FROM STOKE ROW TO IPANEMA - A YEAR IN THE LIFE (DVD)

DVD1 of this 2 DVD set has interviews with the members of the band plus some live versions filmed in Brazil. But I prefer th DVD2 filmed in concert at the DeMontford Hall. This is a very good concert DVD, filmed during Marillion`s first tour with new lead singer Steve Hogarth, and it has all the songs from the "Seasons End" album, an album which I consider a very good album. There are other songs taken from older albums when Fish was in the band, and Hogarth sings all these old songs very well, but I prefer the original versions sung by Fish. Hogarth also plays some keyboard parts in some songs, like in "Easter" (using white gloves!). IMO,for many Marillion`s fans it wasn`t very important that Fish wasn`t in the band anymore, and in the video they appear enjoying the concert very much and giving Hogarth a very good "welcome!".

Fish is out, the Hogarth era begins. Hot on the heels of their first release with the new singer, the band records their show in Wales and introduces the Hogarth era to those who may have missed their Seasons End tour. In actuality, the overall performance is far superior to that of the previously released Live At Loreley, their last with lead singer Fish.

Disc 1 mainly consists of interviews, live shots, videos from the Seasons End album, and a behind the scenes look at them recording Holidays In Eden. Pretty uneventful, but some points of interest(s) here. Primarily H's explanation of the Midi Gloves, in which he plays keyboard sections with the use of gloves with sensors or triggers placed at the fingertips (since replaced by H's bionic cricket bat). Also, the footage of them playing their very first live gig at a small pub in the English countryside that was barely big enough to fit Mosley's massive kit. The only way to leave was to leap out of the back window. Basically, the disc serves as a look inside the world of the new (at the time) Marillion.

Disc 2 is the live show in Wales and it's good to see them play to an enthusiastic band. The DVD comes with a few director's cuts, which more or less mirror the performances that made it. One pathetic part is a fan unable to move on waving a stuffed fish prior to "Easter". Instead of flying off the handle, a calm Hogarth flashes that grin of his and respectfully says, "Put that fish away." He handled it with good humor.

The show kicks off with a brilliant performance of "King Of Sunset Town". Everyone but H are on stage blazing through that memorable introduction. Only when the music slows do we see Hogarth arrive on stage wearing all white, while the rest are in black. An obvious attempt to show everyone that THIS is our new lead singer. For me, the white symbolizes a rebirth or renewal. Hogarth handles this moment brilliantly, with a larger than life performance and showing off his superior range to that of the old lead singer.

After the final notes of "King Of Sunset Town" are over, the familiar piano intro to "Slainte Mhath" chime in, which instantly gets a seal of approval from the fans. I've never had problems with H doing Fish material, but "Slange" isn't my favorite tune. Later on with songs like "Warm Wet Circles/That Time Of The Night" does H put his stamp on these old favorites. Personally, I think he does a better job than Fish did.

Essentially, the Stoke Row performance showcases all of Seasons End, Hogarth's debut effort with Marillion. Nothing is more passionate or heart wrenching than H singing "Easter" live on stage. Arguably one of Marillion's greatest songs. Period. And the other thing Hogarth brings to Marillion is another musician in the band, as he handles the keys on "Easter" flawlessly--a very underrated keyboardist. Additional highlights from the new material are "The Univinvited Guest", which is the closest thing to a Fish sounding song that they've ever done with Hogarth. It is here that we really see the Midi Gloves at work, as he plays the keys on a clear screen suspended from the rigging.

"Holloway Girl" is one of the moments that really cause my arm hairs to stand on end. Beautiful range exhibited by Hogarth on the chorus, it has some beautiful lyics (I include a portion of the song's lyrics at the end of all of my posts). "Seasons End" is another show stopper. Beautiful song and exquisite guitar work from Rothery, backed by the duel keys of Kelly and Hogarth. "Berlin" is especially powerful and Hogarth really leaves it all out on the stage. Just one of the more magical moments on the disc.

This was the very first DVD I bought when I first got into Marillion. I like both eras of Marillion, but am inevitably drawn to the Hogarth era. It's great to see the band carrying on and enduring to this very day. H doesn't quite have that same range, but today he's got a more wise and raspy tone to his voice. The Fish era was great; however, I think the new kid came in and just took everything up a notch and made this band a powerful unit with which to be reckoned. The band just wasn't happy with Fish any longer. Here you can see that they're having fun again. That joy is given to their fans, which still exists to this day.

