Avtor: Peter Podbrežnik
Izvajalec: Marillion
Založba: Racket Records
Izid: 2006
Ocena: 4/5
In 2005, during their annual two-day convention, Marillion recorded both nights, treating the lucky fans in attendance to some of their lesser-known material, reworked arrangements, and a few hits they hadn’t played in quite some time. “Smoke” is the first of two live releases (along with “Mirrors”) that came out at the same time on their own label and, for now, can only be ordered online. It features quite a few interesting picks that don’t usually find their way into their live sets, though material from more recent albums like “Radiation” (1998), “Marillion.com” (1999) and “Anoraknophobia” (2001) dominates, while nothing at all is played from “Marbles” (2004), which is understandable in its own way, since they performed that album in full on most of the previous tour. On the other hand, apart from the big surprise of “Garden Party”, there are hardly any of their hits or better-known songs. What the performances have in common is that these are their more energetic pieces, with a few small improvisations thrown in, even if most of them stay close to the studio versions. So everyone who isn’t into ballads or acoustic readings can breathe easy. As is their tradition, the production is excellent again, you can feel the crowd breathing right along with the band throughout the recording, and most of the performances beat the studio originals.
The high-energy “Separated Out” (Anoraknophobia, 2001) is dedicated to all the band’s fans, so it’s no surprise they picked it to open the show. Another song that’s bursting with electric voltage, “Under the Sun” (Radiation, 1998), complements it perfectly. It’s played together with the intro “Costa Del Slough” and sounds even fuller than the studio version, since Kelly treats himself to a few extra, if small, improvisations on the Hammond, while Rothery’s contribution is also a bit more energetic than on the original. “An Accidental Man” (This Strange Engine, 1997) is another very fitting choice, where Hogarth’s excellent vocals really shine, along with the extended guitar and keyboard solos. Trewavas’ lines also stay nicely distinct throughout, which is almost a given for one of the best bass players in prog. Marillion keep the voltage high with “Holidays In Eden” (Holidays In Eden, 1991), another song they haven’t played in years and one they usually deliver better live than on the original. On the highly atmospheric “If My Heart Were a Ball It Would Roll Uphill” (Anoraknophobia, 2001), they once again take a few liberties with the guitar parts and rhythms, as well as in the lyrical closing section. It’s definitely one of the main highlights of this live recording. “Deserve” (Marillion.com, 1999), on the other hand, is a faithful take on the studio version, though here it also has some nice saxophone arrangements. It’s one of those songs that undoubtedly suit H’s voice best. The performance of “The Answering Machine” (Radiation, 1998) is noticeably different from the studio version, with far more electronic sounds on the keyboards layered over Rothery’s guitar parts. “Rich” (Marillion. com, 1999), on the other hand, sticks faithfully to the original. They take more artistic freedom again with “Between You And Me” (Anoraknophobia, 2001), which has an interesting extra intro and a bigger helping of electronic samples. Mr. H also takes a minute here to introduce all the band members. The performance of “Memory Of Water” (This Strange Engine, 1997) is also exceptionally interesting: it’s basically a ballad, but here they play it almost as a trance number with plenty of electronic samples. Near the end of the recording come two big surprises. To the great delight of the older fans especially, Marillion treat us to a great piece from the Fish era, “Slainte Mhath” (Clutching At Straws, 1987). Whenever they play something from the Fish era these days, it’s something special and different, since in Hogarth’s hands these songs sound completely different. This time is no exception. Despite the absence of Fish’s charisma, Mr. H handles the foreign vocal turf very well, as he already proved on numerous earlier live recordings. The peak of the whole recording, though, is undoubtedly the very good rendition of the classic “Garden Party” (Script For A Jester’s Tear, 1983), which most fans still count among their favorites and which they hadn’t played live in years. During the song, the band manages to fire up the already hot crowd completely, and the fans help out by singing some of the verses and chanting along passionately. It’s amazing how well all the instrumentalists capture the original spirit of the piece, while Hogarth brings something completely his own vocally, delivering one of its best performances ever.
“Smoke” is a live treat for every true collector and devotee of the masters of new-wave progressive rock. Thanks to its many interesting picks and interpretations, it’s without a doubt one of their better live releases of the past few years (and there haven’t been few, especially ones that never made it onto store shelves). The one big minus for many listeners is the aforementioned fact that this is yet another live album released only on their own label and available only online, which has been the band’s (not exactly popular) practice for most of their live releases for a few years now. Those who don’t know the band well, or at all, won’t be missing much, since this is a recording aimed mainly at their longtime fans, who know most of the classics and are always glad to hear a song they were convinced would never make it back onto the set list. On the other hand, it’s an excellent live album that confirms Marillion are today one of those rare legendary prog rock bands who manage to create an unforgettable live atmosphere from start to finish.
Zasedba
Steve Hogarth – vocals
Steve Rothery – guitar
Pete Trewavas – bass guitar
Mark Kelly – keyboards
Ian Mosley – drums
Produkcija
Marillion
Seznam skladb
1. Separated Out (6:05)
2. Under the Sun (5:07)
3. An Accidental Man (6:07)
4. Holidays in Eden (5:15)
5. If My Heart Were a Ball it Would Roll Uphill (9:17)
6. Deserve (4:39)
7. Answering Machine (2:56)
8. Rich (4:56)
9. Between You and Me (8:57)
10. Memory of Water (6:34)
11. Slainte Mhath (5:43)
12. Garden Party (7:51)
Trajanje albuma: 73:27
