FELLINI NIGHTS

A true Fish live album since no genuine "Marillion" songs are featured here.

Almost all tracks from his last studio album ("Fellini Days") are represented. And even if I was not over enthusiast about it, I have to say that these songs, while split on a double album are rather satisfactory. Especially three of them : "3D" of course, "The Pilgrim's Address" and "Clock Moves Sideways".

This double live CD is shortly formatted (just over ninety minutes of music available), but this leads to a sharp set, very well performed and the old fans won't be forgotten since there is a very good medley of previous Fish tunes ("Lucky", Credo" and "Vigil") as well as the great "Tumbledown" & "The Company".

This set has been recorded in The Netherlands, where neo-prog is very much appreciated. The big man is at home and you can feel it (just listen to the emotional "Company"). Fish also show his profound attachment to his Scottish roots while he interprets the unofficial Scottish anthem "Flower Of Scotland". A capella por favor!

A good live album. Three stars.

As one might expect, Fellini Nights is a live album recorded during the Fellini Days tour - specifically, it offers a show from the Amsterdam leg of that tour. This finds Fish with a strong set of material from another creatively successful album to showcase, as well as old favourites - in fact, by this point in his solo career it was more than viable to fill an entire setlist without including any Marillion material, and that's what happens here.

In the liner notes Fish is enthusiastic about the Amsterdam Paradiso as a venue, praising its intimate atmosphere - and I'm sure that contributed to making this a memorable evening. However, the sound quality of the album reveals that whatever the Paradiso might offer in a live context, it's possible that a decent setup for recording live music isn't one of them - that, or Fish's mixing desk was on the blink. Either way, this is another "no overdubs" qucik-out-the-door live release from Fish, as he'd been doing since 1993, and this time around audio issues are evident from the beginning, with the sound levels on the opening track noticeably wavering up and down.

By the second half of the album this has alleviated somewhat, but Fish's voice becomes noticeably tired - I winced to hear him struggling at points on The Company, usually a triumphant anthem of his. As a result, despite the band being on good form throughout and Fish soldiering on bravely, this just isn't that essential of a live album.