Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Whether you realise it or not, not all gigs or concerts are created equal, and whilst the sense of drama and camaraderie can be alluring, a reflection of what we feel inside as a favourite song, long perhaps unheard except in snatches of memory as it floods our senses, there are some moments which only truly hit the spot as you safeguard the front row, or are fortunate enough to be able to hear if the evening’s outpouring of satisfaction is caught just right by modern technology and transferred to a medium best suited for appreciating in your own home.
Not everything is created equal, and in art arguably that is not just okay, but a demand of the age, for how else do we implore those with the means, the producers, the money men to look at the upcoming talent and treat them with the respect that they offer the legendary and the fabled sounds employed.
Such a resonating heartbeat comes in the form of Marillion’s latest live recording, the truth of their renowned weekends that have blossomed in form from a trip to Minehead or Leicester to several countries worldwide; and perhaps none so much lauded as the sonic excursion to the Netherlands’ Port Zelande.
The return to the Centre Parcs venue has always been to consider, and in the release of Marillion: An Hour Before It’s Dark- Live In Port Zelande 2023, that consideration is not just understood, it is exemplified, examined, and found to be so fruitful that it bursts out of the seams with a glory befitting the band.
Taken from the Saturday night, the self-proposed album night, the sound of the crowd leads the music on its intricate way through the 2022 release with charm and raw vulnerability. From start to finish, with the added bonus of the encores that thrill the ears, such as the intensely moving Estonia and the brilliance of Afraid Of Sunlight, the album is endorsed as one of seismic, endearing beauty, sonically valued and deserving of its praise.
There have been many live recordings of the band in their pomp which have set the senses on fire with delight, but it could be argued that An Hour Before It’s Dark- Live In Port Zelande 2023 is one of the most willing to be exposed, to feel the heartbeat of the band after feeling the zeitgeist of the previous few years and all nature and the unkindness of humanity in their willingness to allow the world as they knew it change for the worse, and by doing so creating something so haunting and beautiful that it hurts and nurses the soul in equal fashion.
Through tracks such as Be Hard On Yourself, Reprogram The Gene, The Crow and The Nightingale, Sierra Leone, and Murder Machines, the sound is one of attracting, insisting, harmony, a spirit of togetherness in the face of an angry disenchanted world threatening harm from every angle possible.
Not every gig is created equal, but some are given from a grace of humanity that separates them out to an even greater distance, but which wholesomely reminds us of our obligation and assurance to each other; that is the beauty of this new live album, one which live in the memory.
Ian D. Hall