RECITAL OF THE SCRIPT

Marillion's RECITAL OF THE SCRIPT is, far and wide, considered to be a true masterpiece of 80's prog. This is not far from the truth; it features a brilliant performance of what is the archetypal neo-prog album, a great atmosphere and some awesome playing. The concert can also be looked at from a historical perspective, capturing the last concert on the band's first tour, and also the last concert they ever played with their current drummer, and one of the founding members of Marillion, Mick Pointer. Many complain about the sonic qualities of the DVD - Its currently still only available as a stereo concert, but it still sounds and looks fantastic for a 26 year old concert.

The setlist is rather simple; The band's first album, their first single (Market Square Heroes) and its B-side, Grendel. Its not really fair to criticize the setlist - This was literally all the material, bar one track (Charting The Single) which the band had at the time, and seeing a truly epic performance of a band's first two releases is a real treat.

The songs are all played perfectly, and in most cases, more entusiastically than the studio versions. The songs are brought to life with this new found energy, and the crowd responds in kind. Fish acts out the lyrics mello-dramatically, and the rest of the band play perfectly more in the background. The performance is smooth, other than Fish forgetting some of the lyrics to Garden Party. My only complaint about this concert is rather petty, although definitely worth a mention - The camera nearly always centers around Fish's acting on stage. This isn't outright bad, although it would have been nice to see emphasis on the band more than the lead singer. This is a little dissapointing, mainly because it makes it seem more like a solo performance at times, although it never really ruins my enjoyment of the disc.

A true masterful performance, and a must-have for any self confessed prog lover.

-Joel

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