As we come out of the Fish era of Marillion and Hogarth is ushered in to the forefront, we are swept away from sprawling epics about monsters storming Heorote and how truly fugazi our world is and we are taken to a place where Easter is a time for the blind to see and Steve Hogarth is the King of Sunset Town. While stylistically different in vocal approach than Fish, Hogarth is able to carry a tune with a soulful and emotional vocal that hits higher notes than Fish could, but Fish was always better in the lower registers. But this review isn't about the differences in Hogarth and Fish vocally, is it? No, it's about the first live video from Marillion with Hogarth at the helm. This two disc affair could have easily fit onto a single disc, which is what I see as the main fault here (not to mention a lack of Fish material pre-Clutching at Straws), but other than that it's a pretty well performed concert and a pretty informative pseudo documentary about Hogarth joining the band, Seasons End, and even a sneak peek at Holidays in Eden.

The first disc of this set is a 50 minute documentary encompassing all that had occured to Marillion in the late 80s. Hogarth describes his roots in music, working with The Europeans and How We Live, and then almost becoming a milkman before trying out for Marillion. You'll also get the rest of the band's take on this whole situation and how they saw the fans deal with Hogarth. The cool thing about this disc is that all the videos from Seasons End are here (Easter, Uninvited Guest, Hooks in You). Now, Marillion was never a great band in the music video realm, but the video for Easter is rather nice and Uninvited Guest has its moments, but Hooks In You... that's another story. For this video, if you had never heard Marillion before, youd've that they were a pop metal band in the vein of Poison or Motley Crue. Anyway, I would have liked to have seen a more in depth analysis in the songs of Seasons End because there are many interesting bits and pieces throughout that album. Also included is a set of footage from a festival in Brazil in which Marillion performed. The video quality isn't great at all (but the band apologizes via a scrolling message, saying that it took 8 months to get the footage, and they are sorry for the poor quality), same with the audio, but the band plays with such life and vigor it's amazing.

The second disc is a full on performance from the Seasons End tour. Opening with King of Sunset Town and closing with a rollicking version of Market Square Heroes, what you'll find here is Seasons End in its entirety with bits of Fish era songs in it as well. I would have liked there to have been more Fish material, though, as Hogarth's versions of that era of Marillion are interesting (although they don't really compare to Mr. Dick). I really enjoy Rothery on this disc, he plays some of the best lead and riff work I've ever heard, and here he's no slouch. The audio for this disc is crisp and all the group can be heard well. The video is also good, but it's not what I'll call technically brilliant. A live innovation used during this tour was the use of Midi gloves from Hogarth to play extra keyboard parts to give the group a fuller sound (a full explanation of how they work can be found on disc one), but he doesn't use them much throughout the performance, the only prominent song in which they are used in Uninvited Guest. In the end, though, this disc is a fine concert, well performed and well recorded.

In the end, From Stoke Row to Ipanema is a fun and informative watch for any Marillion aficionado. Despite the first disc not going terribly in depth on each individual track on Seasons End, and the less than perfect video quality on the second disc, there is a lot to be enjoyed here. I'd recommend it to Marillion fans first and foremost, but I think it's an excellent dvd on the whole. 4/5.

In my opinion this is far from being a masterpiece. It's just a concert emphasizing on the album Seasons End - not a spectacular show in any sense - accompanied by few videos and interviews, the latter not really interesting stuff enough for repeated viewings. And it all would have fit just well in one disc. This DVD left me with a taste that it tries desperately to prove that Marillion survives well with the new singer, Steve Hogarth. But after all, one year is not so notable measure. They started with two mediocre, commercially accessible albums (at the time they were writing Holidays in Eden from which they throw a rough live-in-the-studio 'This Town') before really finding their new style.

The Fish-era material in the concert works quite ok, though I understand the opinion that it's not 'the real thing' without Fish. Steve H. seems quite sympathic guy and as a newbie he surely manages well. But it's the material itself that stops me giving more than 2,5 stars. This is Marillion at its - perhaps - weakest point in their career.

