Marillion - From Stoke Row To Ipanema
(A Year In The Life
June 89 - July 90)
Performance
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Marillion - From Stoke Row To Ipanema
Performance
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I think the reason that I have never held Marillion in quite as a high a regard as fellow second (or third - depending on who you ask) generation prog-rockers Dream Theater or Spock's Beard, is that non of their music has ever really blown me away, to the same extent that these other bands have. Don't get me wrong, I certainly like these guys - a lot, but I have never had the need to hear everything they have ever released, like I do with other bands. Many of their releases, especially the DVD's, are only available, here in the U.S. at import prices, which can be double the normal price. I passed over this DVD for almost a year because it cost over thirty dollars. I was forced to give these guys a second look after seeing Steve's Hogarth and Rothery join Dream Theater on stage during a 1995 cover show in London, were they gave a stunning performance of one of my favorite Marillion songs, "Easter". This performance appeared on Dream Theater's 5 Years In A Livetime DVD, and made me run out and buy Made Again: Live and this DVD. Marillion formed in 1979 and went on to release their first album, Script For A Jesters Tear, in 1983, which helped the band draw strong comparisons to Peter Gabriel-era Genesis. These comparisons were deserving, but I welcomed their tribute. If we cant have the real thing anymore, we may as well have a good imitation. By their third album, 1985's fantastic Misplaced Childhood, Marillion would have developed a more unique sound and style, and this album would propel them firmly into the top tier of the new wave of progressive-rock bands. In 1988, at the peak of their success, after releasing the acclaimed Clutching At Straws album, Marillion front-man Fish abruptly quit the band. From Stoke Row To Ipanema documents a year in the life of the band - the year after the split with Fish. Marillion had just recorded and released the excellent Seasons End album, featuring new vocalist Steve Hogarth, and would embark on a world tour to support the album, and introduce their new front-man to the legion of loyal fans who had anxiously awaited the fate of their favorite band. From Stoke Row To Ipanema was originally released on VHS in 1990, and disk two of this new DVD features a complete concert filmed live at DeMontfort Hall, Leicester, England, on 24 April 1990, during Marillion's Seasons End tour. All nine songs from Seasons End are performed, so if you like that particular album, you are certain to enjoy this DVD. Fortunately, for us, it is one of their best albums. The concert also heavily favors (or as the British would say - favours), Clutching At Straws, Marillion's last album with Fish. Four songs from that album were performed. Throw in three hit songs from Misplaced Childhood and that about wraps things up. The band completely ignores their first two albums, which is somewhat understandable, considering the circumstances. They do, however, close the show with a rousing ten-minute revved-up reworking of their pre-Script For A Jesters Tear single, "Market Square Heroes". Disk one of the DVD features loads of great material including interviews with the band, the marvelous "Uninvited Guest" and "Easter" videos, some additional concert footage, and a live studio performance of "This Town" from, what would be their next album, Holidays In Eden. Hogarth demonstrated those cool midi-gloves that he utilized during the concert, and then proceeded to jam to "Eric", from Holidays In Eden, with Rothery and Kelly. The highlight of the disk was performances of "Kayleigh", "Lavender", and "Hooks In You" from the band's appearance at the 1990 Hollywood Rock Festival, in Brazil, before a crowd of 85,000 people. On the absolute opposite spectrum from the massive Brazil festival, they throw in a few minutes of amazing (amazingly bad, and amazingly interesting) footage from their first "gig" with Steve Hogarth at a tiny pub called the Crooked Billet. This pub probably had a normal capacity of about twenty people, but they crammed in over a hundred raving Marillion fans who were hanging through the windows and from the walls, and were practically nose to nose with the band as they performed from a tiny corner stage, which they themselves had to get to through a small window. Now that's bloody Rock and Roll mate! The audio and video quality was what you would expect from a 1990 production that was originally recorded for VHS. The picture was soft, slightly grainy, and never surpasses TV quality, but the camera production was excellent. "Directors Cut" versions were also included for six of the songs, and I found myself enjoying these more than the originals, because the new camera angles provided a slightly better representation of what the actual live concert experience was like. Unfortunately, only a PCM stereo track is provided, but it has been remastered quite nicely, and basically sounds like a good live CD. Considering the wealth of material included, this is a great DVD package, if you can find it at a reasonable price. From Stoke Row To Ipanema gives you an intimate look at what had to be the most challenging and exciting year in the band's career, as they anxiously embarked on the post-Fish era, introducing a new album and front-man to the masses. Reviewed by Paul M. Roy - February 2005 |
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Running Time: 92 Minutes (concert only) |
DVD Release Date - August 2003 |