LIVE FROM LORELEY

A great nostalgic performance!

Filmed at Lorely, Germany live concert on 18 July 1987, this video which originally was released in VHS format is now available in DVD package recently released (2004) by EMI. For me personally, it's a nostalgic concert where Marillion was at its peak after the success of their monumental "Misplaced Childhood" followed with one and half year non- stop and tiring (to the band members and crews) tours. During that long duration tour to promote "misplaced" the band wrote some material for their follow-up album "Clutching At Straws" (1987). This huge concert was performed to promote their new released album "Clutching".

Please discount my five-star rating here as it's so bias, definitely, because I'm an early Marillion's freaks. Actually I had a hard time at the time because some of my prog mates down here criticized me on loving Marillion's music where its music (their view) was not original. I think they're too narrow minded on defining originality. I think if they want originality, they should focus their ears only to Beethoven. There is no such thing truly original in pop music if the definition of originality is as narrow as "because the music of Marillion is like Genesis". So be it. I came back to my belief that music is emotion. And, early Marillion music has terrifically created great emotion for me. It's the center of energy for my day-to-day activities. I definitely cannot lie to myself on this and I'm proud to admit that I'm a great fan of Fish-era Marillion, any album, any single. I have collected all albums, singles, LPs, laser disc, and some live bootlegs as well as recently released 6 CD boxed set "Curtain Call". I remember vividly how everyday I played "Emerald Lies", "Forgotten Sons", "Script", "Fugazi" (to mention a few) while singing together with Fish with me reading the lyrics. No single day without Marillion (period 1983 - 1988). I even completed my engineering study at ITB, Bandung (The Paris van Java) in 1984 "with the heart of Marillion"! Yes, Fugazi was my spirit to complete my thesis.

Watching this DVD last night (I don't know how many times I have seen this live video in different formats) is like a retrospect for me. It recalls back memories of my happy life as an industrial engineering student in Bandung (Script and Fugazi period) and my early career in corporate world (Misplaced Childhood and Clutching At Straws period). Even, a couple of years ago I was asked to review the band and this live performance by our local television here (TPI) who owned the license to broadcast this video for Indonesia. Hosted by the television broadcaster and rocker Micko Atmoko I was proud making comments about the band that I really loved and being broadcasted all over the country. Oh man .. what a memorable experience! Of course not being a celebrity (something uncommon for progger) but being able to express my views about Marillion is "THE" thing. In fact, I had never seen their real live performance, only through videos.

The video starts off with a scenery about the venue - an open air stage around the beach. I like the crowd whom some of them saw the show with all attributes about Marillion including jester make-ups etc. The camera also shot the backstage preparation by the band members and crews / technician. The show did not feature only their latest Clutching material but also other three previous albums. It stars with "Slainthe Mhath" from Clutching at Straws album. The band members played flawlessly. Pete Trewavas, as usual, played his bass guitar with his energetic movements. He did not stand at certain point on stage but he moved around the left side (crowd-view) of the stage. He did some backing vocal in most tracks plus another female backing vocal. Steve Rothery played his guitar calmly with practically no movement around his original standing place. But he played his guitar stunningly. Mark Kelly played his keyboard seriously with practically no smile at all. Ian Moseley with his "Clutching At Straws" T-shirt played his drum set dynamically. I like the variety of toms he used with his set. It's an excellent view when he played these toms during interlude right before "Heart of Lothian". Excellent drumming! Last but not least Fish with his various stage coats (I think about three or four different ones) sung and moved around the stage.

I don't want to give a track by track review on this as all of them are excellent. One thing to notice is that the SIDE A of "Misplaced Childhood" was performed entirely with the exception (big regret!) of lyrical part in "Pseudo Silk Kimono" - only the instrumental cut that leads to smooth entrance to "Kayleigh".

Well, altogether with "Recital of The Script" this video is a WONDERFUL one to have especially for those who love Fish-era Marillion. No doubt, you have to have it even though you have the VHS or laser disc format. I invite all you to write your views about this video at this site. I welcome any "one star" rating as I have to respect others' musical tastes and background. That's progressive man!

