Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Marillion
Label: Racket Records
Released: 2005
Length: 115:49
Rating: 4.5/5
»Popular Music« is a double live album that the legendary British art rock heavyweights Marillion recorded at a fan convention, during the second so-called ‘Marillion Weekend’ in 2005. That celebratory event eventually became part of the yearly Marillion tradition, and as a rule a ‘commemorative’ live document comes out at the end of each one. The big twist with the ten songs on that night’s setlist was that the fans themselves picked them in a special vote. That means »Popular Music« features some very welcome but pretty unusual choices, especially a few classics from the Fish era that the modern Marillion don’t play all that often, so it’s great to hear them back in the live set after such a long time, even though Steve ‘Mr. H’ Hogarth has always felt far more comfortable vocally on the material written after 1989.
Even the unconventional opener, »A Few Words From the Dead«, the closing track on the album »Radiation« (1998), is quite a surprise. This longer, rather demanding ambient epic with space rock touches has even more of Kelly’s electronic effects than the original version, while Mr. H improvises generously with an emotionally ultra-committed vocal performance, weaving between complex rhythmic embellishments and Rothery’s guitar outbursts, which turn subtle one moment and furious the next.
»Dry Land«, the classic from »Holidays In Eden« (1991), which takes them into more pop rock waters for a short while, is played at a slightly slower tempo than the studio original, while following it faithfully in every other respect. The moment Rothery’s ‘weeping’ guitar solo kicks in, the hall explodes with excitement. There are plenty of moments like that on »Popular Music«, and in their own way they add to the excellent stage mood of the cult quintet.
Even a live version of something as demanding and structurally complex as the epic »When I Meet God«, the classic from »Anoraknophobia« (2001), came off brilliantly and as faithful to the original as can be, with the band enjoying every single second thanks to the incredible support of their passionate fans. As expected, the biggest challenge of the night for Mr. H was the Fish-era Marillion classics, which, despite Hogarth’s wonderful vocal talent, will never sound quite the same without the charismatic Scottish giant. He had to take on five of them that night. Interestingly, »Kayleigh and »Lavender« weren’t among them, in fact there wasn’t a single song from »Misplaced Childhood« (1985); instead, classics from »Clutching At Straws« (1987) dominated, starting with »White Russian«. As expected, it doesn’t have as much of the vocal melodrama Fish used to deliver back in the day, but H’s vocal interpretation is decent and interesting enough in its own way to bring something new to it.
»Estonia«, aimed first and foremost at Estonian fans, especially those who remember the tragic sinking of the ship of the same name, is one of those classics from H’s era that they’ve played at almost every show since 1997, so its performance is no big surprise. Still, it’s an ambient evergreen of high quality that’s always great to hear live. The nostalgic trilogy of »This Town«, »The Rakes Pogress« and »100 Nights« from »Holidays In Eden« is one of the most intense moments on »Popular Music«, where the perfectionist delivery of the trio makes it plain that the band enjoyed every single second. Mr. H pulls off the always-piercing »Clutching At Straws« evergreen ballad »Sugar Mice« with total confidence in his own unique vocal style. Thanks to its melancholic nature, he still sings it far more easily and convincingly than, say, something like »Incommunicado«, where it’s flat-out impossible to capture the charisma and storytelling fire of the Scottish ‘drinking buddy’.
The second disc opens with a splendid take on the power ballad »Berlin« from »Seasons End« (1989), which was written as a dedication to the then-imminent fall of the Berlin Wall and the inhabitants of Germany’s capital, divided by an inhuman border. The next big vocal challenge for H is the following trio of songs from the Fish era. He sings »Warm Wet Circles« and »That Time Of The Night«, two more »Clutching At Straws« classics, with much less introspection and fervor than his famous predecessor, as expected, but he doesn’t lack convincing emotional sensitivity. The crowd joins in eagerly on the choruses and, as expected, is as loud as can be in the overall intimate atmosphere. Needless to say, H’s instrumental bandmates manage to create exactly the same ambient magic that marked the studio originals of those Marillion standards.
The trip back through the romantic neo-prog rock past of the Fish era continues with a convincing performance of the classic »Script For A Jester’s Tear« from the masterpiece of the same name, their cult studio debut, released in 1983. Here H doesn’t even try to sound like a Fish copy, instead interpreting everything in a completely his own way, while the crowd actively helps out with singing individual verses. Hogarth is well aware that these are neo prog rock classics that will forever belong to his vocal predecessor, but on the technical side, if not the emotional one, he still gets the job done with total confidence.
The complete performance of the super-epic »This Strange Engine« from the studio classic of the same name from 1997, stretched from its original fifteen minutes to twenty-two, is pure balm for the ears. This very demanding and complex piece, which needs one hundred percent attention and perfect cohesion between all the band members, once again conjures up one of the best moments of the whole night. For a victorious finale they also deliver the ultra-melancholic »Seasons End« EP »The Space…« in outstanding fashion, their equivalent of the Queen classic »The Show Must Go On« (the Marillion evergreen was actually written two years earlier, but the two share an almost identical central motif). H does sing it a touch lower than on the original, but that’s merely a minimal, barely noticeable ‘flaw’.
»Popular Music« is a double live treat aimed first and foremost at longtime fans of every chapter in the thrilling career of ‘Britain’s best-kept musical secret’. It would be very hard to imagine a better live setlist, since it holds most of the best chapters of their colorful career. The only slightly surprising thing is that they didn’t play a single piece that night from the then-current studio masterpiece »Marbles« (2004) or the eternal classic »Brave« (1994), both of which contain certain standards that these days can’t be missing from any honest Marillion setlist.
Lineup
Steve Hogarth – vocals
Steve Rothery – guitar
Pete Trewavas – bass guitar
Mark Kelly – keyboards
Ian Mosley – drums
Production
Marillion
Tracklist
CD1 (57:28)
1. A Few Words For The Dead (9:40)
2. Dry Land (4:58)
3. When I Meet God (10:14)
4. White Russian (6:17)
5. Estonia (7:51)
6. This Town (3:48)
7. The Rakes Progress (2:43)
8. 100 Nights (5:14)
9. Sugar Mice (6:40)
CD2 (58:21)
1. Berlin (8:40)
2. Warm Wet Circles (4:18)
3. That Time Of The Night (5:58)
4. Script For A Jester’s Tear (9:59)
5. This Strange Engine (22:13)
6. The Space (7:13)
