ANORAK IN THE UK LIVE

So just how good can a live recording really sound ? Well my friends "Anorak Live In The UK" would have to be probably the best sounding live album I have ever heard. Apparently this concert was mic'd using a very new and unusual method which sounds incredible and rich. This is MARILLION captured at their best doing many of their great songs live including material from "Marillion.com", "Afraid Of Sunlight", "Brave", "This Strange Engine", "Radiation" and of course the album in tour at the time "Anoraknophobia". What else can I say really except that this is just amazing music and the live sounds add nice variations to the studio tracks and in many ways this is the essential MARILLION. Absolutely essential album for your collection.

I never thought a live record would sound like this... really. These album reaches a perfect 10 in the technical side, and a good earned 9 in the musical one. Marillion has emerged as a very interesting force in music that has faced a lot of drama, moods and members (a long lost past) that has constructed a very solid band. These record has a very unique setlist, because it has been chosen by the fans in a web forum, so in many ways is a pretty complete list. For those who like the old Marillion this record would be a disappointment, beacuse the fish-era songs are now forgotten. However, if you have the chance to buy the 2-disc set you'll find a more enriched setlist with more colors and emotions, covering the whole Hogarth -era, preserving good songs like "afraid of sunlight" and "the great escape" and showing the power of the late songs from the non-emi catalogue. A record like these is a very hard and solid statement form a band that has endured for over 20 years.

This is by far the best live Marillion album. I have found in the past that many of the live albums lack the raw edge that is present at a concert. This album, however, breaks the mould, due to selective editing by Dave Meegan, there is a rough feel to the music and an almost unpolished sound that reflects the true Marillion concert experience. This is an excellent album and definitely a must-buy for any prog enthusiasts!

As good as Made Again is, Anorak In The UK (specifically the 2 disc version from Racket Records) is the definitive live disc from Marillion. I thought Made Again played it too close to the vest; whereas, Anorak tossed in a surprise or two. Compound this with it's amazing production and overall energy, it makes for a must have for all Marillion fans.

Recorded on the Anoraknophobia tour, it would stand to reason that it includes several tracks. The thing is, the live versions sound better than the studio. Never more is this more apparent than "Separated Out" and "Between You And Me". They appear to be a bit more raw and livlier than the studio. "Quartz" would qualify as well. "If My Heart Were A Ball..." and "Map Of The World" are pretty true to the original, but sound great nonetheless. The 2 disc version has "This Is The 21st Century" and "When I Meet God" performed in front of a very lucky group of fans at The Racket Club. I much prefer the spacier studio version of "21st" to live.

The surprises are the inclusion of "Go!" from the mediocre (by Marillion standards) Marillion.com, "Out Of This World" from Afraid Of Sunlight, and "Man Of A Thousand Faces" from This Strange Engine. "Go!" and "Man Of A Thousand Faces" requires some samples towards the end to replicate the incredible conclusions of each song (and if you've heard "Man Of A Thousand Faces", you know what I'm talking about), but I think adding the extra help is warranted in this case.

The usual suspects of "The Great Escape", "Waiting To Happen", and "Afraid Of Sunlight" are included, but it's always great to receive a visit from these old friends. "Afraid Of Sunlight" leads right into the always emotional "Mad" from the Brave album, which is a classic case of how a band such as Marillion can produce something so unearthly beautiful, and something so crazed and hyper like "Mad". The brilliance of this band still boggles my mind.

Anorak isn't 100% perfection, however. I wouldn't mind hearing something else other than "Rich" or "Answering Machine" simply because they do nothing for me. I would've rather heard "A Few Words For The Dead", "The Party", or even "Uninvited Guest". That being said, Anorak In The UK is still an excellent inclusion to anyones collection.

I was quite sceptical about this live "Anoraknophobia". The studio album was not really a great experience but, intelligently three of the best songs of this album are featured here : "Separated Out", "Between You & Me", and "If My Heart Were A Ball It Would Roll Uphill". Only "The Fruit Of The Wild Rose" is missing (I am referring to the good songs only here).

Two BRILLIANT moments are available on this CD. "Seperated Out" and "Between You & Me". Extremely wild and passionate. Very few times have I been laudatory about Mark II Marillion, but these are very good songs (I mentioned this already in my review of the studio album). It has of course nothing to do with their usual repertoire (Mark II, I mean) : great rock songs were not too many. They should maybe have investigated more into that direction...

