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Marillion - Marbles On The Road
Marillion - Marbles On The Road
Released: 2005
Label: Music Video Distributors
Cat. No.:
Total Time:


Reviewed by: Keith Muzikman Hannaleck, May 2005

Marillion is a band I want to see play live some day. They do not come around that often to venues that are a reasonable distance away from where I live, so I will continue to wait for that day to arrive. In the meantime, I have the next the best thing to being there, the Marbles On The Road DVD. I mean this in a literal sense - if a band produces a DVD properly it does give you a front row seat to an event.

I think Marbles won a lot of old Marillion fans back from the fallout of Anoraknophobia. I think it was a good album, but a definite departure from what their fans were accustomed to hearing. I have heard references to the "Easter" era before when discussions arise regarding Marbles. I pre-ordered the special two disc set right from the band’s site prior to its release and consider it a good decision and a worthy purchase. It is a great album.

If you have the album and have not seen the band perform it live, wait until you watch this DVD. This is fantastic entertainment. After all these years, Marillon sounds like a band in their prime. Lead vocalist Steve Hogarth is a real actor on stage, portraying his parts in each song, making it believable with facial expressions and body language. What can you say about the rest of the band except they are all outstanding musicians that click when they perform in the studio or on stage? For the great bands with longevity, it does not seem to matter as they always shine in either setting. Steve Rothery is an incredible guitar player, Ian Mosley a superb drummer, Peter Trewavas a one of a kind bass player, and Mark Kelly is that special factor on keyboards that helps to push their music to the realms of progressive rock and beyond.

During the production of this event, an astounding 15 different cameras took their place around the stage for filming, and the sound is in both stereo and 5.1 surround sound. The special features include videos of the standout tracks “Don’t Hurt Yourself” and “You’re Gone.” This was indeed a special and magical experience for this Marillon fan. I credit this band for putting me head over heals in love with progressive rock, I never looked back after covering the EMI remasters in the summer of 2000.

The only misgiving is that I feel there could have been more bonus features and interviews with the band members. Perhaps that will be available on the next DVD that comes out. There is a special extended version 2 DVD set offered on the band’s website, if you want to have your cake and eat it, too. This was good enough for me and I truly enjoyed finally getting to see one of my favorite bands perform live.

Rating: 4.5/5

More about Marbles On The Road:

Track Listing: The Invisible Man / Marbles I / You're Gone / Angelina / Marbles II / Don't Hurt Yourself / Fantastic Place / Marbles III / The Damage / Marbles IV / Neverland / Bridge / Living With The Big Lie / The Party / Between You And Me / Uninvited Guest / Cover My Eyes

PLUS DVD EXTRAS: Marbles EPK / You're Gone (Promo Video) / Don't Hurt Yourself (Promo Video)

Musicians:
Steve Hogarth - vocals, keyboards, percussion...
Steve Rothery - guitars
Pete Trewavas - bass
Mark Kelly - keyboards
Ian Mosley - drums and percussion

Contact:

Website: www.marillion.com
Note: will open new browser window

Discography

  • Script For A Jester's Tear (1983)
  • Fugazi (1984)
  • Reel to Real (1984)
  • Misplaced Childhood (1985)
  • Brief Encounter(ep 1985)
  • Clutching At Straws (1987/99)
  • The Thieving Magpie (1988)
  • B-Sides Themselves (1988)
  • Season's End (1989)
  • Holidays In Eden (1991)
  • A Singles Collection (1992)
  • Live at the Borderline (1992)*
  • Live in Caracas (1993)*
  • Live in Glasgow (1993)*
  • Brave (1994)
  • The Making Of Brave (1995)*
  • Afraid Of Sunlight (1995)
  • Made Again (1996)
  • Kayleigh (1996) Dutch comp
  • Essential Collection (1996) UK comp; same as above
  • Best of Both Worlds (1997)
  • This Strange Engine (1997)
  • Rochester (1998)*
  • Piston Broke (1998)*
  • Tales From The Engine Room (1998)
  • Radiation (1998)
  • Christmas 1998: The Web Christmas**
  • Kayliegh: The Essential Collection (1998) UK comp.; diff. from above
  • Unplugged At The Walls (1999)*
  • Marillion.com (1999)
  • Zodiac (1999)*
  • Christmas 1999: marillion.christmas (1999)
  • marillion.co.uk (or bonus disk) (2000)***
  • The Singles: '82 - '88 (box set) (2000)
  • Christmas 2000: A Piss-Up In A Brewery**
  • ReFracted! (2001)*
  • Anoraknophobia (2001)
  • Another DAT At The Office (2001)*
  • Christmas 2001: A Verry Barry Christmas (2001)**
  • Fallout (2002)*
  • Anorak In The UK Live (2002)*
  • Brave Live 2002 (2002)*
  • Caught In The Net (2002)*
  • AWOL (2002)***
  • The Best of Marillion (2003)
  • View From The Balcony (2003)***
  • Christmas 2003: Say Cheese! Christmas With Marillion (2003)**
  • Curtain Call (2004) (3CD Box)*
  • Crash Course (2004)***
  • Marbles (2004)

  • Brave Live 2002 (2002) (DVD)
  • Shot In The Dark (2002) (DVD / Video)
  • A Piss-up In A Brewery (2002) (DVD)
  • The EMI Singles Collection (2003) (DVD)
  • Christmas In The Chapel (2003) (DVD)
  • Before First Light (2003) (DVD)
  • Marbles On The Road (2005) (DVD)


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