Yours Lavenderly,

Gatot Fugaziyanto

This review is dedicated to Marillion's freaks in my country, to list a "few": Bowo Neo, Rachmat Hery, Imam, Tatan Taufik, Agung Surjoatmodjo, Nirarta Samadhi, Wahyu Probowo, Yayuk Prabowo, Wita Lesmana, David Dewata, Oga Zano, Ruly FedEx, Yosafat, Hardiansyah Rizal, Imam Khanafi, Anto Sulistianto, Purwanto Setiadi. We keep sending short messages over cellular phones whenever we're listening to Marillion's music like this one that I received from Purwanto:

"So if you want my address is number one at the end of the bar ." - taken from "Sugar Mice" by Marillion.

And also for progarchives readers whom I knew a great fan too: Tim, Mike and Marc in the USA.

I've always been reluctant to accept Marillion because it sounds like a weak version of Genesis to me, so my experience with the band has been limited to a few albums (Script for a Jester's Tear, Misplaced Childhood and a couple compilations) but never had the chance to see a video of a live performance of the band.

A couple of months ago I was on a usual DVD safari, and a friend who owns a store encouraged me to buy Live from Loreley, I accepted only because it was very cheap and honestly don't regret it, the DVD is simply outstanding.

What impressed me more of the concert was the audience reaction towards Fish, a guy who seems anti charismatic, but when he starts to sing this impression changes, he has an absolute control of the stage and the fans, the logical consequence not only of his great voice but specially for his impressive personality on stage.

But IMO the star of the night was Pete Trewavas, always correct and strong with the bass, making a perfect rhythm section with the solid drumming of Ian Mosley, both are musicians who sound better on stage than in studio albums, somehow they seem to feed themselves with the energy of the faithful audience.

Steve Rothery also sounds great, not in the level of other Prog' guitar players but still a great musician. If somebody disappoints me on this excellent DVD is Mark Kelly, without the strength and capacity that he shows in studio albums, but it's no problem, Marillion makes a hell of a concert.

I won't give more than a couple of lines to Cori Josias on the backing vocals because she's almost not audible for two legged beings like us, if I haven't seen her on the DVD I could swear there are no backing vocals on Loreley.

Back to the concert, there's not much to talk about the tracks because all are well known and probably described largely by other reviewers in the section for the studio albums, but can't avoid mentioning some tracks that really impressed me.

In first place the opener Slainte Mhath with the perfect work by Trewavas and Mosley much stronger and rhythmic than in Clutching at Straws, great choice to start the show.

Assasing is also another track that sounds excellent on this DVD, Fish does a perfect job specially with the dramatic changes of the song, somehow reminds of Battle for the Epping Forest by Genesis.

No Marillion concert would be complete without Script for a Jester's Tear, maybe the vocal intro doesn't sound perfect, but it's good enough, the development of the track flows gently and with great energy, Mark Kelly does his best job in all the show, a masterpiece.

Kayleigh is a track that I always rejected, not because of the quality but mostly because it sounds out of place in any prog album being clearly a non prog song, but in this case it works as a relief, despite it's genre, sounds better than ever.

The DVD ends with a breathtaking version of Incommunicado, the perfect closer for an almost perfect show.

If any person like me who rejects most Neo Prog enjoyed this concert so much, I'm sure that most of you (probably more open minded) will love it, 84 minutes of great music with an excellent band, that still I can't accept totally on studio albums, so believe me, f any of my reviews is totally honest and absolutely lack of prjudice is this one, because Marillion is not one of my favorite bands.

Would give this DVD 5 stars if keyboards were stronger, but despite this fact I would be dishonest to give Live From Loreley less than 4 solid stars (4.5 if there was the chance).

I bought the DVD together with "Recital Of The Script" (ROTS) DVD last year and I was very happy to see their performance and their style (which was better than in Marquee, "ROTS" DVD). Steve Rothery shows his brilliant guitar especially in "Script For A Jester's Tear", "Incubus", "Kayleigh", and "Bitter Suite". Ian Mosley plays a better drum than Mick Pointer in "ROTS" and of course the angle quality is better than "ROTS" (you know that "ROTS" is almost "Fish-angle"!!!). Unfortunately, Fish doesn't sing as good as in "ROTS". Also, the tracks in "ROTS" for me are better than the tracks in this DVD. However, is still a masterpiece and collectable. If you have had "Recital Of The Script", just try this DVD and compare them. If you haven't collected these two DVD's, stop reading and buy them right now!!!

The Visitor

Can you imagine that over fifteen years after its shooting, EMI still believed that this concert was a marketable product ? They finally released a DVD form this live concert from July 1987 in Germany. There was apparently already a special packaged VHS / CD released in 1995 (out of stock). The live set took place in one of the most romantic place in Germany for a great Marillion concert. The genuine one.

