Europeans & How we Live Sounds

Apologies for this page being down for a while. I have finally managed to find some webspace to host the clips, and some time to upload them! I have added some accompanying text...taken from the Songs page. The clips are in MP3 format and free to download... however I must urge you to buy a copy of the How We Live 'Dry Land' album from www.marillion.com, and likewise the Europeans CDs when they come out! I know you will, but in the meantime, enjoy...

Please email me at t.glasswell@btinternet.com with any problems or requests!

Hogarth introduced this live with "This is a song all about the people who used to run the country. It's also a song all about the people that are running the country. And It's about the people that are unfortunately are going to run the country in the future." He then sprayed the audience with a fire extinguisher!! The lyrics and introduction suggest that this is a rant against the powers-that-be, but the vocals are not clearly sung, so it is difficult to tell what his point is! (I've since got a handwritten copy of Steve's Lyrics and I'm still confused!) Nevertheless, this is a good upbeat, punky rocker, with a exciting improvised middle section. Unlikely to have been recorded in the studio.

One of the better Vocabulary tracks, with a catchy chorus and tight arrangement. The lyrics are fairly obvious! Hogarth describes it as "a perfectly simple lyric that describes the Americanisation taking place in Great Britain." The horn sounds in the middle section were replaced with some nice keyboard-guitar interplay when played live. Drummer / writer Dugmore explains that the Europeans recorded a "great version" of this track with Trevor Vallis that never made the Vocabulary album, and also tried recording it with Tony Visconti ("a laugh") Perhaps either is the version released on the American "Recognition" EP ? It does sound like a new recording or an alternative take, and contains an extra verse (We see it everywhere / It's taking over here / London like New York, All people the same / Everyone famous except with no name.)

A non-album single, bridging the gap between the first and second studio albums. This Hogarth penned track has an upbeat, optimistic outlook imploring us to communicate, and is much better than Hogarth's lead vocal numbers on "Live." The middle-eight variation is a favourite of mine. Chris Tsangarides (Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy) co-produced the song, which was recorded at 'Battery Studios.' Geoff Dugmore : "It was the one and only time we really went out of our way to try and write a pop single. I think we missed the mark by quite a long way. I don't think that having a guy who had just done Judas Priest necessarily helped!"

A How We Live track, demoed, but not recorded for the Dry Land album. This may also have been demoed by the Euros. Also known as "Promises"

A very upbeat and optimistic track, this is as good as the Dry Land tracks, and would have provided a good contrast on the album. Not so lyrically heavy, it contrasts English winter and summers weather images. The 'steel drum' keyboard sounds, upbeat rhythm and multi-tracked vocals make this a great How We Live track. Steve tells the story behind the song: "It was about a tramp bringing hope and optimism," and that the track "had to start off in a cold wintry village and end up in the choruses like the Notting Hill Carnival."

Described by Hogarth as "not nearly as self-serious and doom-laden" as some of the other Dry Land tracks, this is probably the most overly commercial sounding cut on the album. The solid bass line and synth-horns sound very 'eighties' today, but Woore's strong guitar refrains are instantly recognizable. The 12" mix features a new intro, a longer guitar solo, and an extended middle section, emphasizing the female backing vocals, "nothing hurts forever..." Released as a single twice. Geoff Dugmore remembers "playing and maybe demoing it as the Euros, at a rehearsal studio called 'Easyhire' at one of the last times we rehearsed together."