Instead of "The Fruit", we'll get the horrific and funky "Quartz". As weak as on the studio work. "Map Of The World" sounds a little better. At least it rocks a little bit more. "If My Heart... " has been converted into a hard-rock piece of music. Funky-metal if you prefer at least during the first five minutes. After this, it can be used as narcoleptic.

I'm afraid that "Out Of This World" is as insipid as on ..."Afraid Of The Sunlight".

Once you're through the emotionless intro for "King", the whole band starts to really kick your a..., and rocks again alright during the instrumental parts.

"The Great Escape" from "Brave" is also a great improvement in comparison with the studio version. Rothery's guitar solo is incredibly good. You just need to stand the first minute and its karaoke mood to discover it; another good moment of this live recording.

"Answering Machine" is as trashy as the original. Noise annoys.

The original idea was to release a double album, but their record comany decided to release a single CD version as well. They also wanted one track of this version to be unrealeased. The band was not in favour of the idea, but decided to include "Easter". Since I have based my review on the double CD version, I can not judge this version of "Easter".

From five out of ten, I will upgrade this live album to three stars. Be aware that this is not really for progheads since the best songs featured here sound almost hard-rocking.

Anorak in the UK is a great live album from the Anoraknophobia tour, an album which counts as one of my Hogarth-era favourites. Marillion steps on the gas and plays most of the Anoraknophobia album and a fine selection of older songs.

All versions are very truthful to the originals, it makes them of little use to anyone but ardent Marillion fans, but from their perspective this sure is a most satisfactory release. The band sounds solid and energetic throughout. The real emotional highlights come from the Afraid of Sunlight though, which proves again that it is the real highlight of this band from the post-Fish era.

If you're a Marillion fan and if you like Anoraknophobia, this is a live album to get, in all other cases, you can do without.

the real Live-Experience...

to say it first: I have only the retail-shop ( EMI - ) version of this album, so my review can only be about this ( I'm still unable to order CDs from the internet myself due to several reasons that do not belong here, so I have to rely on the retail-releases ), but although this release doesn't feature any tracks from the albums "This Strange Engine", "Radiation" and Marillion.com" ( and, you oughta know from my reviews, I really love them ), it surely is the Live-Album I'd been hoping for ( since "Made Again" was a disappointment for me ). The answer to that, imo, important question that somehow accompanies every Live-Release: "Did this scream to be released ?" has got be a joyous "YES..." and, you can add for yourself, "...very loudly !". So I hope what I'm saying about most of this 10 tracks is also valid for the ones from the double-disc I haven't heard yet ( if not... well, as long as the single-cd is on sale, at least you get the bonus of "Easter" when you decide to buy it additionally... and if anybody wants to gift me the double disc they can contact me here :lol: be sure it's very welcome, but no CD-R copy, please ).

It's fabulous. It's everything a fan can expect from a Live-Album, capturing all the energy and feeling of the event without taking swabs. And the sound is fine - this time. "Seperated out", "Quartz", "Between you and me", "If my heart were a ball" and, absolute highlight here, "King" are delivered in fierce performances, even "Map of the World" starts breathing fire here. Although that one is "only" a "Pop-Song" its uplifting message and feel, already present on "Anoraknophobia", is being increased by the passionate performance of the band. "Between you and me" became a live-favorite ever since, and though I'm missing the piano a bit ( the lovely intro is missing and some sequential parts have been done with synth-sounds here - but to great effect ), I can truly understand why... perhaps some listeners needed that "extra-punch" in order to recognize how good a rock-song it is... - me, I knew it before. But what I didn't know was how good "Seperated out" and "King" really are - made to knock you off your feet. To tell you the truth ( well, I'm honestly trying to with everything I'm typing down here, if not to say always ): I was a bit disappointed when I read the track-listing first ( hence, read my review to "Real to Reel" and get one more proof for what I said there about "Live Albums from the first category" - it's determined to put a smile on your face ). And what scared me the most about it was "King".