The setting is really incredible : on the border of the river Rhine, St. Goarshausen is a wonderful place. Marillion is really big at that time. Rather paradoxal in those dark days of the late mid-eighties. A prog-rock band reaching stardom in four years and having created a massive enthusiasm amongst a younger generation. The prog/pop compositions worked perfectly.

Some might say that the atmosphere within the band was not good any longer and that you can see this in this DVD, but I don't think so. Trewavas is smiling, jumping and has the same energetic power as usual, Mosley and Kelly have always been in the back of the stage and Steve has never been the most smiling and enthusiastic person while playing live, so of course he is not laughing all the time but I can not conclude that it's because he was P.O. with Fish or anything like that.

Of course, Fish is the central character, but he has always have been, so no change there either. He is really a born showman and communicates really well with the crowd. He speaks German sufficiently well to avoid the only "Danke", "Gutte Nacht". But this can already be noticed in a live compilation release in 2004 as well (called "Curtain Call" of which two CD's are dedicated to a German gig in 1983). So, he is basically at home there and the huge crowd is attached to his every move and gesture.

Seven songs come out their last album (at the time) "Clutching". I would have liked to hear "White Russian" but maybe that Fish was not in the mood to talk about the Holocaust and all those terrible moments of the European history on that night...When you listen how usually Fish introduced this song (only available on non-official release unfortunately, like in the last Fish radio concert in Milwaukee) I am sure that the younger German generation would have supported him with all their hearts and comprehension.

Very few songs of the "old" repertoire (only "Incubus", "Assassing" and "Script") and of course a condensed "Misplaced" with four songs and that's it for this short DVD actually. No bonus, no nothing which is a bit of a shame. Anyway, this is a good Marillion DVD, even if I prefer "Recital Of The Script" of course. But the band has evolved into a more commercial (but still very good) sound and this was Marillion at his best in 1987.

Enjoy it. Four stars.

A must.

This was hard to find, but ka-ching at Amazon.ca and I finally got my copy of this long-waited show. What to expect? The songs are done perfectly, and some got a little face-lift or some tabasco on: Incubus rocks more than on Fugazi and Assassing is even more foot-stomping. It always amaze me how the musicianship of Marillion is high, really high. I watched many prog shows and I can tell you that from the start, Marillion was above and beyond most bands on stage. They meant serious buisness, only topped by the Police or Genesis at such a young age. These guys are more than tight, they are a whole body moving and evolving with grace under pressure.

I can underline the word pressure because there's a LOT of people at Loreley Germany! And more than some hardcore fans at that! Some guys are dressed like the cover of the single Assassing, some like Misplaced Childhood and some others like Script from a Jester's Tear. Quite the colorful bunch! It showed how big and strong this band was 20 years ago.

The band: Kelly is quiet, Rothery is at his best, Trewavas jumps, wiggle and run as always, Mosley is shy but tight and Fish of course is again the perfect jester: kicks and punches the air, runs, screams, and gives the impression the band was in la-la land.

This is a very complete testament of a fantastic era.

Give me my Marillion back!

Having watched this DVD a couple of times this week, and being follower of the Fish-era, it is clear to me that this was the Marillion I loved, the H-era is not bad but of course is something totally different that does not really satisfies me, I have also watched some H-era DVD's which are not my cup of tea so those videos have bored me, on the other hand, this Fish-era video has everything I could ask from Marillion, their musical direction at the moment, the voice of course and they, as a band, left me happy after watching it, this is the Marillion I loved, I wish I could have seen them live, but well, I was a little child back then.

This DVD released by EMI in 2004 is a concert that took place in Loreley, Germany in 1987 and featured probably the best Marillion line-up ever, with Fish of course, Rothery, Mosley, Trewavas and Kelly, and I am sure the people who attended to that show will never forget it, the concert lasts more than 80 minutes of their best repertoire, performed at the band's best, so any follower of the band has to be more than pleased with it.

During the first minutes of the video, we can watch a kind of introduction of the band before going on stage, walking, chatting, taking pictures etc, and then the concert begins with "Slainte Mtaht", followed by the powerful and great "Assassing", since this couple of songs I really wanted to go back to that time and enjoy the concert, it is full of energy that make you want to scream and move your body while the music is playing. I could see Fish solo in concert some years ago, and I loved the way he dominates the stage, and also dominates the audience, now I can see he has done the same all his life, I mean, it is really impressing how he sings and his relation with the stage and audience, believe it or not, that counts a lot for a good show.

