RECITAL OF THE SCRIPT

Recital of the Script was originally a concert video with highlights of an April 1983 Marillion gig at the Hammersmith Odeon; this two-CD treat from 2009 presents the audio of the entire concert, with a great remastering job which results in a massive improvement in sound quality - both compared to the DVD and to the December 1982 show at the Marquee found in the Early Stages boxed set, which has a very similar setlist to this one.

The band present all the tracks from Script For a Jester's Tear as well as the preceding Market Square Heroes EP, rounding things off with a performance of Charting the Single - the B-side from the He Knows You Know single. All of Fish's stage banter with the audience is preserved, preserving the live atmosphere (and, thanks to the lack of edits, conveying it more faithfully than the video ever did), and on top of that the band give a great performance, Steve Rothery in particular spicing up his guitar work with a more aggressive edge than in the studio recordings.

Although the performance of Grendel is a little flat, the track seemingly not having benefited from the remastering process as much as the rest of the material, this is still a great value live set from Marillion, and perhaps the most high-quality live recording extant of the Script For a Jester's Tear lineup (Mick Pointer would leave the band very shortly after this concert). Those who are particularly keen on Marillion's debut album will find a lot to love here.

Review Nº 750

According to the live albums of Marillion added to Progarchives, "Recital Of The Script" is the twenty sixth live album of Marillion. It represents one of the live performances of Marillion in Fish's era. Despite it was recorded from a live show performed at the Hammersmith Odeon, in London, in 1983, it was only released in 2009. The recordings were taken from one of the final live shows of their live tour made by the band to promote their debut studio album "Script For A Jester's Tear". It comprises songs from that album as well as the all tracks included on their famous debut EP "Market Square Heroes", and also the B side of their single "He Knows You Know", released to promote "Script For A Jester's Tear".

"Recital Of The Script" is an important live album for Marillion. It's also an interesting live document because it features the former drummer member of the band Mick Pointer, in one of the rare live documents from him with Marillion. He left Marillion to found the band Arena, where he still is their current drummer. So, the line up on "Recital Of The Script" is Fish (vocals), Steve Rothery (guitars), Mark Kelly (keyboards), Pete Trewavas (bass) and Mick Pointer (drums).

"Recital Of The Script" is a live album with ten tracks. The first track "Script For A Jester's Tear" was originally released on their debut album "Script For a Jester's Tear". The second track "Garden Party" was also originally released on "Script For a Jester's Tear". The third track "Three Boats Down From The Candy" was originally released on their debut EP "Market Square Heroes". It was also originally released as the B side of their debut single "Market Square Heroes". It was also released on their single "Punch And Judy". The fourth track "The Web" was originally released on "Script For a Jester's Tear". The fifth track "Charting The Single" was originally released on their single "He Knows You Know". The sixth track "Chelsea Monday" was originally released on "Script For a Jester's Tear". The seventh track "He Knows You Know" was also originally released on "Script For a Jester's Tear". The eighth track "Forgotten Sons" was also originally released on "Script For a Jester's Tear". The ninth track "Market Square Heroes" was originally released on "Market Square Heroes". It was also originally released as the A side of their debut single "Market Square Heroes". It was also released as the B side of their single "Punch And Judy". The tenth and last track "Grendel" was originally released on "Market Square Heroes". It was the B side of the EP "Market Square Heroes".

As I mentioned above, from the early days, when Mick Pointer was still in Marillion on drums, these recordings were compiled on this "Recital Of The Script" CD and also on a DVD, with all the material from the first album and from their debut EP. Here it's one of the pinnacles of the best symphonic progressive rock with compositions at their height and in the same line and quality of many of the great classic prog bands such as Genesis or Yes. Here is the multicoloured sound of Mark Kelly's keys, the plucking of the shy Steve Rothery, and above all, the portentous vocal and imaginative display of that entertainer that is Fish. With some of the best material ever composed by Marillion like "Forgotten Sons", with its changes of time and its impossible structure, the almost twenty minutes of "Grendel", with the front man characterized as the warrior from the Danish poem "Beowulf", the wonderful lyricism of "Script For A Jester's Tear", the inimitable guitar solos of "Chelsea Monday" and "The Web", the melancholy of "He Knows You Know", the jumping keyboards of "Garden Party", and finally the communion with the public. All this shows perfectly well that Marillion is one of those bands with an entourage of fans that would follow them to the end of the world if necessary. Marillion with Fish gave to us a few hours of music that will never be sufficiently valued, even when they are only on a CD or a DVD.

Conclusion: "Recital Of The Script" is really a great live album. In my humble opinion, "Recital Of The Script" is with "Live From Loreley" the two best live documents from the band comprising Fish's era. I prefer these two albums to "Real To Reel" and "The Thieving Magpie ? La Gazza Ladra". It's true that both are also two great live albums, but they aren't, for me, as good and cohesive as "Recital Of The Script" and "Live From Loreley" are. Of course I don't know yet their fifteenth live album "Curtain Call A Live Archive 1983 ? 1988". However, I don't think that it can be better because it's a box set with 6 CD's comprising live performances from three different stages in different times. So, therefore, I can't believe that it can be so cohesive and so good than these two albums are, despite it can be considered as the ultimate Fish's era Marillion live experience. Returning to "Recital Of The Script", it's a great value live album from Marillion in Fish's era, because besides being a great live album, it's the most high quality live recording from their original line up, a rare live document with Mick Pointer. And finally, it's also particularly a must have for all Marillion's fans of their first musical era. As a conclusion, we can even say that "Recital Of The Script" is the perfect companion to "Live From Loreley". I really think that both albums are two indispensable live documents from Marillion in Fish's era.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)