LIVE AT THE MARQUEE

OKAY, as I may have said before, I am probably one of the biggest DT fans on the planet! So how could I ever give this disc a rating of poor? Well, quite honestly, because it is poor. I'm not going to pump this disc up for newer fans and have them hate me when they listen to this rather uninspired set.

Sure, it was the band's first live album, recorded on their first large-scale tour after the success of "Images And Words." I have never been a big fan of live albums in general, simply because of the fact, that more often than not, you do not get a full show and that it's often the songs they cut (usually the non-single tracks) that fans appreciate more. If you don't believe me then please tell me what happened with Genesis (apart from "Live" 1973 which is still amazing) or even art rock bands like Styx or Kansas. Live albums are never a great way to approach new fans and this disc is no acception.

The most interesting track here is "Bombay Vindaloo", basically a nice mellow little jam that never made its way onto an official release. It is for a track like this that I say completetists should search it out. One listen to LaBrie's vocals on this disc and you will run, probably screaming, with blood running unchecked from your ears!!!! Although an amazing studio vocalist, James LaBrie's live attempts from 1992 through 1997 weren't all that memorable, and this is perhaps the worst of his voice on disc.

For fans only, this is not going to be a revelation for anyone else!