| When Marillion released its
compilation of demo sounds and floor scraps from their epic concept album
"Brave," many fans just didn't know what to expect. I ended up
buying "The Making of Brave" at a back table during one of their
live shows. It was something I had never quite come across before -- a
single CD of outtakes and snippets from the recording process and a second CD
with a complete demo version of the album itself. The recording session
disc was cool and the demo disc an excellent 'alternative take' of the entire
shooting match -- but I thought this would be a one-off deal.
Enter "Dusk til Dot," a new series of
CD's which will carry on where "The Making of Brave" left off.
"Dusk til Dot" has been deemed a series of Racket Club demos -- a
compendium product to the original full-length releases. The first item
in this series just happens to be chock full of the demo material from my
favorite Marillion disc, "Afraid of Sunlight."
Afraid of Sunlight, in my opinion, was given
short shrift by the world. As the music goes, it's some of Marillion's
strongest. Unfortunately, record label battles and a harrowing deadline
made the promotion of AOS take a back seat. I was lucky enough to catch
one of the American shows in support of this one, but then the band went back
to the studio and, it would seem, forgot all about this great CD.
"ReFracted," like "Making of
Brave," consists of a CD full of snippets from the always-running DAT
tapes the band uses to fuse together ideas during the recording process.
This CD features all sorts of fledgling musical ideas and even an ending to
the song "Out of This World" that I think is actually superior to
the one that made it onto the CD. Overall it's a pretty choppy affair
however -- definitely something for the die-hard fan, not for the casual
listener.
CD two is a complete demo recording of the AOS
disc. It's more or less the same as the end product, with some slight to
moderate shifts in song endings and some "la la's" where the lyrics
hadn't quite melded together yet. Overall it's a different take on an
absolutely phenomenal album, but every time I listen I'm left with the
feeling that... well, I kind of hoped for some kind of new flame.. some kind
of a vibe that would re-ignite the rush I got upon first hearing the end
result.
I guess it's hard to build on perfection.
This is one for fans. Newbies should
definitely steer toward "Afraid of Sunlight," the commercial release
which I believe to be the ultimate in Progressive Rock Genius.
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