CURTAIN CALL - A LIVE ARCHIVE 1983 - 1988

Marillion has a great management team (unless they are taking care of this on their own).

From the very beginning of their career, they released a video of a concert (the fantastic "Recital..."). With the explosion of the web, they will build a great web-site and create an on-line fan club with lots of goodies that the Fish orphans would like to own. They launched the idea of the "Front Row Club". For an expensive annual fee (49,99 £ or 75 ? or 100 $) the fan will have the right of getting some Marillion live releases (four a year). Mostly bootleg stuff but with good sound quality (most of the times).

But these "Curtain Call" live sets are not included in the budget. So, to get them not only do you need to be a member, but you will have to pay separately for them. Anyway, they are out of print by now, so DO worry. They aren't available any longer.

What is featured here is the very best of the genuine Marillion. Live. Over a period of five years.

It is true to say that Volume A, is almost a carbon copy of the great "Recital Of A Script". But since this one was a video (later released in DVD format) it is good to get a CD version (unless you know how to convert a DVD into audio format - which is rather easy by the way). It is my preferred volume of the three. It is interesting to listen to several Fish introductions. He is so communicative with the crowd (and has fortunately remained so).

Some of them are truely politically oriented. Before "Fugazzi" (volume three), Fish will just remind the audience that a week before this gig, he read an article in which it was mentioned that the British government was going to spend 124 million £ in a spacial project while Reagan & his team had released a budget of 54 BILLION $ to send a man on Mars (is there life on Mars ?).

"F@@@ing" clever (Fish said, but I fully agree). In those days (but nothing has basically changed in the meantime, unfortunately) even in Western (and rich) countries "There is not enough money to put people in houses, in hospitals nor food in people's houses ! This is a "f@@@ed" up world".

Volume B is mostly like "The Thieving Magpie" and the full rendition of "Misplaced"; Still, on this one, we'll get another great version of "Script" (how much I love this one), "Incubus" and "The Web".

And Volume C is a kaleidoscope of their whole Mark I career (except thier debut album "Script").

My only regret is that there are no signs of "Grendel" in here. A great prog epic, really. And one of my fave (all bands considered). Fish will warn the audience though : during the long intro for "The Web" : "No, we won't do any Grendel tonight, sorry"... And, yes, I am very sorry (but I have some unofficial live versions, so...).

Five stars for this excellent document of live prog music.

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