CURTAIN CALL - A LIVE ARCHIVE 1983 - 1988

I have to give this 5 stars. To any FISH era Marillion fan this box set gives you complete live concerts from all parts of the FISH era. And these 3 concerts blow away the other live legit releases out there. Keep in mind it is expensive (expecially as an import here in the States) and not a good starting point for the non FISH era Marillion fanatic, but if you are a live FISH era fan, this is pure gold. I will not go into the detail of the above reviewer, who I agree with, but a few things...

Live at Rundsporthalle, Baunatal, Germany (1 October 1983)

(why is this on 2 CD's - it could have fit on 1???) THIS is the MASTERPIECE from this set. Finally a Script era concert that really kicks ass. This blows away 'Recital Of The Script' in every way shape and form. Jonathan Mover (who does make a few mistakes - it's his only show with the band) is far better then Mick Pointer, and as Rothery said in the note "We realized what we could do with a good drummer". The whole band is so much more energized then the Recital performance (from a few months earlier). Rothery's guitar goes out near the end of 'He Knows', which is a shame, but doesn't hurt too much. the pre-release version of 'Assassing' is really cool, and a bit different. I won't review every song, all are great, but 'Charting The Single' is just incredible, with emotion and power like no other.

Live at Hammersmith Odeon, London, England (3 February 1986) Live at Palatrussardi, Milan, Italy (26 January 1988)

I'll talk about these 2 together. Both of these are similar to the material on La Gazza, but the trouble with La Gazza is that it was recorded from different times and places and lacks any coherence. Here you have two full concerts, from beginning to end, with all talking, and you really feel like you are part of the concert, not just listening to live songs as in La Gazza. The complete 'Childhood' on La Gazza is as good as what's here from Hammersmith, but the rest of the songs are much better within the context of a whole concert. The Milan show is a lot like Lorelei, but I like the energy of the Milan show a little better. I would say if you had the DVD of Lorelei you could skip the Milan show, but you can't but these concerts individually.

All 3 shows are perfect 10 sound quality. Even the Germany show, recorded on analog tape, shows no appreciatable hiss and has full dynamics.

The only change I would have made is to put the Germany show on 1 CD and release the incredible Goldiggers club show from the Fugazi tour that was broadcast on King Biscuit that has the most incredible version of 'Script' with the crowd just taking the 1st verse. But I am not complaining with what I got.

Except for the 'Garden Party/Market Square' medly on Real To Reel, which I like better then the individual versions, I have retired Real To Reel and La Gazza and almost exclusively listen to these 3 shows. Believe me, if you are a live FISH era fan who wasn't sure whether this set was worth the expensive price, all I can say is save your pennies (euros, whatever) and dive in and get it. You WILL NOT be dissapointed.