SOMEWHERE IN LONDON

Recorded during the final two night of their "Somewhere Else" tour in 2007, Marillion enchants the crowd at the London Forum with genuine excitement for the event. The two-disc set includes the Somewhere show featuring new material and a second disc with some older material and the recording of a rehearsal in front of fans. I didn't have the luxury of being familiar with the "Somewhere" material as I watched this so it was all new to me. The material was of good quality if not as arresting to me as the Brave stuff I really enjoyed. It ranges from mellower, moody ballads to uptempo rock songs with some nice proggy flavor to them, although the music stresses emotion over complexity. Some proggers will find this stuff boring frankly but I find it so well done and tasteful in melody that it works, in my opinion this is every bit as valid as the Radiohead approach of mucking up their songs with excessive aural baggage. I appreciate the beauty and efficiency of Marillion's sound even if I personally enjoy other kinds of prog more. I sometimes think the band prolongs certain passages beyond their lifespan but when it works their sound has a classy quality that eludes many neo-prog and contemporary rock bands.

The performance was outstanding and they completely nailed it on the production side. This audience is as stoked as crowds get, completely putty in the hand of Marillion and they don't waste the moment. Hogarth and Trevawas in particular are just playing out of their minds in this show. Hogarth's vocals are pushed and passionate almost invoking images of Bryan Ferry from Roxy's more smoking shows. Trevawas has a great up-front bass presence (I'm always a sucker for that) and has some lovely acoustic guitar sections. Lead guitarist Steve Rothery plays with eloquence and color as always though I wished he was a bit more up in the mix, and with a bit more grit in the sound. They could have taken some volume from Hogarth and boosted Rothery just a bit. Aside from that complaint this presentation is flawless in the audio and video department. Beautifully shot with a rich look, you are right on the stage with these guys who are playing like their lives depended on it. The edits are balanced to give you every view with no unnecessary nonsense. The light show again strikes it perfect, simple, gorgeous. "King" is a late highlight of the set with Hogarth and Rothery leaning on each other and wailing on guitar.

I don't believe "Somewhere in London" is going to flip anyone who has listened to phase-2 Marillion and disliked it, but for those who have enjoyed the band this performance will surely seal the deal, providing a hugely effective presentation of the band in its current state. 3 1/2 stars.

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