The excellence of Marillion’s 17th studio release is just about impossible to deny. In 2012, Sounds That Can’t Be Made was voted Album Of The Year by readers of this magazine, also finishing in third place (behind Anathema’s Weather Systems and Clockwork Angels by Rush) in the corresponding writers’ chart. Some 14 months later and we have this expanded edition – available as a twin-disc, 180gram vinyl gatefold and in CD form.
“Okay but why must we buy it again?” you cry, and quite rightly so. Well, if revised artwork isn’t sufficient motivation, then the six tracks featured on the bonus disc are worth owning.
The band offer stripped-down versions of two of the original album’s selections, Pour My Love and Power, in radio session form, also adding Wrapped Up In Time from Happiness Is The Road, Vol 1 for good measure. All three work well reduced to just Hogarth’s voice and the keyboard accompaniment of Mark Kelly – a sure sign of a superior tune.
There’s also a demo version of Lucky Man and Live In Holland renditions of two of Sounds’ selections, namely the title cut and Invisible Ink. With a playing time of around 33 minutes, this might just be for the completists.