Then, one of Marillion´s best songs ever, "Script for a Jester´s Tear" which is simply amazing, you can tell by looking at the people singing louder and feeling like if that was the concert of their lives, superb performance! Then we have songs like "Incubus", "Sugar Mice", "Hotel Hobbies" and "Warm Wet Circles", which are also classics in their repertoire, those songs complete the first half of the concert, you can see the audience is happy with what they are looking and listening to, and also the band looks great, they are truly enjoying what they are doing, they are really connected to each other and of course that makes the music sounds even better.

Then we have the "Misplaced Childhood" time, opening with the last 15 seconds of Pseudo Silk Kimono just in order to introduce "Kayleigh", of course followed by "Lavender", both may be some of their poppiest and catchiest moments, but anyway we love it, then we have "Bitter Suite" and "Hearth of Lothian" which on the other hand may be some of the most elaborate songs off Misplaced Childhood, so that is simply lovely, and they really performed it good.

After that, the band leaves the stage but just in order to return, you know the classic encore, this time they did that twice, two one-song encores, the first one being "The Last Straw" which is another great song, and finishing the concert with "Incommunicado" which is another song full of energy, what a great way of ending a show, which in my opinion was excellent and has no really cons, so after that, and after having been amazed by the DVD, I think I should give 5 stars to it, but wait a minute, talking about DVD concerts, I just give 5 stars to those who are musically and visually superb, this is musically almost superb but visually is not the best I've seen, so I think it would be more accurate if I give it 4 strong and well deserved stars, I highly recommend it to any prog fan, and of course this is a must for Marillion lovers.

Enjoy it!

What a difference a few months makes

When Marillion came to Minneapolis in the fall of 1987, I was one of a small group of rabid fans there at the intimate First Avenue club, the venue made famous not only by Prince's "Purple Rain" but also by the scores of legendary bands who have graced the stage there (including King Crimson many moons ago!) I was so psyched to be right in front of the stage with my friends...only to endure one of the worst concert experiences of my long list of shows. The band and Fish were probably at serious odds at this point, and Fish seemed clearly unhappy with the low turnout and made it known to the very people who did pay to see him. There was a palpable feeling of unease in the air of the club. By the end of the show, there was some contempt aimed back at the band, who refused numerous calls from the crowd to offer but even one number from Script. That didn't happen. I can distinctly remember how bummed out my girlfriend and I were leaving that show, we had the perception that Fish felt insulted by the low turnout, and we felt that he had chosen to dump on the faithful rather than make the best of it. Of course, that's a personal memory of the show, just my impression.

Hard to believe that this Loreley show was a mere 8 weeks prior because it is truly very special. Yes, I acknowledge other writer's complaints that there are "issues" with the sound, but for the chance to see Fish leading Marillion at their height you should not let sound issues stop you. It's not that bad. What is fantastic here is to see a retrospective of all 4 Fish albums covered. "Script" and "Assassing" both were reminders of how the band really ROCKED back then, and the audience is literally charged with fist-pumping energy throughout. I love the mature and introspective composition of the Hogarth era very much, but the band had an undeniable excess of energy with Fish even if the studio material was sometimes a mixed bag. The low point of the show is the somewhat uneven material from "Clutching at Straws" which is not necessarily bad material, but has always been a bit of a bummer for me to listen to. But what makes this DVD a four star event for me, and absolutely priceless, is the chance to have a live document of an extended "Misplaced Childhood" section. Their finest Fish studio album is brought to amazing heights here with Fish nailing every emotional nuance and Steve Rothery just killing it on guitar. I'm a big fan of his playing and especially when he is really being aggressive as is the case here, putting up loud and soaring squeals at every turn. I wish they had played the entire album start to finish, but what is there is worth the price of the DVD. As our Marillion expert Eric pointed out in his review of the CD version, there is a moment when Fish puts his arm around a sullen looking Rothery and sings "It's getting late, for scribbling and scratching on the paper. Something's gonna give under this pressure. And the cracks are already beginning to show." It is a truly poignant moment which I agree is charged with feelings of a band who know trouble lies ahead. Completely essential purchase for Fish-era Marillion fans that you will not regret owning unless you absolutely cannot tolerate less than perfect sound. The gorgeous venue of Loreley also deserves credit for being one of the finest places to do a show. See it!

