The problem with concert DVDs is that they never really compare with the ‘real thing’. And if you’ve ever seen Marillion live, you’ll know where I’m coming from. I caught them (and they caught me) on their ‘Snowhere Else’ tour just a month or so ago (see the earlier review on this site). This DVD arrived on my doorstep for me to review just a few days later.

I tried, I really did, but I couldn’t do it. The screen just looked like a screen with some colours and sound added, and I had to switch it off before the end of the first track. I cherished my last memory of Marillion, almost like a close friend who had died – and I didn’t want it sullied by some flat electronic signals dancing on a lifeless silver box. Read more

If you’ve just got a fleeting knowledge of Marillion you probably think they’re a bunch of alarmingly uncool old codgers fronted by a wild Scotsman telling tales of Tolkein.

Well, there’s no Fishy frontman and no dodgy fantasy stories of warrior and heroes – at least, not anymore. But yes, they’re not kids. And they’re still uncool. Way uncool. Or, as one of their t-shirts proclaims: ‘Uncool as F**k’.

But do you really care about ‘cool’? If so, you could be missing out on one of the most dramatic and powerful rock bands around. Read more