Before founding Arena with Clive Nolan, Mick Pointer was the original drummer for Marillion, and their 1983 debut Script For A Jester’s Tear was his one contribution to their catalogue. Last March, three decades after Script’s release, Pointer performed the album in its entirety at a concert in De Boerderij, Zoetermeer in Holland. This double-disc set captures their faithful, loving and convincing anniversary re-tread of that album for an appreciative, vocal crowd.
Recorded by the album’s original engineer, Simon Hanhart, the show is brimming with quality performances, unsurprising given the other prog journeymen in the line-up (Pendragon’s Nick Barrett on guitar, Arena bassist Ian Salmon, Credo/Landmarq keyboardist Mike Varty).
Stepping into Fish’s intimidating size 14s is Brian Cummins, frontman for Genesis tribute band Carpet Crawlers. A tough job, but he succeeds, and with panache.
Add to that B-sides – Three Boats Down From The Candy and Charting The Single – accomplished reads of Market Square Heroes, Grendel and Margaret, and Pointer helms a stirring, evocative and highly listenable tribute to one of the genre’s cornerstone recordings.
