Brave

For the second EMI Deluxe release of Marillion we have Brave (the third releases of the band v2.0, a concept album reminiscent of the third album of Misplaced Childhood).  This one is a little less definitive.  This is a more difficult case, as there have already been 6 discs of material for this album released, the 1998 remaster with B-sides, the Made Again live album of the tour (historically interesting as the first live album of the H era), and the making-of album. Additionally there was the River release and 2002 and 2013 live versions  While we get the Blu-ray with documentary and 5.1 Wilson mix, there are a lot of omissions.  The album disc is a new mix, but strangely the disc of B-sides is ditched in favor of including the original mix (already released twice).  The two live discs have the full performance used for the Made Again recordings, adding 9 tracks, but not adding much to the Brave legacy. Also, as a personal irritation, the cover is not directly signed by the band, but includes a signed print. Just as cool, but now it won't match the Misplaced Childhood release on the shelf and a display of 7 signed prints will be incomplete. What would have been a really cool addition would be a digital version of the vinyl release which had a randomized ending, either concluding on Made Again, or The Great Escape (Spiral remake). A carefully constructed discrete 5.1 mix, once again makes this a definite version (and adds to the study of the immense depth of layers found in Marillion work, although I can't say much of the specifics (these days who has time to to sit in solitary contemplation in the proper space for an entire album - music is more on-the-go).  The next releases are now eagerly awaited as we rediscover the classic period of Marillion's career.