Real to Reel
Cover art by Mark Wilkinson
Live album by
Marillion
Released5 November 1984[1]
Recorded5 March 1984 at De Montfort Hall (Leicester, England) and 19–20 June 1984 at the Spectrum (Montreal, Canada)
GenreNeo-prog
Length46:48 (LP)
52:05 (CD)
LabelEMI
Producer
  • Simon Hanhart
  • Marillion
Marillion chronology
Fugazi
(1984)		 Real to Reel
(1984)		 Misplaced Childhood
(1985)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]

Real to Reel is the first live album by the British neo-prog band Marillion, released in November 1984. It was co-produced by Simon Hanhart who had mixed the first two studio albums and co-produced the studio version of "Cinderella Search".

Recording and content

Real to Reel was recorded on 5 March 1984 at De Montfort Hall in Leicester, England and 19–20 June 1984 at the Spectrum in Montreal, Canada.[3]

In addition to two songs each from the first two albums, Script for a Jester's Tear (1983) and Fugazi (1984), the original LP version[nb 1] contained two tracks previously not available on any albums, the A-side of the band's 1982 debut single "Market Square Heroes" and "Cinderella Search", the B-side of "Assassing". Recorded at the Spectrum, "Emerald Lies" from Fugazi was originally a bonus track on the CD[nb 2] and cassette versions.

Release

Critical reception

Writing for AllMusic, Eduardo Rivadavia praised Real to Reel in a three-out-of-five star retrospective review. He called the album "an excellent live document of Marillion" and "a strong case for the many fans who actually prefer the band's more refined live versions over their rather flat studio counterparts". Rivadavia also claimed 10-minute antiwar "Forgotten Sons" to be the pinnacle of the album.[2]

Commercial performance

No singles from the album were released, but nevertheless Real to Reel managed to reach number 8 in the UK Albums Chart and linger there for 22 weeks.[4] It was certified Gold by the BPI on 9 July 1985 for sales in excess of 100,000 copies.[5]

Formats and reissues

Real to Reel was initially released on LP[nb 1], 12" picture disc, cassette,[3] and CD[nb 2].[6]

In 1997, the album was re-released as a two-disc set bundled with Brief Encounter, an extended-play originally made by EMI's American label Capitol Records to promote the band's 1986 US tour. This edition was not part of the remastered series of Marillion's first eight studio albums that EMI released in 1997–1998. However, it was digitally remastered at Abbey Road Studios by Brian Fifield.

In 2005, a Japanese mini-LP replica CD edition[nb 3] came out. This version included two additional bonus tracks, "Margaret" and "Charting the Single", both originally from the 1983 "Garden Party" single.[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Marillion

Original 1984 CD edition
No.TitleLength
1."Assassing"7:29
2."Incubus"8:43
3."Cinderella Search"5:45
4."Emerald Lies"5:28
5."Forgotten Sons"10:36
6."Garden Party"6:32
7."Market Square Heroes"7:32
Total length:52:05
2005 Japanese mini-LP replica edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
8."Charting the Single"6:37
9."Margaret"12:22
Total length:71:03
Original 1984 LP edition
Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Assassing"7:18
2."Incubus"8:31
3."Cinderella Search"5:24
Side two
No.TitleLength
4."Forgotten Sons"10:11
5."Garden Party"6:30
6."Market Square Heroes"6:49
Total length:46:48

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1984) Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7] 38
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[8] 49
UK Albums (OCC)[9] 8

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[10] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 EMI: EG 2603031, JEST 1
  2. 1 2 EMI, Fame: CDM 7 52021 2, CD-FA 3142
  3. ↑ Toshiba-EMI: TOCP-67792
Citations
  1. ↑ "New Albums" (PDF). Music Week. 3 November 1984. p. 29. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  2. 1 2 Rivadavia, Eduardo. Marillion: "Real to Reel" > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "Real to Reel". The Official Marillion Website. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Marillion – Real to Reel". Official Chart Company. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  5. ↑ "British album certifications – Marillion – Real to Reel". British Phonographic Industry.
  6. ↑ "Real to Reel". Fish-TheCompany.Com: Official Site. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Marillion – Real to Reel" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  8. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Marillion – Real to Reel". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  9. ↑ "Marillion | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "British album certifications – Marillion – Real to Reel". British Phonographic Industry.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.