"Why on earth... who needs another version of this when there could have been place for so many other, far better songs ?" All of you who shake their heads when reading that question - the very one that went through my head immediately - I'm begging you for forgiveness, cause by listening to it the answer was "ME !", and the answer could not have been any more distinctive... it's a bomb, it's unbelievable, and I can't say exactly what it is that has "changed" this song so much, but every second seems to be filled with exactly that kind of tension and power that was missing on the original recording ! And the words start cutting through your soul now... just the way that Hogie is howling them out, while the storm that's building up until it ends in frightening, claustrophobic cacophony finally makes sense - that must have been what they had in mind when they wrote it. "Seperated out", as the very start of this experience, had already set the tone for the whole Live-Album and, as another one of which I thought "why did they pick just that ?", it sent me raving. Listen to that Organ ! It's unashamedly quoting the Doors and giving the thunderous rocker it became here a spicy cap of cream... while you ought to feel what it means to be "Seperated out" as Hogie screams for his life, all the anger, all the pain... and the violence.

"Quartz", announced as "a real Live One", holds the pace before you can take a little breather with "Map of the World", but not as much as you may have expected cause - as I have written already - it's more than just "easy listening" here, it's got more belly and swing. During the performance of "Out of this World" - tighter than on AOS but no less impressive - you can feel that this is one of the band's best loved pieces by both, the audience and themselves, as the atmosphere keeps dropping out of the speakers like fog and we, once more, accompany the man it was written about on his uncanny, final ride, reliving those imaginary words of his begging wife... i didn't mention it before, but the lyrics are just great... you know, I think of this one as a connection of ( very beautiful ) musical fragments, but here, in concert, the band is keeping them together as if they were a song, so it's a ( shorter ) epic now.

After "Between you and me" there comes a celebration of "The great Escape" that encapsulates the spirit of a true meeting of artist and fans like it only can happen in Concert. See, normally I want to hear the singer doing his job and not the audience taking over the lead. You may be with me about this. It's not always welcome to hear the crowd taking over when you're at a concert or listening to a Live-Album, or is it ? Sometimes the ritual is meant to help overshadow that the singer's shape could be better - and if that's so, one can't help but feel dissatisfied. But when it happens just like it has happened here - and you love the song just as much - it starts sending shivers up and down your spine, so moving it is... almost as if you're standing in that crowd, so you catch yourself joining the choir ! It may even be an illusion but... as Hogie holds his mic into the crowd you don't see him do that as "the Rock star" when you hear it. You imagine the man listening in awe, standing there like a little child that cannot believe what's happening, and, with all his heart, treasuring the moment of receiving an answer that every artist ( and writer ) is hoping for: "We DO understand, we're WITH you, we're feeling the same, and every word of it is true." Pure magic. If it's an illusion then, well, this illusion may just be what it's all about... the writing, the singing, the playing, the gigging... and once you're in there, lost and found in the feel of communion, it doesn't matter that - technically - one or the other part of the music could have been played more perfect. That's what the difference between Live- and Studio-Version is for. Next is "King" - climax.

"If my heart were a ball", the "Jam" ( as I called it ), was supposed to work even better in Concert than it did in the studio, and, of course, it does - and because it's more a Jam than a song, by now the disc has got the feel of "Here we're in an encore-section", and "Waiting to happen" just like "Easter" sound as if they followed the ending ( ! ), as if they weren't rehearsed for the show but added because no one wanted it to end... neither the audience, nor the artists. This means that those two tracks make an exception on that disc, cause here you don't get the band playing so tight, no, it started to become a bit loose and, whereas other tracks have been held together in perfection, these two start falling apart. I quite like it, but that's the only reason for a fifth star missing, cause certainly there's better ( Live- ) recordings of those songs to be found. But a Live-Album better than this one is not so easy to find - there are, but there aren't a hundred if you know what I mean. It's a real Live-Experience. And, for Fans of this band, absolutely essential.

This is a very high quality live release finds Marillion as boisterous and as forceful live as they'd been at any point since Fish left. The renditions of material from Radiation, Marillion.com and Anoraknophobia lend new life to those compositions, overcoming the occasionally patchy production values which at points caused problems for the earlier two albums in that trilogy (especially Radiation), whilst the occasional snippet from Brave, Afraid of Sunlight or This Strange Engine helps put the band's recent experiments in context and makes them seem like not such a departure for Marillion after all.

If you decide to go for this one, I recommend tracking down the 2CD version from the band themselves if you can, because the extra material is worth it and all you're missing out from the 1CD version is a rendition of Easter - and that's been on so many live Marillion albums that you really don't need yet another version of it if you've collected more than two or three H-era live discs already.