An Excellent Documentary .h era

Imagine if you are a die hard fan of Marillion Fish era and you see this DVD displayed at your local DVD store. Would you buy it? You might not. Well, I guess your reason would be two-folds. First, you are still disappointed that the band's previous lead singer (Fish) left the band and since then you thought that the band was totally disbanded. Without Fish , how would you call the band as Marillion? Second, this DVD was released in 1990 and there is a caption at the DVD cover that says: One Year In A Lifetime . How could it be? Marillion was formed in 1979, made a successful debut "Script For A Jester's Tear" in 1983. At least, the band had been alive for minimum 10 years and definitely NOT one year.

The producer did not actually intend to cheat you really. He just meant that the DVD covers the band's history with new singer Steve Hogarth. Having been one year the new singer on board, EMI thought that it was necessary to make a review of how the band was progressing especially after the release of the new album "Seasons End". So, don't get surprised that the DVD started with a lot of background on the process of hiring h. Half of Disc 1 contains interviews with the band members (especially h) about this background.

Disc One : Interviews and Some Live Footage

Unlike most rock DVDs, this package starts with interviews with hogarth, Steve Rothery, Ian Mosley and Mark Kelly on the process of finding new vocalist for the band as it was advertised at Melody Maker in December. I don't know why Pete Trewafas (bass) was not interviewed. Initally, I didn't really like this part and I tended to skip the interviews that was filmed Starbridge Studio backyard. But the more later I was so curious about the process. After short introduction about the band since its inception until Fish left the band - displayed with printed words on a TV screen only - it continues with a "Hooks In You" video. It the was followed with Hogarth explaining how he was so nervous before the video shoot in front of 600 crowd. To his surprise the crowd was chanting his first name and he first thought that it was for Steve Rothery. I quite enjoy Hogarth's vivid explanation about his background prior to joining the band. He was previously with a band called Europeans which later was disbanded and he continued forming new band named as How We Live until they reached a "Dry Land" album. It was up to that point he felt that the band was going nowhere. Ian Mosley gives an explanation about his job for listening to the tapes / cassettes they received for vocalis audition until he finally got Hogarth's tape and he thought it was suitable for the band.

Quite an interesting story actually. Especially, I like the facts that the band members did not push Hogarth to be someone else and they even encouraged H to be as himself - not someone else. And man .. if you are a die hard fan of Marillion, you will be touched with this story! I think the band members were just humanistic and did not want to live in the past. Fish left the band and they had no intention to disband Marillion. The band had to move on . bravely (as Dream Theater said in "Spirit Carries On" lyrical part : "Move one bravely .." Hello! This was 1990! Scene From A Memory was not born yet . So sorry!). As for my case, I was not into Marillion with Hogarth era because I love Early Marillion music not the new one with ambient style and less melodic music. But, having seen this DVD, I can then appreciate the band facing the fact finding replacement for a new lead singer.

At approximately minute 16 there is a video shoot on "Script For A Jester's Tear" with Hogarth on vocal. The band really rocks! I love this partial shoot because it really reminds me the glory of the band in the 80s. I also love the part where Steve Hogarth gives his highest appreciation to Job Price - a genius who helped Hogarth invented wireless keyboards where Hogarth can play it with his gloves, withouth touching a real keyboards. It's like a virtual keyboards but with a true sound of keyboards. He explains how the wireless keyboards work at his finger tips using a pair of gloves. He then demonstrates the keyboards in the studio with the help of Mark Kelly and Steve Rothery.

The live footage from the band concert in Brazil is also an excellent one even though the technical quality of the picture and sound are poor. But I don't really care. The crowd was crazy and the show was awesome. "Kayleigh" and "Lavender" were interpreted with his own way of singing and they sound excellent to me. The disc also covers the background of "Easter" and followed with its video clip.

Disc One concludes with the band's current work for next album which would be due couple of months later. It's good that the band plays one of the new album material live in the rehearsal studio with "This Town". Well. you know it .. the next album was titled "Holidays in Eden" which I have reviewed already at this site.

Disc One : 'Live at the De Montfort Hall'

It's an excellent concert. It impressively starts with "The King Of Sunset Town" (6:42) from "Seasons End" album. The band plays the opening, dominated with Pete Trewavas bass playing in ambient music background comprising keyboard and guitar. It flows beautifully and Hogarth goes on stage with his powerful voice. It continues seamlessly with "Slàinte Mhath" (4:37) from "Clutching AT Straw" album. Yes, there is a quite different vocal style of Fish and Hogarth but that's okay, Hogarth sings beautifully.

