MARBLES LIVE

Not alot to say really. I gave 5 stars to the studio album, and this is better. A brilliantly executed live performance all members were on the button. And unlike Anoraknophobia, the music is not spoilt by the audience. The invisible man is just super on this live album, got to be one of the greatest openers and songs ever. Just as Neverland is a great end track( apart from the encore of Estonia Marillion forever

An album based upon one of the most musically and lyrically detailed albums...'Marbles.' Being live just makes it that bit more interesting. The sound is great. Some say Marillion have taken their music back to their roots in this album, and I would say that you can definatley find a good bit of prog rock on this cd.

Marbles live is one of those rare live albums that leave you breathless after listening to it. It's more than an album, it's an experience. Of course the original album is delicious but here the delivery is passionate, genuine, and very well played and sung. Steve's vocals are top notch, I have a feeling his voice gets better and better as he gets older, and the sound quality is excellent, much better than Anorak in the UK. Not one of the songs are weak. If you haven't seen them live you are missing something very special and very moving. Neverland is probably their best song ever, and it always gives me goose pimples and brings a tear to my eye, especially when the flying sequence starts (Wendy darling, in the kitchen...). Excellent work from a band that got lost for a while only to reinvent itself as a superior act to Mark I. Yes that's right, it even rivals Fish's era albums, especially the live ones; and I'm starting to like Hogart's voice much more than Fish's, especially nowadays (check out the terrible and embarrassing Mixed Company by Fish!) 5 stars at least.

Personnaly I have always prefered Fish era Marillion to Hogarth era but that wasnt going to stop me getting this album when it came out. And at half the price that the studio album is (still!) being sold at who could blame me.This album comprises the performance of the album Marbles that you can find on the Marbles On The Road DVD, only without the extra tracks of the DVD but Estonia added to the end. Its not quite the same track listing as the studio album as Drilling Holes has been replaced with The Damage, and I have to admit I still havnt heard the studio album so I dont know wether thats a good thing or not.

Steven Hogarth has taken a lot of flack in the past for turning Marillion much closer towards a pop sound than they ever did with Fish. However, the album opener, The Invisable Man, is a stuning full on prog track that ranks up there as one of Marillions all time best songs. Sadly all the songs dont keep to this level brilliance, but also non of them are bad. A lot of the songs enhabit the 4-6 minute mark, witch isnt a bad thing as the songs tend to move from one emotionall ride to another, interspersed with Marbles parts I to IV. The album closes with two of the longest tracks on here. Neverland is the studio album closser and is a really powerfull, epic feeling song. This would have made for a very memorable finishing for the album except that Estonia was still to play. Though Estonia isnt actually a ba song it just gives the album a bit of an anti-climactic final after Neverland.

One problem I have with this is that a lot of the songs are mid paced and if it wasnt for the short Marbles tracks, you probably wouldnt notice huge changes between songs from Your Gone up to The Damage. This may sound like a bad thing but it does give the performance a nice mellow feeling. this changes at The Damage witch is a very up-tempo raucus song that really helps to lighten the mood before the end two songs.

the performances of each of the musicians is very good as well, there is not one that I think could have performend this material better, though I would have prefered Mark Kelly's keyboards to have been slightly more prominent in the mix. Hogarth also gives a really good performance, though it takes half of The Invisable man for him to really hit his stride.

Overall this is a very enjoyable live album that showcases just how good Marillion are live, its not perfect but I highly recommend it, 4 stars.

This was recorded live in London, England in July of 2004 during the "Marbles" tour. I was surprised that the track listing here is almost track for track the same as the single disc version of "Marbles".The exception is track 9 where they replaced "Drilling Holes" with "Damage", a song that was on disc 2 of the special edition "Marbles" recording. As a bonus they end this live album with "Estonia", a song from the "This Strange Engine" record.

"The Invisible Man" takes a while to get going with vocals arriving after a minute. Lots of atmosphere of course. Almost silent 3 1/2 minutes in and then vocals return 4 minutes in. I like the guitar here and the bass is prominant. It calms right down again after 6 minutes before starting to build 7 minutes in as the crowd gets involved. Passionate vocals 9 minutes in and when it all stops suddenly the crown cheers wildly. Reserved vocals return quickly as it starts to build again.The crowd joins in, this is so emotional as Hogarth sings from his heart and Rothery lights it up. "Marbles I" is laid back with vocals and piano. "Your Gone" has this good beat as the crowd joins in.The guitar soars as vocals join in. This is all about the beat, vocals and guitar. Great song ! "Angelina" is mellow with vocals, organ and bass. The tempo starts to pick up a little 1 1/2 minutes in. Nice bass lines too. Tasteful guitar solo 5 minutes in. "Marbles II" is laid back as well but it builds to a good guitar solo 2 minutes in. I like the lyrics. "Don't Hurt Yourself" is the first of three amazing songs in a row. Guitar opens as the crowd claps along. A full sound as drums join in and then vocals. This one moves me. Organ after 3 minutes. There is a prolonged cheer when this song ends.

