Customer Reviews

Live at the Marquee

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'd already heard Dream Theater live on the Through Her Eyes single, but was looking for a full length version of Fortune In Lies (it appears in a medley that is used as a b-side for the single) and I couldn't find When Dream And Day Unite in the shop. So, since this featured other material that I didn't have plus live versions of 3 great songs from Images And Words (argueably Dream Theater's best - certainly my favourite out of the material I own by the band), 2 of which (Metropolis and Pull Me Under) are my favourite tracks from the album, I figured there was nothing to lose.

LaBrie surprised me. I have to say that on the live recordings from Through Her Eyes he sounded, well, absolutely terrible. Not so here. His voice has a fantastic edge, aggressive yet melodic, and his range is just as good as it was in the studio. And the rest of the band play very tight live. Although songs obviously don't have the same depth in production values due to this being live, it cannot be easy recreating them live yet Dream Theater do it and play them with more energy. The improvised jam is brilliant as well. Very dark and moody. In fact, even if you already own Images And Words and When Dream And Day Unite and don't care for live versions of the songs, it is almost worth buying this for that jam alone. It is arguably Petrucci's finist moment - and any Dream Theater fan can tell you that that's saying something.

I have to give to give this a four rather than a full five because while all the songs here are great (in particular the tracks from WDADU sound better than in the studio) there is little difference between these tracks and the originals, and the CD only has 6 songs so it isn't exactly long. Nonetheless, every member of the band is on absolutely top form (especially LaBrie - even Bruce Dickinson had trouble in his youth let alone now singing live) and the album is just perfect for any Dream Theater fan.

One track stands out like none other: Another Hand-The Killing Hand. This song is excellently written, but a combination of mediocre singing and fuzzy production makes the original somewhat tame. However, I honestly think that the live performance is incredible, and quite possibly one of the most powerful vocal performances I've ever heard, definitely LaBrie's best performance. The CD is worth it just for this track!!

Although not a mass-market live album like Once In A Livetime, Live At The Marquee captues some fine performances and is a must-own for the Dream Theater fan. At this point, they were riding on the surprise success of Pull Me Under and Images & Words are were the hottest new prog band on the scene, and are captured hear at a peak, LaBrie and Petrucci in particular. The set kicks off with a rousing, sped-up version of Metropolis and then segues into a killer update on A Fortune In Lies from the first album. The band plays this song with force and skill and Labrie gives an excellent, commanding performance that blows the hell out of the original version with Charlie Dominci. Bombay Vindaloo is a 7-minute impromptu jam session that starts out sounding a bit like Rush's Xanadu, and features some particulary compelling playing from Petrucci and Portnoy. The "Hand" medley is excellent as well, and also improves substantially on the original version, and the set concludes all too quickly with an, as ever, excellent run through Pull Me Under. A fine CD.

If you don't take lenth into account, then I would list this as my favorite live recording from Dream Theater and one of my favorite live recordings ever. This performance features the band at a special, early point in their career and it's full of energy from start to finish. The biggest treat for me is hearing James LaBrie sing songs from When Dream and Day Unite, since that would be one of my favorite DT albums if not for the sub-par vocals of Charlie Domenici. It's also the only official live release with Kevin Moore on keyboards. Their performance of "Surrounded" really soars. My only complaint is that it's too short, but the quality more than makes up for the quantity.

A Dream Theater live album under 50 minutes? Only six songs? Live at the Marquee isn't exactly a bang for your buck, but nonetheless, it is very worthwhile. My biggest beef (aside from the fact that it's not beefy!), is the performances are so polished. Overdubs saturate this album, which is basically note for note perfection of the studio songs. I've heard bootlegs from the Images and Words tour, and they don't sound too much like this. The bootlegs are more raw, more intense. Nonetheless, it is still essential to have it in your collection. "Bombay Vindaloo" is a menacing instrumental jam that shows off the band's incredible synergy. It's also incredible hearing LaBrie's sing songs from the debut, When Dream and Day Unite. "A Fortune in Lies" gains a whole new level of intensity, and "The Killing Hand" is more epic, more powerful with LaBrie's operatically trained voice. This is also the only official live release where you'll get the chance to here "Surrounded," which isn't much of a concert staple for the band these days. (And it's one of my favorite DT songs!) Unless you want to hunt down bootlegs from the I&W tour (an expensive and frustrating endeavor), this is good to have. It's just too bad it couldn't have been so much more.