"Uninvited Guest" (4:50) starts with Hogarth's act on his wireless keyboard he showed us at Disc One. It's quite interesting as he plays the virtual keyboard with the help of a glass screen hung at the stage. It's quite entertaining to see him plays his keyboard that way. As for my case, I have never seen something like this before. The Fish parts like "Warm Wet Circles" (3:51) and "That Time Of The Night" (6:00) are performed excellently with practically no complaint from me.

I do enjoy when the band plays "Seasons End" (7:50) and "The Space... "(6:34). The band put their concerted efforts to make the show as perfect as possible and they show it through this concert. "The Space" has been my favorite Hogarth era track and they perform excellently. Again, Hogarth dares to play Fish era songs. First the legendary "Kayleigh" (3:50) who has made Marillion name rocketing in the mid 80s, followed with a love song "Lavender" (2:43), the heroic "Heart Of Lothian" (2:54), and "Incommunicado" (5:08). I'd prefer Fish to sing these songs but Hogarth does fine with these three songs and I'm satisfied.

Conclusion

Marillion is for me "the" band that has made great emotional impact through its powerful compositions and melody - especially in their early years. But I don't mind enjoying this DVD even though the time where the band had great melody and dynamic structure had gone, I still consider this DVD package as excellent addition to any prog music collection. For those who never knew Marillion before might as well enjoy this DVD. Recommended. Keep on proggin' .!

"Don't let yesterday take up too much of today."

I bought this DVD in a box set, together with the "Recital Of A Script". It is of course unfair to have grouped those two ones, but I did not decide to do it.

If you have read my reviews for the Mark II studio albums released before this DVD, you know already that I liked very much the genuine band, while Mark II does not have really my favours.

And I was even more angry when looking at the few lines of text of the first DVD. According this message, Fish left unexpectidely. They could have, at least, mentioned that he was purely sacked from the band.

The whole of this DVD will relate the genesis (sorry about that one) of the new band. Hogarth recruitment was rather strange. Through a small ad in the Melody Maker (or NME) : Marillion needs vocalist ! After having heard the tape from Hogarth, the whole band knows that he will be the man !

I still wonder what could have made them so sure about that. Anyway, IMO the choice for a complete different character than Fish is still today completely out of my understanding but since Marillion still produces albums and tours I guess that my opinion does not count very much and will join the hundred of thousands of the ones who prefered the other Marillion. The first and genuine one.

Since I moderately appreciated their first post-Fish studio-album (while the man reached Nr. 5 in the UK chart with his first solo album) which won't be a huge commercial success, I find DVD one more interesting. We learn Hogarth's integration process in the band, his fear for the live performances etc.

They will play their first gig in a pub with around 100 people ! Hogarth telling that the crowd was really close to him and that he could get beaten pretty easily. But, fortunately, nothing as such happened. On the contrary, the crowd (and this will be verified throughout their first tour) will be rather fair to him. The peak being their gig in Paris in front of 5 to 6 thousand people during which (half in the concert) the crowd brought a fantastic support and were clapping and yelling their faith to the band that they had to stop playing for bout three minutes. This must be quite impressive.

So, what the band had feared will never happen. The fans (at least the ones still going to the concerts) won't be harsh. But of course audience and album sales won't reach the glory of the past years. In a period of a few months, Hogarth will go from anonimity to stardom (in Brazil) ! They will play at a festival in front of seventy thousand people. Steve (Hogarth), will also explain the history of the clip for "Easter" which is quite an emotional moment for him.

This is a good documentary. As the sub-title of this DVD says : A Year In The Life - June 89 / July 90.

The second DVD is a recording of a live set in the UK. We'll get the full "Season's End" album which could absolutely not interest me for a ?cent (or a penny or whatever). These live versions, as I have said in my review for their "Live In Caracas" are superior to the studio ones. The passion of the stage can be felt while it was almost pure melancholy in studio. But the original being rather average, it is hard to transform it into a great piece of work.

