Marillion

Fugazi (Deluxe Edition)

(Parlophone)

8/10

By Decibel Report

This second album of the Fish years is given a Lazarus like resurrection. There’s a souped-up remix of the original lacklustre Nick Tauber production; an entrancing and immersive documentary; a sensational full live show recorded at the Montreal stop on the Fugazi tour, parts of which were released on Real To Reel, plus a 45-minute live performance from a Swiss TV show.  Impressively, the 'The Performance Has Just Begun' documentary starkly reveals the back story to the goings-on in this band making ‘that difficult second album’. It’s both illuminating and informative in its frank discussion of the evolution of this burgeoning band at this difficult moment in time. Also included is a track-by-track commentary by the band ("The Story of The Songs"), and the promotional video for Assassing (with both original and new audio).

Often viewed as the slightly stale filling between a Script For A Jester’s Tear and a Misplaced Childhood club sandwich, the new muscular mix and 5.1 surround sound nevertheless elevates these tracks from distant memory to instant re-evaluation. Being the first album to feature Ian Mosley beefing up the percussive sound of the group, Fugazi originally suffered from weaker material with the band writing on the hop between numerous recording studios.  However, Punch And Judy, Jigsaw, Assassing, and Incubus still stand out as cracking songs from this period in the band’s ascent. A top-five UK chart placing, and gold record status is something most artists would heartily desire these days. This redux deluxe release of Fugazi captures a bunch of musicians experiencing early success and the garlands that it generates. More than this, it is another fascinating compendium release from the ongoing deluxe re-issue programme of Marillion’s coveted back catalogue.