Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Arena
Label: Verglas Records
Released: 1997
Running time: 73:27
Rating: 4.5/5
Most rock acts put out their first live album either after they’ve broken through onto the ‘world music map’ or when they’re at an artistic and commercial peak, when it’s obvious a release like that will sell like hotcakes. English neo-prog standouts Arena couldn’t have cared less about any of that. They dropped their live debut »Welcome To The Stage«, recorded at a show in Quebec, Canada, right after their first two studio albums, »Songs From The Lions Cage« (1995) and »Pride« (1996), and the EP »The Cry« (1997), on which fans got their first taste of guitar virtuoso John Mitchell (It Bites, Kino).
The timing for a live album was well chosen, because under the wing of the two founders, ex-Marillion drummer Mick Pointer and keyboard wizard Clive Nolan (Pendragon, ex-Shadowland), Arena had won over a small but fiercely loyal and rock-solid following in a relatively short time with two excellent studio records. Those fans loved their noticeably harder and darker take on neo prog compared to the other representatives of this progressive rock subgenre or, to put it far more accurately, movement.
Besides Pointer, Nolan, Mitchell and cult bassist John Jowitt (ex-IQ, Jadis), who are all still members of this criminally overlooked band that in some other dimension and time would surely be filling stadiums around the world like there’s no tomorrow, the lineup back then also featured the hugely charismatic singer Paul Wrightson. Plenty of fans still miss him today, even though both of his successors, Rob Sowden and current Arena vocalist Paul Manzi, were a special chapter of their own when it comes to vocal excellence.
Arena wouldn’t be typical Englishmen if they didn’t throw in a pinch of humor too, so they kick off the show with a burlesque-pompous instrumental version of one of the best-known classics of all time, Rossini’s William Tell (»William Tell Overture«), which properly stirs up the emotions of an unexpectedly loud crowd before the band even hits the stage. The setlist is logically made up of the staples from those two studio records mentioned above, plus the song »The Healer«, which comes from the EP »The Cry«. The opening epic bomb »Valley Of The Kings«, which reflects their early style really well, when you could still hear a lot more Genesis and Marillion influences than later on, makes for an energetic start to this splendid live epic, while »Out Of The Wilderness« also unfolds some darker, ambient expanses.
Mitchell’s guitar presence really shows in the interpretation of the songs his predecessor Keith Moore played on, expanding them with extra improvisations without veering too far off ‘on his own’. »Midas Vision«, a crowd favorite, proves to be a classic of epic proportions live as well, and has deservedly stayed on Arena setlists for a long time since. Its rousing chorus and mystical, enigmatic atmosphere always hit the mark, while Wrightson’s singing is a constant wellspring of singular charisma, one he uses, through mythological metaphors that never run out in the lyrics, to deliver sharp social criticism again and again.
The aforementioned anthem »The Healer«, where the virtuoso chops of the individual members shine again in all their glory, is one of the few shorter compositions in the »Welcome To The Cage« lineup of performances, so with its mighty chorus it’s tailor-made for firing up a heated crowd. The brilliant rendition of the almost 14-minute ‘Victorian’ epic »Sirens«, where Wrightson, amid a distinctly dark and melancholic mood, once again turns into a watchful ‘narrator’ of tense tales about typical human delusions in a dystopian society, is one of the highlights of »Welcome To The Stage«. »Medusa«, another beloved favorite, where Mr. Nolan also shines on piano, is, as expected, one of those moments when band and crowd connect in the most genuine way by sharing their live energy.
»Welcome To The Cage«, which Wrightson introduces in a thoroughly pompous fashion, could, thanks to the lyrics with their standout line featuring the word ‘Arena’, be called the closest thing to a representative anthem of the band. Still, with the fans’ blessing, that role has over the years gone to the much more intimate evergreen »Jericho«, one of the very rare Arena classics with a distinctly positive mood, and a chorus that always ranks among the high points of their live shows. Closing the recording with a magnificent performance of the epic masterpiece »Solomon«, which still can’t be missing from any Arena gig and where the band members once again deliver unforgettable drama on a mighty, ambient scale, couldn’t be a better way to say goodbye from the stage, even though the three encore songs played that night are missing from the end of »Welcome To the Stage«.
On their live debut, Arena stare down Medusa’s gaze with flying colors, resist the seductive call of the sirens, bring down the walls of Jericho, laugh in the face of Midas’s vision and listen closely to the wisdom of Solomon. Taken as a whole, it’s one of their best live documents ever, and one of the better progressive rock live albums of the second half of the nineties too. There is one flaw, though: as mentioned, three songs from the encore are missing, namely »Empire Of a Thousand Days«, »Fool’s Gold« and »Crying For Help IV«, which were played that night as well. Those can be found on the live EP »Welcome Back! To The Stage«, released the same year at fans’ request and available only via an order form on the official website or through membership in the Arena fan club. That’s exactly why it would make sense for »Welcome To The Stage« to come out as a double album in the reissue everyone’s expecting.
Lineup
Paul Wrightson – vocals
Clive Nolan – keyboards
John Mitchell – guitar
John Jowitt – bass guitar
Mick Pointer – drums
Production
Clive Nolan
Tracklist
1. William Tell Overture
2. Valley of the Kings
3. Out of the Wilderness
4. Midas Vision
5. The Healer
6. Sirens
7. Medusa
8. Welcome to the Cage
9. Jericho
10. Solomon
