Twelfth Night: Live and Let Live (complete show)

[Jeremy Bender]

It only took 28 years, but Twelfth Night has finally released Live and Let Live as a complete show. By "complete show", I mean they took the setlist for the two Geoff Mann (RIP) farewell shows at The Marquee in November, 1983 and picked a version from either show > put them in the correct running order. Even so, there's still an * by this as The Collector is not from The Marquee shows but a gig the week before in Watford. Tracklist:

Disc 1
1. The Ceiling Speaks: recorded 4 November 1983
2. Human Being: recorded 4 November 1983
3. The End of the Endless Majority: recorded 5 November 1983
4. We Are Sane: recorded 4 November 1983
5. Deep in the Heartland: recorded 5 November 1983 (soundcheck)
6. Fact and Fiction: recorded 5 November 1983
7. The Poet Sniffs a Flower: recorded 4 November 1983
8. The Collector: recorded 27 October 1983 (Watford)

Disc 2
1. Afghan Red: recorded 4 November 1983
2. Sequences: recorded 5 November 1983
3. Creepshow: recorded 5 November 1983
4. Art and Illusion: recorded 5 November 1983
5. East of Eden: recorded 5 November 1983
6. Aspidentropy: recorded 5 November 1983
7. Love Song: recorded 5 November 1983

*****

When I loaded the album in to my iPod, I changed the tracklisting on the second disc. I wanted the regular set to end with Sequences ("this is the last one" says Geoff) > the traditional Love Song encore so for me, "Disc 2" goes: Afghan Red > Creepshow > Art & Illusion > East of Eden > Aspindentropy > Sequences > Love Song.

It sounds fine, except for The Collector unfortunately, the source is not the best. Oh well..... It's nice to finally hear songs like Afghan Red, Deep in the Heartland and Aspindentropy, and of course, songs like The Ceiling Speaks, Creepshow and Sequences have been in steady rotation for me since 1984.

I saw them in July 1983 at The Marquee while I was on vacation in London, not having heard a note of their music. I still remember Geoff as The Collector and the Sgt. Major in Sequences, so when this album came out in 1984, I grabbed it immediately. I've listened to that (and the expanded 1996 version) regularly since. Nice to finally have the whole thing. The two shows were videotaped (the second night without sound ), so maybe in another 28 years, the video will show up for sale.

I love the Geoff Mann-era Twelfth Night, I love his lyrics and it's kind of interesting to speculate what would have happened if CBS had signed them like was rumored. Would he have stayed? How would their music have evolved? IMHO they're much better than the Fish-era Marillion of 1983/84, far less derivative, better lyrics, better players. OK, not Brian Devoil, he sounds like a hair metal drummer trying to play prog, but still.

Highly recommended for those that are in to this sort of thing.

Freedom along the way
Oh I'll sing celebration
I'll sing for a new day

[Ridge]

Been waiting a long time for this, although not 28 years. Hoping to get it soon.
Now if only those Citizen Cain re-mastered albums will finally see the light of day.

[wurensh]

I'd agree - it's finally great to get the full package, albeit in a "collected" manner (heck, we'll take TN any way we can get them!). While all of the original is still on here in full glory, the additional tracks to "complete". For some reason, I did not get the Cyclops expanded re-issue, so this was nice - and having to miss their only US show (even with technical glitches), this will have to do (as well as their other live archive releases!). Play on!

[zeprogmeister]

Sounds cool - will look for it.

[dropforge]

I love the Geoff Mann-era Twelfth Night, I love his lyrics and it's kind of interesting to speculate what would have happened if CBS had signed them like was rumored. Would he have stayed? How would their music have evolved? IMHO they're much better than the Fish-era Marillion of 1983/84, far less derivative, better lyrics, better players. OK, not Brian Devoil, he sounds like a hair metal drummer trying to play prog, but still.

Ditto to all of the above, except Geoff was no longer in the band when they were signed to the CBS subsidiary that was almost instantaneously inactivated (talk about pulling the rug out, etc.). I'm not sure if even Andy was singing, it may have been Martyn at that point. Either way, Twelfth Night's music was nowhere near Live At The Target/Fact & Fiction in terms of character & structure at that stage.

I'll be holding on to my single CD of Live and Let Live as well as acquiring this new edition. Classic Rock's review also mentioned the dips in sound quality between the initial LaLL tracks and the new ones inserted to replicate the full show.

[robh]

Mark Spencer is doing a great job fronting the "Cryptic Clues" (ie. Twelfth Night in all but name) and they're doing a show in Leicester on Saturday evening.

[Jeremy Bender]

Ditto to all of the above, except Geoff was no longer in the band when they were signed to the CBS subsidiary that was almost instantaneously inactivated (talk about pulling the rug out, etc.).

Here's what I was referring to, based on the timeline at the official TN site:

July 1983: Demo recordings for CBS (hence known as the CBS Demo)
Setlist: The Ceiling Speaks, Deep In The Heartland, Art And Illusion, and Fact And Fiction

August 27, 1983: Brian Devoil was told there was not going to be a deal with CBS, but waited till after the Reading Festival to tell the rest of the band. (source: CD)

Geoff joined in August 1981 and, of course, left in November 1983.

[dropforge]

Here's what I was referring to, based on the timeline at the official TN site:

July 1983: Demo recordings for CBS (hence known as the CBS Demo)
Setlist: The Ceiling Speaks, Deep In The Heartland, Art And Illusion, and Fact And Fiction

August 27, 1983: Brian Devoil was told there was not going to be a deal with CBS, but waited till after the Reading Festival to tell the rest of the band. (source: CD)

Geoff joined in August 1981 and, of course, left in November 1983.

Ah, cool. For some reason I remembered reading it happened after Geoff had left, but I was clearly off the level.

[moecurlythanu]

Agree with your sentiments, Jeremy.

[Rarebird]

Defenitly something that is high on my list. Several other Twelfth Night albums are re-released as double-CD's as well, but I doubt I will buy those. There is so much other stuff out there I'm not really into re-buying stuff I allready own.

[Pangolin]

Any other takes on the sound quality on this? I'm keen to get it but haven't, yet.

I swapped my original copy for a Bill Nelson double LP in about 1985, but bought it again on Ebay a few years ago. (Got 'Fact & Fiction' again around then, too. My fourth copy, I think, but the first vinyl one). The Marquee stage gatefold, Clive Mitten's white Shergold and that wonky Letraset on the back: an era captured. Odd to think Metallica were on Music for Nations around the same time.

I'm (just) too young or too slow to have seen Geoff with Twelfth Night - except when he joined Andy Sears for the encore at the 3/4s empty Manchester Apollo on the 'Art and Illusion' tour - but I did see him a fair number of times immediately after he'd left.

Geoff with just his acoustic and a delay pedal doing those early solo songs was fantastic (I think he was supporting IQ at the long-gone Gallery in Manchester). He was always very warm towards spotty combat-jacket wearing teens like myself and, it has to be said, very charismatic. But also (seemingly) quite unworldly: I remember him going back home to Salford immediately after he'd played to bring back copies of whatever he'd just brought out - 'I May Sing Grace', I think, to sell at the gig: it apparently hadn't occurred to him that he might. Saw him later supporting Niadem's Ghost in Manchester and at the Marquee and then reading a few years later that he'd died and being shocked and upset by the news.