Though I did get to see Fish live on the "Sunsets" tour and have pretty much all the Marillion albums save from a few recent clunkers, my trusted "shoulder parrot-muse" has been whispering in my ear, coercing me to witness what Marillion was like on stage back in the Fishy days. The good ship Opportunity landed nicely when I ordered both this DVD as well as The Recital from the Script (which has not yet arrived) and got to see what the concert buzz was about. First immediate comment: guitarist Steve Rothery went from lean here to obese now, strangely the opposite route taken by the bold Scotsman, who was outright pudgy in 1987 but terrifically fit when I saw him in 2000. I guess divorce affects different people in different ways! While the sound is, as previously mentioned OK, the crowd's buzzing raw energy is plainly evident from the get-go, fists pumping, swaying to the rhythm and immediately under the magic spell of equally vibrant musicians. Marillion's slithering invasion of "the Flock of Seagulls hairdo new wave market" was the spark of prog's eventual resuscitation and one can see where quality musicianship simply ruled the waves and converted the jaded synth-pop masses. These Brits began assassinating the Luft Ballons with descriptive lyrics delivered with unique passion and instrumental flourish, Mark Kelly's synths preferring sizzling solos to programmed Kraftwerkian klang, Rothery reinventing the poignant guitar solo , while Trewavas (a revelation here) and Mosley combining to deliver real rhythmic propulsion without any sequencer interface! What makes this performance so interesting historically is the still obvious pleasure the band had with Fish's voice and undeniable stage persona which would soon within months devolve into deep bitterness and outright hate, causing the Exile into the Wilderness for the emotive frontman. Perhaps the unshakable feel that the band was becoming Fish and his support band began to rub the others the wrong way and the possible bruised egos that go with such a concept. I doubt it had anything to do with the eternal Scot/English rivalry, as playgrounds were still the ideal battlegrounds to settle those issues as well as the silver Braveheart screen. Anyone who has seen Fish live will know that the man is a commanding presence, at times intimidating (he asked the record execs in the Montreal crowd to stand and then acknowledge their lack of support for his career! Ballsy move!) or ragingly hilarious, a man noted for his spontaneous in between song anecdotes. These at times dictatorial command over the crowd (just like Peter Gabriel by the way) may have soiled the unity and provoked the bitter schism, a period where the band was commercially and artistically successful with 4 massive recordings that still stand the test of time , a series of singles "Kayleigh" and "Lavender" and tours all over the world. This DVD is far from perfection but retains the distinctive magical veneer of witnessing a pioneering band at its creative zenith and personal abyss. Almost as if were a documentary as well as just a concert performance. There are many in the progressive world who view Fish as a somewhat troubled soul (yes he is!), a spellbinding performer (laughter track) and an iconic persona (a foolish romantic dreamer, really), we are all correct as per evidence of the visuals here. His impassioned delivery is breathtaking, paralleled by Rothery's blistering solos ("Sugar Mice") and an audience caressed by the thrill of it all (to quote the Roxy Music tune). As per most of my DVD reviews, the whole is worthier of praise that any descriptive of each track which should be the mainstay of any audio studio/live review. Here the focus is more on the sights than the sounds and thus, watching this is truly like having been there witnessing the "magic". I am including this together with Steve Hackett's Tokyo Tapes DVD, as testimonial documents of progressive music at its epic finest, especially when introducing the genre to the uninitiated and unsuspecting. There are poignant moments here for me, from Sugar Mice to Kayleigh via the Warm Wet Circles and The Short Straw, a mindblowing ride full of unabashed bravado and skilled playing , musical storytelling at its finest.

This is a must have DVD only because it explains clearly what happened since and why. Dead on finnforest ! 5 Warm Wet Circles with Zoom

Marillion in his top form for sure. Filmed in Loreley - Germany in 1987, this release was issued on DVD in 2005 and for sure is an excellent concert. Great list here, from each album to that point when promoting Cutching at straws, every pieces shines here, not to mention that each memeber aswell is in top form. With Fish showing his best side of theatrical moves and above all the voice is quite good most of the time, but specialy on tracks like Assassing, what a piece , what a crowd, brilliant atmospehere, Sugar mice, the timeless Kayleigh and Lavender are excellent aswell. I'll be short, this is one of the most intristing and pleasent DVD I own, pure brialliancy from first to last note, the only thing that bothers me is that Steve Rothery is a little to in back most of the time, not some bursting moments from his side, but aswell what he does here is great for sure. So, a big 4 from me, Marillion in top form, is quite a petty that after this concert soon Fish will go to fullfill a solo career. Recommended.