So, to fill up a full list of a set, Mark II has integrated some old songs like the "Misplaced" trilogy which might not be evident for "Kayleigh" (I already have explained why in previous reviews), "Heart Of Lothian" being out of reach vocally for Steve. And his performances during "Incommunicado" and "Market Square Heroes" (almost twice as speedy as the original) won't be convincing at all.

There are even some "Director's Cut" bonuses which are actually six songs already presented in the normal presentation and therefore redundant and useless.

I can hardly recommend this to anyone outside the Mark II circle of fans. Two stars.

Putting the Fish away

This superb double DVD set dates from 1990, and as such acts as Steve Hogarth's video debut with the band. Given Hogarth's subsequent longevity as lead singer of Marillion, it is easy to forget that at the time of these recordings he was still the new boy, the set being a hybrid of Fish era songs and all the tracks from "Season's end".

The centrepiece of the presentation is a complete concert recorded in Leicester, UK. The excitement of both band and audience is palpable, Hogarth's enthusiasm and energy giving a firm indication that the future of the band was once again secure. While Hogarth seems quite at ease singing songs such as "Lavender" and "Market square heroes", both his and the rest of the band's best performances are on the material they recorded together. For me, the title track from "Season's end" is the highlight of the set, the song offering a good indication of the general direction the band would subsequently adopt.

The disc containing the concert is completed by a handful of "Directors cuts" of songs included in the gig. These appear superfluous, indeed it is difficult to spot any difference between these and those already enjoyed.

The other disc (actually disc 1) is styled as a year in the life of Marillion beginning with the auditioning and commissioning of a replacement singer for the departed Fish. The interviews with all five band members are now of historical rather than current interest, but they do offer an intriguing insight into Hogarth's arrival and the renewed enthusiasm the band enjoyed at that time. Archive footage includes the band's first gig in a local pub, where they had to leave by a window and could not get back in to do an encore. There's also very early live performances including a huge gig in Brazil and one in Paris which was clearly an emotional high for all the band members. One of the more bizarre moments is a complete numpty in the audience in London waving a huge fish in the air right in front of Hogarth. Fortunately, Hogarth simply tells him to "put that Fish away" and carries on.

The main (but minor) criticism I have is that the sound and video are of television rather than cinematic quality, 5.1 sound being unavailable. That said, the quality is certainly tolerable, and does not detract from the performance.

While this DVD is now some 17 years old, it remains a worthwhile acquisition for anyone with an interest in this great band.

First let me start by saying how refreshing it was to see a group's fans warmly accepting a new singer replacing an iconic frontman.

O.K., as a Marillion fan still just getting into the H era masterpieces (Marbles, Brave, along with a best of burnt by a friend), I don't get excited watching the interviews & conversations. This is a big minus against the 1st DVD. They all seem nice people, but unless you're a big fan, you aren't missing anything that you wouldn't find more interesting to read on any Marillion bio. It would also take less time. Things do start picking up once the Uninvited Guest video shows up. For someone who's not heard it yet, I found the song stands up well to Fish era Marillion. There's the section about the gig at the local pub that is most fun given the back story and the reception given the whole group & its' then new singer. Then we get a nice surprise with the live in Brazil material. Even as a new Marillion fan & mostly of the Fish era stuff, it felt good to see the band going over so well. Even with the less than perfect audio & video, I still enjoyed H's singing and the band playing was great. Well worth the fan's time & money. DVD 2 - This can go either way. If you go for the big Scot's showmanship, then this concert might not be to you liking. Hogarth has a more 'rock singer' approach to stage craft, more mainstream if you like.For me, I was delighted to see H handling the Fish era classics well. Unlike some groups where a new singer's voice doesn't quite mesh with the old stuff (I Love Bruce Dickinson, but he can't do justice to D'Ianno era songs), it wasn't hard to make believe that these were Hogarth's from the beginning. The set list includes many classics from the first period that one should expect from a Marillion concert of the time, with an excellent mix of newer tunes. And yes, songs such as Easter and tunes from Seasons End do fit in very well with the older stuff. I've been playing Brave constantly as of late, and am saving up to buy Seasons End and possibly the Brave live DVD and /or even Holidays in Eden. So the good bits are very good, the boring bits too long, but, hey, you can put your DVD remote to good use, eh. Oh, btw, am I the only one who feels that Hogarth shares some vocal similarities with solo period Tim Finn ?