MADE AGAIN

Marillion has always had an affinity for live albums, and this is yet another. They've also always been one of the only bands I've heard that are actually better in a live context than when in the studio, in my opinion. Made Again is a live album comprised of three different shows from three different tours in Rotterdam, London, and Paris. The first disc is devoted to individual songs in the Marillion catalogue that span the entire Hogarth era up to that time (ends with Afraid of Sunlight era) and even a brief look into the Fish era catalogue. The second disc is devoted to the entire Brave album, which is my favorite album of the Hogarth era. Are they able to pull off quite a feat live? For the most part, yes, but this album does have its problems.

The first disc has a nice collection of songs from Seasons End, Holidays in Eden, and Afraid of Sunlight. Also worthwhile are the two Misplaced Childhood pieces on the first disc. Now, for the most part this disc has some wonderful renditions of classic Marillion songs such as Easter and Beautiful, but the main problem with this live set overall is the sound. The overall mix is a little bit too drowning and some performances from individual members certainly drown out others from the overall mix. Despite, that, though, you'll find some nice live performances here. The most notable thing here is that Lavender is much like the single version of the track, which had an extended guitar solo, and it segues into the Lost Weekend part of Bitter Suite (which utilizes the same riff from Lavender), which was a fun live addition that shows Hogarth can actually compete with Fish vocally. It's a good disc, but I wish that they put some different songs from Seasons End and that they had some Clutching at Straws pieces, but I can't really complain.

The second disc is the entire Brave album. It's well performed and there are subtle differences and additions with this incantation of this album as opposed to other live versions and the studio version of the album itself. The crowd really seem to get into it as well, with them going along for the entire 73 minute ride, even drowning out Hogarth's introduction to Made Again. My only complaint with this disc, though, along with the somewhat disappointing sound, is that Hogarth's vocals sound strained at times and like he's really putting out all that he's got, and sometimes it's successful and sometimes it isn't. Though the version of Great Escape here is phenomenal (as with the song Brave). I must also mention that all the multi-part songs are now shown individually so the entire album has more tracks than the studio album. That's not a real problem, though, as all of the songs still segue together, except for the occasional Hogarth introduction.

Overall, Made Again is an interesting live set that really shows the Hogarth era of Marillion in full force. Not a bad live album at all, and it really will go over well with any Hogarth era Marillion fan. Still, though, if you're a Fish era fan like me, you'll probably find a haven in the earlier live albums, but that's not saying that this album doesn't have it's merits. Fish didn't write Easter, did he? 3.5/5.