"Fantastic Place" opens with fragile vocals. The tempo picks up slightly 1 1/2 minutes in. Gulp. Some good affects here from Kelly. A fuller sound before 4 minutes with some incredible guitar to follow. This song gets the biggest applause yet. "Marbles III" opens with piano as background synths then bass comes in. Vocals follow. It's so emotional a minute in.This is my favourite "Marbles" interlude by far. "The Damage & Marbles IV" opens with lots of piano, guitar and vocals. A good driving tune. It changes 4 1/2 minutes in to the second part ("Marbles IV"). "Nevermind" opens with piano, fragile vocals and synths. A fuller sound before 1 1/2 minutes. Emotional guitar solo a minute later. Organ after 3 minutes. Rothery is so impressive 4 1/2 minutes in. Again it's the emotion of his playing. Love the vocal style Hogarth uses to follow. More amazing guitar. After the song ends Hogarth introduces the band. "Estonia" opens with lots of atmosphere. Vocals before a minute. Drums after 1 1/2 minutes. Just a gorgeous sound 2 minutes in. Themes are repeated. I like the keys after 5 minutes.This song is a perfect way to end it.

A must for MARILLION fans, and especially for fans of the "Marbles" record.

the sore throat...

first of all, I only have the CD-release of this and never listened to the DVD, so... the visual experience is completely missing, and the 5.01 Sound is missing as well. What's left is "Marbles" ( the single disc with one track exchanged ) performed live and not performed badly - concerning the instrumental side. And the addition of an encore that, finally, makes this disc irreplaceable for me - "Estonia" is, in this version, as excellent as any lover of that song can expect it to be, wonderfully hovering somewhere out there, close to the other world that its lyrics refer to.

But, honestly, the widely acclaimed, great Studioalbum that made another live-cd after the breathtaking "Anorak in the UK" such an urgent ( ? ) case, it isn't really executed as great as it could ( and should ) have been in order to make this release a "must have". "The Invisible Man", for once, may be an exception, but although I think that the band's playing is even a bit superior to the studio-version - even this one suffers from Hogie sounding as if his voice was hoarse, and the final mix is lacking a bit of body, perhaps because it's only a "stereo mix-down" of the 5.01 - one, I can't tell.

I really think that during this gig, Steve Hogarth was not at his best with his singing, and that's what finally does not make me put on this disc very often. In many places, though, it's still a good recording, but it has to be said that "You're gone", in particular, is far from being comparable to the great studio-recording, and "Angelina" as well as "Fantastic Place" and "Don't hurt yourself" are suffering from the same problem a bit. It's not that the singing was really bad, but it's sounding too raw and dire and sometimes causes a pain in me... and the "Marbles"-bits are somehow being too separated from the other songs, singled out... although it has to be said that they are being performed close to perfection.

But what's worse is that "Drilling Holes" had been exchanged with the far lesser "The Damage" and "Neverland" fails to be the highlight it was supposed to be, sounding hastened and lacking the great sound ( especially keyboards - should have been far more present in the final mix ) it needs in order to take off. So... while you wait for the ending to be better than most of the rest, you simply feel cheated off it as soon as it arrives, it's a disappointment.

So it has to be asked: Why should this record have been released ? An act of duty ? I can't see it. It's not even belonging to the "second category" of Live-Albums I have described in my review to "Real to Reel". And there's not much enthusiasm or live-atmosphere coming through the speakers as well... no, it's close to being a 2-star only and perhaps the worst Live-Album I've ever heard by Marillion. Seeing it rated even higher than the studio-album and Anorak in the UK ( you're kidding, aren't you ? You MUST be, cause being a devoted fan myself I still just can't see what's so great about this one... is it really me ? Do YOU think Hogie sounds good as ever ? Here ? Not even a BIT sick ? And does "Neverland" take you there just like it does on Album ? Even better ? Honestly ??? I'm only asking... ) once more makes me ask if I got a different copy than others... only... normally it's because of ratings too low to follow, this time, I think, it's simply because "Marbles" itself is such a great one and everybody's so happy he's got his live-rendition now, and thereby becoming a victim of psycho-acoustic-phenomenons, hearing things that aren't there...

I am not, simply because of this: The band can do much better. The man on the mixing-desk as well. The feeling just isn't right, and most of it is due to Hogie's voice ( that, in this condition, could have used some more reverb in order to shine ). I wonder if watching the ( highly rated ) DVD can change my mind. To be honest - I'm still afraid to do so. A concert like this can easily be forgiven, yeah, it may even be treasured a good one if you've been there, as a part of the crowd with all your happiness to see and hear the band you love perform one of your favorite albums in concert, but there's lots and lots of other, better shows that preferably could make it onto record. Maybe they all wanted too much, too soon, too fast and the pressure ( self-produced ) was too high, but I would not have released this one, I'd even prefer "Made again" any time, cause though it suffers from a bad mix - Hogie's voice is in good condition there, nearly indestructible compared to here.

I'm clinging to "Estonia" - with Hogie's voice sounding better than on all the rest. 2.5 stars making it a bare 3-star, sorry.

This is a decent live performance of Marbles from Marillion, with the track listing mainly matching that of the 1CD version with a couple of tweaks: Drilling Holes has been replaced with The Damage, and Estonia from This Strange Engine makes an appearance as an encore. Overall, it's a really good set, with energetic performances of the songs, though there are a few issues with the set; most particularly, after the spacey drifting of Neverland, playing Estonia as an encore makes the set feel a bit monotonous - what the encore really calls for is one of the band's livelier songs as a counterpoint to what's gone before. On the whole, though, it's a pretty good companion to the studio album, though those particularly fond of Marbles may want to get Marbles By the Sea (a live set of the complete 2CD album) instead.