THE THIEVING MAGPIE - LA GAZZA LADRA

The Thieving Magpie was sort of a farewell release from Fish's departure, containing a wide selection of live material from different concerts during the Fish era. Because it is more of a compilation than an actual recording of a single show or group of related shows, the overall album seems to lack cohesion. The production on some of the songs, particularly on disc one, could have been better as it seems the higher tones are drowned out quite a bit. And finally, I would have preferred more of their earlier material, but since that was covered on their Real to Reel live album of 1984, I can understand why the focus was more on later material.

Even with the negatives I have just mentioned, this release is a fairly good document of the latter years of Fish-era Marillion performances. Highly recommended for Marillion and Fish fans. For the rest of you this should not be a "high priority" purchase. Three stars. Good, but not essential.