Waiting To Happen and 100 Nights - I felt a little disappointed on the first play, perhaps because I didn't see a clear highlight or obvious singles. It felt like Misplaced Childhood minus Kayleigh and Lavender.But then, once you get to know Misplaced Childhood, you soon realise that the rest of it is worth much more than those two commercial singles, and the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. And so it is with Brave, only more so. You need to understand and accept that before you can get the most out of it, and I am so glad I kept playing it. The story is powerful and emotive, filled with pain and handled intelligently, and the music follows it. Like a good book, there is something new in Brave every time I listen to it, even after nearly ten years. This contains some of the best guitar work Steve Rothery has done, and Steve Hogarth really shows his worth here. Musically it is nothing short of a masterpiece. No other piece of music inspires anger, fear, compassion, empathy, hatred, pain, isolation and finally understanding as Brave, at least for me. Only The Cure's Disintegration comes close. Don't expect something you can dance to or commercial throw-away pop. If you want to feel as well as listen, this is for you. But a word of advice: before you make the slightest judgment on Brave, listen to it at least ten times - and that means give it your undivided attention each time. It's worth it.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Comparable with Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon., 17 Aug 2000
By A Customer
Marillion wanted to create a modern day masterpiece, an album that was truly something special. Brave is the result of this ambition, the result of much hard work and painstaking attention to detail. Not many artists nowadays have the intelligence to even try and create a concept album, Marillion were one of the few exceptions to this rule. The band created a fictitious tale to theme the album, based on the true story of a runaway girl. Be moved by the emotion of the track Runaway, the hard rock of Hard as Love, the emotion of Steve Hogarth's vocals on The Hollow Man and of course Alone Again in the Lap of Luxury, which deserved to be a number one single. A bonus CD is also part of this package, including acoustic versions of The Hollow Man, Runaway and Alone Again in the Lap of Luxury. Yet the highlight of this bonus CD is a brilliant orchestral version of The Great Escape. This album is simply one of the best. I haven't heard many singers in recent years who can express so much emotion as Steve Hogarth and Steve Rothery on guitar proves he is one of the best.
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