I had wished for a Real To Reel or a Thieving Magpie DVD for a long, long time. While Recital For A Script is a terrific, essential-buy video, it also came a little too early on their career. After all, the band had only an EP and an album to rely on in terms of repertoire then. So I was thrilled when I found this VHS and later, the its DVD format, in the market. It was recorded aroung the time of their Clutching At Straws LP, in Germany. It was to be the last tour Marillion would ever do with their charismatic singer/poet Fish.

Ok, this is not as complete as I wished: I guess the concert could be a little longer and include some hard to find perfomances of classic stuff like Cinderella Search, Fugazi or Jigsaw, just to name a few, but you can´t have everything. And the only song this DVD has in common with Recital... is the title song of their debut, Scritp For A Jester´s Tear. All the remaining tracks are from their fololow ups, what makes this release the perfect companion to Recital... If you like Marillion´s albums, then you should see them on stage. Unlike most other symphonic prog bands, Marillion always had a better performance live than on the studio. Those guys could play note perfect versions of the tunes and still add extra power to them when they were in front of an audience. Fish in particular seems to be in his ideal enviroment. But we should never forget the brilliant Steve Rothery on guitar and the fabulous rhythm section of Pete Trewavas (a very underestimated bass player) and drummer extraordinaire Ian Mosley.

Even if the band was in the verge of breaking up (or, at least, losing its singer and lyricist), they still could put up a great show, full of energy and passion. I loved the inclusion of the whole side A of Misplaced Childhood (although in my DVD back cover it is credit as only 3 songs). it was a nice surprise, as it was the very good rendition of Incubus (from Fugazi). The added female vocalist is a plus specially on songs like Warm Wet Circles and The Last Straw. The general sound and images are good (actually better then my earlier VHS copy), but could be a little better still.

Conclusion: an essential masterpiece of progressive rock music, even if it has some small flaws as I stated before. If you´re a fan of 80´s Marillion, or a fan of symphonic prog rock in general, this is a must have along with Recital For A Script. Final rating: something between 4.5 and 5 stars. Highly recommended!

In early 1987 I started to buy some of MARILLION`s albums. In that year I bought "Misplaced Childhood", "Fugazi" and I listened to "Clutching at Straws", all in the L.P. format. But it was unitl recently that I could watch to this concert video. In fact, on T.V. I could watch many years ago to some songs being broadcasted on some music programmes ("Pseudo Silk Kimono", "Kayleigh", "Warm Wet Circles").

Well. This concert video brought me some very good memories from those years (1987-88). Watching to this concert video was a very nostalgical experience for me. And this concert video is in fact very good, with the band not playing a "perfect" concert, because there are some "imperfect" things, of course, which could not be re-recorded in the recording studio. So, for this reason this kind of "raw" live recordings are the best in my opinion, because they let us see the bands playing live as they really sound in concert. I think that at that time MARILLION were really at the peak of their musical career with Fish. They appear in front of the cameras having a lot of fun and with them interacting and smiling to each other, and with Fish communicating very well with the audience. It was a very good idea to record this concert for this video then. It looks like they were not having then the problems which caused this line-up of the band to split, with Fish finally leaving the band in September 1988.

Being a concert played in the open air really caused some problems at least with Fish`s vocals in some parts of the concert. but it does not matter very much. He looks very happy, and the band and the audience too. The band played the songs with some more "freedom" doing some variations in comparison to the original studio recordings. This also makes live recordings like this more interesting. In fact, the appearance of Cori Josias on backing vocals made some of the songs sound a bit different. The setlist is very good, with them playing songs from each album they recorded until then. For me the most interesting songs are the ones from their "Misplaced Childhood" album (my favourite from them), playing the songs from "Part One" (the original Side One of the L.P.) but with "Pseudo Silk Kimono" being played in a short instrumental version, and the songs from their "Clutching at Straws" album. There are other four songs which were not included in this DVD but which are available in the CD of "Live from Loreley" ("Fugazi", "White Russian", "Garden Party" and "Market Square Heroes").

This is a very good concert video.

Review Nº 766

'Live From Loreley' is a DVD of Marillion that was released in 2004. It was taken from a recorded live show performed at the Freilichtbuhne Loreley, St. Goarshausen, Germany on 18 July 1987. The recording session was made during the first part of the 1987 'Clutching At Straws' live tour, showing the band at the peak of their best commercial success.

