It has a target market.
The thing about Marillion is they have an almighty impressive fan base even thouygh they may be a band who has no impact on you or the way you live your life. They’ve managed to make albums on the strength of pre-orders and people putting money up front so this is clearly a band who know where their bread is buttered and how important their fanbase is to them. Which maybe means that the ‘Somewhere In London’ DVD might just be able to pull it off, seeing as these type of releases are only for hardcore fans anyway.
For starters, it comes on 2 DVDs so the value for money aspect is being taken care of before a note is played.
DVD1 features the band performing on their ‘Somewhere Else’ tour in London in 2007 and by the looks of the crowd packed into the Kentish Town Forum; a good night was had by all. The band looked fairly sweaty and it is fair to say they are getting on a bit but you couldn’t really fault any of their playing.
Its pretty well shot, the live footage is well lit and the clarity is really good so theres no doubting that the band have put some time and money into making it look good but unless you are a fan of the band, its going to be impossible to get genuinely excited by it all. The sound wasn’t as clear as the footage looked though which was disappointing and some of the edge was lacking in the songs, and as we’ve already said, the crowd seemed to love it so perhaps it was better being there.
The second disc features some more live tracks but the real bonus comes in the rehearsal footage and some lucky fans getting to meet the band and see them play in an intimate setting. Its billed as rehearsal footage but its more like a fan club or radio show and its this element, more than the actual, gig footage that will appeal to true fans of the band.
The second disc finished with some mixes from the latest album which anyone who would seriously contemplate buying this record would already have and it’s a pointless wee filler to round out the collection.
So there we have it, a review of a double disc DVD that isn’t going to sway any new fans towards the band but certainly isn’t going to turn off any existing fans either. Its what they can call a release to buy some time between studio albums and it wont do the Marillions fans any harm to relive their previous tour if they so wish. Everyone else can give it a wide berth.