Originally released in 2012, Marillion’s Sounds That Can’t Be Made has been reissued as a Special Edition double-CD set with the original album and a second disc of bonus cuts and radio sessions. One of the foremost neo-prog bands of the 80s, Marillion’s 17th album is filled with long-form compositions, precision playing and magnificent performances — all the prog essentials.
“Gaza,” starts with scary, backing ground swirls and voices that give way to a chunky electric guitar groove with strings and a chunky snare. Singer Steve Hogarth’s expressive vocal takes the slower choruses especially well and about midway through, he’s in fine form, As often with Marillion, there’s a lot of moods, tempo and tonal changes in what proves to be a 17-minute-plus mélange about a boy growing up in the Gaza Strip. It’s a lot to take right out of the gate and I’m not sure all the switches and clever changes work enough to warrant the length (as will happen too many times here). Still, Steve Rothery’s expressive guitar and Mark Kelly’s piano are in line with perfection.
The title track is more straight-ahead with pulsating keys, very 80s-like, perhaps a bit long even though Rothery gets his due at about the six-minute mark. “Pour My Love” is pretty much all Kelly’s piano playing, while “Power” has got a roving darkness to it with Hogarth truly at his best. The big dramatic chorus and slower bridge work make this one of the better arranged tunes on the disc.
Keys and Pete Trewavas’ bass inform the better part of the 14-minute long “Montréal.” The more accessible “Lucky Man,” is non-prog, almost Beatlesque with its shiny electric guitar and piano plucking. “The Sky Above The Rain,” which closes the album, is mostly sweet, descending piano lines, with Rothery on slide and Gilmour-like bends, and Hogarth’s delicate, high-end warble.
The second disc features a radio sessions of “Power” and “Pour My Love,” a demo of “Lucky Man,” and live versions of “Sounds That Can’t Be Made” and and “Invisible Ink.” Altogether, it’s a good collection from a band that still deliver on their prog rock promise with long compositions and one of the very best and woefully underrated guitar players around. Marillion’s Sounds That Can’t Be Made is a set unlike most anything you’re likely to hear this year.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
