Misplaced Childhood

The first of Deluxe Marillion releases, Misplaced Childhood, is out. What is there to say about it? Not much in terms of content that hasn't been said before (as Steve Wilson remarked, there isn't much to be changed on the original recording).  It is essentially the 1998 Remaster with the second disc of B-sides and demos, with the newly released Live in Utrecht 1986 concert, which is a nice addition to the under-represented live catalog of the Fish years.  Additionally, there is the Wilson 5.1 mix (album along with Lady Nina, (as the Freaks original tape is lost)) and a making-of discussion video with Fish and the band on Blu-ray.

What this series of the EMI years showcases is the physical, tangible, manifestation of music as a historical artifact.  There wouldn't be much gained by getting a download version of this.  It is the packaging, book sized with 60 color pages of Misplaced history (and here signed by the band), that makes this the definitive release. The visuals, the history, and the legacy are all here, with the immersive acoustic expansion of the 5.1 here, not much more can likely be said in the future.

One note on this series: I only wish This Strange Engine was included (the first non-EMI release),or released as this seems like the final record of the 1.0/2.0 years, a bit of an epilogue  Everything after 1998 was different.  Although the making of album has already been done, it would be great to hear a 5.1 mix. [1]  Racket has done some 5.1 mixes for later works and could do more, but, again, it would be nice to have one definitive package to totalize the work.

[1] There are still many gaps - .com and Somewhere Else would be great candidates for 5.1, as well as the often requested Marbles.