In the Fall of 1988, British neo-progressive rock band Marillion and their charismatic lead singer/songwriter Fish parted ways. Though the group achieved considerable success especially during the second half of the decade with their best-selling albums Misplaced Childhood (1985) and Clutching At Straws (1987), internal tensions had come to a boiling point–particularly during the tour for the latter release.
Much like one of their biggest influences, Genesis, Marillion forged on with a new frontman–Steve Hogarth (colloquially known as 'h'), who remains with the band today–and released their fifth album Seasons End in September 1989, using reworked melodies originally earmarked for the aborted next studio outing with Fish. Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors, Fish’s debut as a newly-minted solo act, arrived several months later in January 1990. Much of the lyrical content had similarly been intended for the next Marillion album, but was refined and re-purposed by Fish and new collaborator Mickey Simmonds.
Fish assembled an incredible cast of studio musicians to record Vigil, including former Dire Straits guitarist Hal Lindes, keyboardist Mickey Simmonds (Mike Oldfield, Camel), Big Country drummer Mark Brzezicki, and bassist John Giblin (Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins). Both Simmonds–who's credited as co-writer on all but one track from Vigil–and Brzezicki appeared on stage alongside Fish during 1989-1990 tour supporting the album.
The sessions were held at London’s Townhouse Studios throughout the first half of 1989, with Jon Kelly (Kate Bush, Prefab Sprout) producing. After basic tracks were completed at Townhouse, sweeping orchestral overdubs–such as the grandiose strings that appear in “A Gentleman’s Excuse Me”–were added at the world-famous Abbey Road Studios.
Though there are specific themes that traverse all nine songs–such as greed, materialism, and disaffection with the political landscape–Vigil isn’t quite a true ‘concept album’ with a character-based narrative, like Misplaced Childhood or to a lesser-degree Clutching At Straws. These subjects are most-overtly explored in the biting rocker “Big Wedge” and folk-infused first single “State of Mind.”
Fast-forward to 2024 and lavish new deluxe editions of both Vigil and its 1991 follow-up Internal Exile have arrived courtesy of Fish’s own Chocolate Frog Records. The CD/Blu-Ray sets contain brand-new stereo mixes drawn from the original multitrack tapes by Calum Malcolm, as well as 5.1 surround sound & Dolby Atmos versions created by Andy Bradfield and Avril Mackintosh.
Fans may recall that Bradfield and Mackintosh previously sat behind the mixing board for the 5.1 editions of Marillion’s Script For A Jester’s Tear (1983), Fugazi (1984), and the aforementioned Clutching At Straws. From Fish’s solo catalog, they’ve additionally worked on a surround mix of 2020’s Weltschmerz as well as the Dolby Atmos mix of 2008’s 13th Star that appeared in last year’s deluxe edition.
The Dolby Atmos mix of Vigil makes full use of my 7.1.4 setup, spreading out the various layers of keyboards, percussion, guitars, and strings out into the side, rear, and height speakers. Core elements like the rhythm section and Fish’s vocal tend to stay mostly locked to the front stage. Unlike prior releases, the lead vocal is panned primarily to the front ‘phantom’ center rather than isolated in the center speaker.
Layered synthesizer pads surround the listener for the title track, along with acoustic guitars hard-panned to the side speakers and whispered backing vocals (“in the crowd”) coming from directly behind. After the short break at 2:45 (just before "I was sitting here thinking of exchanging a new world for old"), a pair of electric guitars suddenly appear isolated in the side speakers. During the chorus (“is there somebody out there…”), keyboards blast from the rear while the drum kit extends upwards into the front height channels.
The horns in “Big Wedge” hover beside the listener, suspended between the front left and side left speakers. Different rhythm guitar parts appear in the side left and rear right channels, both elevated partially in the height array. I was expecting the harmony vocals (“we all bow down to big wedge…”) in the chorus to appear from behind, but instead they sit behind Fish’s lead in the front channels. That said, there is a fun bit of call-and-response towards the end where said backgrounds do migrate over to the side surrounds.
The percussion in “State of Mind” spills over from the front stage out into the sides, activating the ‘front wide’ channels in a 9.1.4 or 9.1.6 setup. The wailing electric guitar hovers between the rear surrounds and rear heights, while the plucked acoustic appears mostly from the height array on the right side. Starting in the second verse, Fish’s double-tracked vocals (“everyday I hear a little scream inside…”) fill up the side surrounds.
“The Company”–a composition originally intended for Marillion’s fifth album–kicks off with a guitar line mostly from the rear left speaker, quickly giving way to additional rhythm guitars and orchestration from the sides. Keyboards emanate primarily from the front heights, along with a good bit of drum sound that makes the kit sound massive.
Piano sits between the front and front height channels for the heartfelt ballad “A Gentleman’s Excuse Me,” while strings fill up the side and rear surround speakers. “The Voyeur (I Like To Watch)” is certainly a highlight of the immersive presentation, with percussion and vocal effects bouncing all around the room. The clavinet appears spread across the side and rear speakers, while electric guitar takes the back right corner and keyboards float in from above.
Moving into “Family Business”–one of the darkest songs on the album from a lyrical standpoint–keyboards emerge from the sides, with guitar fills popping up from directly behind throughout the second verse. The drums again effectively form a sort of ‘wall of sound’ spanning the front and front height speakers.
For these remixed editions, the producers have interestingly opted to reverse the running order of the final two songs–thus concluding Vigil with “View From A Hill” instead of “Cliche” as on the original CD. There’s an especially fun ear-grabbing moment in the latter track–just before the five-minute mark–where the drums suddenly switch to the rear speakers. The epic guitar solo in the former appears entirely from the top speakers, to stunning effect.
In addition to the original nine-track album, the 2024 deluxe edition also includes three extra songs mixed to the immersive format by Bradfield and Mackintosh. The multiple keyboard parts throughout “Jack and Jill” (B-side to "Big Wedge") have been effectively parsed out into the side, rear, and height speakers, while the pastoral “Internal Exile (1989 Version)” surrounds the listener with accordion, fiddle, flute, and double-tracked vocals. The backing vocal chants in “Whiplash” appear completely from behind, along with some amusing car sound effects towards the end.
Though these 2024 remixes do offer an appreciable increase in overall clarity and detail from the original 1990 release, I found this sometimes comes at the cost of higher-frequency elements like the cymbals becoming too forward in the busier sections. However, the immersive mixes seem to exhibit a bit less of the harshness that plagues the louder passages in the stereo version.
Despite my minor misgivings about the sonics, this may well be the most impressive Bradfield/Mackintosh immersive release to date. The Dolby Atmos mix is appropriately adventurous in its use of the expanded soundstage, but executed in a tasteful manner that respects the source material. Fish and company have succeeded in delivering a beautifully-crafted deluxe edition that’s worth seeking out for longtime fans of the artist as well as immersive audio in general.
