"This record is clearly not that great crossover album between dance music and art-rock that it claims to be. TPL seem to be a remix duo from Britain, but they're almost unknown even in "techno-friendly" Germany. However, what they do with Marillion's music is not very interesting or innovative. They just strip away the original instrumentation (except for some guitar sounds on "Estonia") and lay down some standard acid house sequencers and rhythms. "The memory.." is quite good, but nearly every track contains too much idle motion. I wouldn't say that this is a remix album, it is just a TPL album with the vehicle of Steve's whiny voice. According to the booklet, Steve thinks that TPL make music with emotional depth, but this album is rather cold and sterile. There is much more beautiful music coming from other techno artists. Listen to Autechre's "Amber" (see my review there) or Aphex Twin's "Selected Ambient Works"."
Marillion fans: get ready to dance!
Manny Hernandez | Bay Area, CA | 09/21/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This album is a rarity among the Marillion collection. To begin with it's not an album of new material in the strict sense of the word, that is, material put together by the band. It consists of six Marillion songs from the "This Strange Engine" album, remixed by Marc Mitchell and Mark Daghorn as dance tracks (most, not all of them).If you are a hardcore (mostly a Fish-era only) Marillion fan, I asure you that you will have a hard time digesting the sole idea of listening to Marillion dance remixes. But if you come into this album with an open mind, never minding who's music is behind it, you'll end up realizing it's a very good production that fits in nicely with the electronica movement of the mid-to-late nineties.In particular, I enjoyed the version of "Estonia" and "Face 1004.""
Marillion's Makeover
T. Allen | Little Rock, AR United States | 08/17/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I personally happen to adore this cd. It was given to me via a die hard Marillion fan (so am I) for Christmas because they wanted to hear it without buying it. (Thanks, Gary!) Needless to say, I really fell in love with it. It is not necessarily for true Marillion fans or fans of Techno music. It nicely combines the two with the vocals of Hogarth and interesting mixes based upon Marillion's music from 'Strange Engine', which happens to be an acoustic cd. It is not necessary for you to be familiar with Marillion and Strange Engine before buying this. Might I recommend though, that if you buy this cd and like it you will not necessarily like the music of Marillion. It is altered enough that an individual who likes one type of music may not care for the other. I happen to be a fan of Progressive music and Electronica both, so this one appeals to me. Either way, I hope you enjoy it or can sell it to a friend and get your money back!"
"As a die-hard Marillion fan having the songs of my favourite band remixed (or rather re-interpreted) as dance tunes shouldn't go down too well. But while there are some great songs on the original 'This Strange Engine' it's still not my favourite Marillion album so this CD seemed worth investing in if just for curiosity's sake. Was it worth it? Oh, yes it most definitely was! The Positive Light have made an incredible job! However, my favourites remain the first three songs. 'Estonia' has been made even more beautiful although it's more 'rock' than 'dance' so one might ask why there wasn't more experimentation on that one...in any case it's still the best song on this cd. 'The Memory of Water' is unbelievable...I actually prefer this remixed version than the original! And what can one say about 'This Strange Engine'? It's already one of my favourite Marillion songs but the remix leaves one speechless. It's that beautiful...as is the whole cd. Buy it and be pleasantly surprised!"