The line up on 'Live From Loreley' was the usual at the time: Fish (vocals), Steve Rothery (guitars), Mark Kelly (keyboards), Pete Trewavas (bass) and Ian Mosley (drums). It had also the participation of Cori Josias (backing vocals).

'Live From Loreley' is a live show that comprises songs from their four studio albums recorded by them up to that point, 'Script For A Jester's Tear' from 1983, 'Fugazi' from 1984, 'Misplaced Childhood' from 1985 and 'Clutching At Straws' from 1987. It includes also non-album's songs, which were released on their debut EP 'Market Square Heroes'.

The cover of the album uses the original 1987 concert poster designed by Mark Wilkinson, a British graphic designer which is best known by his cover art created for a number of British bands, like Marillion and Fish. It shows the central character from the cover of their single 'Incommunicado', taken from their fourth studio album 'Clutching At Straws'.

From the 'Live From Loreley' live tour were released four live documents. It was released a 1987 VHS tape version with thirteen tracks, a 1995 CD + Video Double Pack with twelve tracks on the CD version and thirteen on the VHS Video version, because 'Incubus' wasn't included on the audio CD version, a 2004 DVD version with fourteen tracks, and a 2009 double audio CD version with eighteen tracks, much more complete because it includes four new tracks that had been omitted from the previous versions, 'White Russian', 'Fugazi', 'Garden Party' and 'Market Square Heroes'.

So, 'Live From Loreley' is a DVD with fourteen tracks. About the tracks chosen to be performed in the live set we can say that 'Slainte Mhath' was released on 'Clutching At Straws', 'Assassing' was released on 'Fugazi', 'Script For A Jester's Tear' was released on 'Script For A Jester's Tear', 'Incubus' was released on 'Fugazi', 'Sugar Mice' was released on 'Clutching At Straws', 'Hotel Hobbies' was released on 'Clutching At Straws', 'Warm Wet Circles' was released on 'Clutching At Straws', 'That Time Of The Night (The Short Straw)' was released on 'Clutching At Straws', Kayleigh' was released on 'Misplaced Childhood', 'Lavender' was released on 'Misplaced Childhood', 'Bitter Suite' was released on 'Misplaced Childhood', 'Heart Of Lothian' was released on 'Misplaced Childhood', 'The Last Straw' was released on 'Clutching At Straws' and 'Incommunicado' was released on 'Clutching At Straws'.

The set list is very interesting, as it differs significantly from 'The Thieving Magpie (La Gazza Ladra)'. The focus here is more on 'Clutching At Straws' than on 'Misplaced Childhood'. So, there's relatively little overlap in the song selection between both live albums. Fish interprets the pieces with a lot of expression and power and I don't think that he falls off in any way compared to the interpretations on the other recordings that I know. Fish is also dressed appropriately in a brightly coloured Jester costume and heaves his massive figure across the stage. Also, the background singer doesn't bother me at all. She's used subtly and supports the pieces well dosed. The stage is wide and illuminated with many colours. The enthusiastic crowd, at that time were about 18,000 spectators, was offered something not only musically, but also visually. The picture on the DVD looks a bit fuzzy and glaring in certain colour tones, particularly with a lot of red, but is otherwise okay. However, it doesn't meet today's standards. But that hardly matters, because the music is able to grab. The sound on the DVD is okay. It's not a real 5.1 sound, but a subsequently highly mixed surround sound, but it makes a good impression. Additionally, the DVD offers as an extra, a Photo Gallery from the band at the time.

Conclusion: To see again 'Live From Loreley' after so many years is a very nostalgic experience for me. It represents unfortunately the last live tour of the band with Fish. As I wrote in other occasions, I like of both Marillion's lines up with Fish or Hogarth. However, with Fish on board Marillion is a completely different kind of band. And when I see this DVD is totally clear for me, this is the Marillion that I love most. On 'Live From Loreley' we can see a band doing a great live performance, where all musicians are great and know what they are doing on stage. However, what impressed me most was the stage performance of Fish. It shows an artist with an absolute control of the stage and the audience. In Loreley, he fully demonstrates that beyond his great vocal capacity he also owns a great and impressive personality on stage. In relation to the video and the sound of the DVD, I must say that they're excellent, in the same quality line of the concert.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)