This album will become the most listened to DT album in your collection. I promise you. Not one track is lacking a thing. Fortune in Lies and Killing Hand become whole new works of art when sung by James LaBrie. Bombay is a feat in timing even for DT and J. Pet. never played faster if you can belive that. Metropolis, great on any album, is even more spectacular here. This album prooves DT poseses unsurpasable talent. Buy it!

Dream Theater's third album (but first live album) is simply amazing. The album was recorded during a concert in London at the Marquee Club, during Dream Theater's "Images & Tour" World Tour, and, once again, the album is simply amazing.

"Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle And The Sleeper"
Original version from "Images And Words" (1992). Hearing the studio version for the first time, I was blown away. This live performance, just like the studio version, had blown me away. Awesome performance.

"A Fortune In Lies"
Original version from "When Dream And Day Unite" (1989). Though, this song was originally sung by Charlie Dominici on the band's first album, James LaBrie was definitely meant to sing this song.

"Bombay Vindaloo"
From what I have read, this song was sort of a jam session, and was not meant to be part of the setlist. Awesome performance.

"Surrounded"
Original version from "Images And Words" (1992). Incredible performance of one of my favorite Dream Theater tunes.

"Another Hand" - "The Killing Hand"
Original version of "The Killing Hand" from "When Dream And Day Unite" (1989). Once again, James LaBrie proves that, even though, "The Killing Hand" is another song that was originally sung by Charlie Dominici, he was meant to sing it with his incredible voice.

"Pull Me Under"
Original version from "Images And Words" (1992). Another awesome performance of an awesome song.

"Live At The Marquee" is definitely an awesome live album, as I mentioned before. This is an album that you must have in your collection if you are a diehard Dream Theater fan.

I know there are plenty of Dream Theater live albums available, most of which span 2-3 CDs and are jam-packed with songs, but the 1993 EP Live at the Marquee remains my absolute favorite. Part of that is the fact that it features only material from Images and Words and When Dream and Day Unite, which are two of my favorite Dream Theater albums, but I think what really makes this brief (46 minutes) performance so memorable is that unlike on later live offerings, the band sounds like a hungry young group just tasting their first piece of success. This was Dream Theater before the concept albums, before the orchestral DVD, before inspiring countless imitators. There's an energy here that just isn't the same on Once in a LIVEtime, or Score: XOX - 20th Anniversary World Tour Live with the Octavarium Orchestra, or Live at Budokan.

Beyond this energy is the fact that you get to hear Dream Theater doing some pre-James LaBrie material, which is always a treat (I'd still love to hear a rerecorded When Dream and Day Unite with LaBrie singing), some of the better songs from Images and Words, and the very cool 7-minute instrumental Bombay Vindaloo, which I believe is exclusive to this EP.

It may be short, and it may be old, but Live at the Marquee is still an exceptional performance and remains my favorite Dream Theater live offering.

As a huge DT fan, I can honestly say that this is my favorite of all their recordings. This one takes already-great songs and improves them in a killer live performance. The fact that any band can even perform stuff this complex in a LIVE setting is amazing enough, but they manage to make each of these songs even better than the studio version. Also, if you're a guitarist, this is the definitive place to hear Petrucci wail, as he takes more risks here than in the studio. His chops and phrasing are staggering and his guitar is loud, clear, and right up front in the mix. All musicians play solidly, but James La Brie's voice is unbelievable, and he hits well over 99 per cent of all notes dead-on, a HUGE feat in a live setting!

All songs are from their first two albums ("When Dream and Day Unite" and "Images and Words") with the exception of Bombay Vindaloo, which is basically a vehicle for Petrucci. To top it off, two of my favorite DT songs, "Surrounded" and "The Killing Hand", are contained here with an energy not quite present on the studio versions.

In short, if you're a fan of progressive rock or adventurous metal, this album is a must-have.

This live album was recorded on the "Images And Words" tour when the band was really taking off in terms of popularity. It is a single disc that contains material from both "Images" and the band's first album with Charlie Domenici. The album also contains a very cool previously unreleased instrumental called "Bombay Vindaloo". If anyone had any doubts about the band being able to pull of their intricate material in a live setting this album puts all arguments to rest. The inclusion of "Fortune In Lies", and "Another Hand - The Killing Hand" further goes to prove the how much better James Labrie's voice is than Domenici's. The rest of the album feature live versions of "Metropolis", "Surrounded", and "Pull Me Under", all performed fairly similarly to their studio counterparts. "Live At The Marquee" is a nice snapshot in time of where the band was in the early 90's.