REAL TO REEL

Great heavy album. it features all qualities present in the band. Dynamic drumming, great bassplaying, sublime guitars, atmospheric melodic keyboards and of course Fish, with great diction and power in his vocals. Marillion showed that they could reproduce the sounds they created in the studio,and translate them into a great live performance. How I wish I was there in those days, to watch and hear them perform.

Assassin starts the show with great keyboards, accompagnied by background drumming and Fish laying some non-lyrical vocals into it. When the heavy drums and bass finaly take over the song takes shape with great singing and some great guitar and keyboard melodies. A stunning start to a great live show. Incubus starts with great rhytmic guitar a strong bassline, with some of the finest keyboards dangling in the background, holding the song tightly together. Great song, dynamic and energetic, a great symphonic guitarsolo from Steve signals the beginning of the phenomanal end section of the song.

"This is dedicated to all the drunken romantics in the audience, this is called Cinderella search" a great song, with great singing, sublime keyboards and a fabulous guitarsolo. Just awsome, my favourite track from this album. Emerald Lies is played with more power and energie than on the studio version, I especially like the rhytmic bassguitar play and the strong drumming and of course the dramatic lyrics. Forgotten Sons, driving bassplay with great drumming create a very dynamic heavy "militaristic" warlike background, with screaming guitar and energetic keyboards running through it. Marvelous song, with brilliant cynical lyrics "Your children are all falling down, these are your forgotten sons".

Garden Party is a great uplifting song, with great melodies swirling through a dynamic atmospere,a great live version with great audience participation. Market Square Heroes finishes the album nicely, strong keyboard soloing, with pulsing driving bass and drums, great sung, unfortunatly the audience is hardly audible for the "Market Square Hero" line. A great version nonetheless

Though some of their best songs are not present on this live album (Fugazi, The Web, Script), it still is a great compilation of fabulous songs played with conviction and energie. In combination with La Gazza Ladra and The recital of the script DVD it is an almost complete overview of the live music of Fish-era Marillion. Higly recommended to all fans of Marillion, and for people who like heavy melodic/symphonic rock.