FUGAZI

Fugazi is the oddity among the four Fish-era Marillion albums. Sandwiched between two strong songs ("Assasing" and the title track) are possibly the weakest efforts from the band during this period. Repetitive melodies dominated by sparse keyboards, surprisingly pedestrian baselines and mostly absent guitar (except when it appears for a brief if enjoyable solo) populate this sandwich. The only consistently impressive performances come from Fish's lush, evocative vocals, but the real strength of Marillion lies in its instrumental complexity to back these vocals, and from "Jigsaw" to "She Chameleon" this is conspicuously absent. "Incubus" begins to improve on the formula before the showstopper "Fugazi" ends the album on a high note. Recently it was my pleasure to hear a new version of this excellent track on Fish's "Return to Childhood" album, which led me to revisit the original and reassess its importance on an album that doesn't have much else in its favor.

Yes, "Assasing" is a catchy track with powerful synths and a solid, slightly Gilmour-esque guitar solo, and "Punch and Judy" makes a good attempt at condensing the Marillion style into a single for a radio play but at this point the album degenerates into a fairly underwhelming ballad ('Jigsaw') only saved by Fish's vocal nuances, and things don't improve from there. "Emerald Lies" begins with some promise but again the aural landscape is so sparse Fish must carry the whole melody until it finally revs up into more potent, aggressive modulation. This is indeed more satisfying but is short-lived. "She Chameleon" begins again with barren keyboards, and when the synths take over briefly it's a huge relief. Afterwards only the guitar solo relieves the boredom. "Incubus" has a bit more going for it, but still fails to be a great track.

Which brings us to the diamond in the rough, "Fugazi." Beginning with solemn piano and stunning vocals, the song is driven by an intriguing guitar melody until authoritative synths enter the fray in resplendent profusion. Throughout Fish's amazingly varied voice and complex lyrics delivered with great emotion (experienced throughout the album but more evident here) guide the listener through the song's journey. The guitar mostly supports the melody outside of the strong solo. Then everything quiets into throbbing keyboards and bass with angered, passionate vocals ("Do you realize '? This world is totally Fugazi.") until a slightly militaristic refrain ("Where the prophets? Where are the visionaries?") is created by the keyboards and guitar, which sound almost upbeat. This track almost redeems the album and is certainly a good way to end it.

One thing to add is that the new drummer, Ian Mosley, is a vast improvement on the old one, Mick Pointer, adding a sophistication to the percussion missing on Script. However, I would say that the compositional strength of Script was far superior to Fugazi, and indeed Script was Marillion's best album overall.

Fugazi has its moments, but I would recommend Script, Misplaced Childhood and Clutching at Straws over it any day. If you're a fan of those albums, definitely check out Fugazi, but be prepared for a totally different experience, not all of it enthralling.