CD Review  

Rating 99%

reviewed by Charlie O'

Ok, I've been one of those who thought that Fish's best work was done back in the 80's with Marillion. Then when he left, I thought Vigil was a cracking solo album, but it's been a steady slide since then, down to the last few albums where I've bought them, played them once each, and then filed them away. All the time feeling guilty for not liking them more, or even caring enough to give them more time.

Then along came the Return to Childhood tour. This was to be my big return to the fold. Or so I thought. But I couldn't make it to the gigs, so there was still nothing. Then the album came out and still nothing. The live webcast of that gig in Portugal might have done it, but it seemed to badly done that I went the other way. Not sexually, of course.

And at the same time, his old mates brought out Somewhere Else, which for me was just another nail in another coffin for a graveyard full of dreams. I feared that I'd never get that anticipation of a new album back again.

Then came Heathergate and the prospect of an album full of love/hate songs whetted my appetite. Early reports claiming it to be "the best thing he's done ever" were obviously taken with a pinch of salt, but intriguing enough to pre-order the album (not something I'd do with Marillion again). Finally there was the Market Square day. Even though I didn't remember too much about the two new tracks he played that day, it just felt home to be back in that crowd, feeling the buzz. So anyway onto the album.

The first thing I noticed about the music was the bass heavy intro to Circle Line, reminiscent of the old State of Mind and you can tell that bass player Steve Vantsis has done a great job with the music. Fish himself, sings lower and more within himself, which really pays dividends. In fact i got a cheque for 38p to prove it.

The bass heaviness continues onto Square Go with Fish's growl starting off in a whisper and after excellent guitar work from Frank Usher and Chris Johnson he gives what can only be described as the first Scottish rap since the Proclaimers did their Eminem tribute album (not reviewed) last year.

This then leads into the melancholic trio starting with Miles De Besos. Fish starts off over a solo piano before the others gradually john in. Lorna Bannon rings some sweet backing vocals here while the lyrics slip between Megadeth and Missy Higgins. Zoe 25 follows on with Beetlesesque mono separation. Chris's guitar leftside vocals and piano right. The gentle song finishes with a piece of music so sad, it could be Blackfield. I don't want to delve in the lyrics at all on this album for I believe it to be all too personal, however Arc Of The Curve (the missing Indiana Jones film?) starts with the immortal words "midnight Sun...". Hey I'm just fucking with ya.:) the immortal words "Do you remember". Musically in places it reminds me of an old Pendragon number. But what the hell is an arc of a curve? "I could never contemplate that you would ever walk away" he sings at the end.

Manchmal is a return to the harder and rockier side of things with Frank's guitar taking a right pounding. Here's a lesson for you kids, manchmal is German for sometimes. There you go. We're value for money. So the idea behind the song is that according to an old wives tale a scorpion needed to cross some open water so made a deal with a turtle to take him across and he promised not to sting him. Or it. But halfway across - probably not exactly halfway but near enough. I don't think the exact distance matters, but it wasn't too near either bank - the scorpion stung the turtle killing it or her and drowning himself. "What did you do that for" said the turtle. Before it drowned most likely. "Hey I'm a fucking scorpion, what do you expect?" He said. So, on idea how that night relate to the personal life of a fish but I guess some of them must've feasted on the body of the turtle or something.

Openwater flows in next, but without any drowned creatures. But it's an obvious breakup song with nice guitar riffing and cowbell. This is followed by Dark Star which for me sounds like another blast from the pas with the opening section reminding me so much of Grendel that i keep singing it. You should all try it too. It fits man! The middle section sees Fish counterpointing himself when the obvious thing would hate been to get Lorna  to do it. But I'm sure there'd've been arguments about who said what.

And I'm glad I'm not analysing the lyrics too much. Especially as the next track Where In The World is painfully obvious, slow and gentle with some of the saddest lyrics since sliced bread with a keyboard refrain that I can almost place but not quite. What a difference a year makes. Who can say what 12 months will do to a person. Whit the original title being Going Home I'm sure you can put 2 and 2 together and get 4.

If you can't, the opening line from the final track 13th Star will son put you straight. "With a heart full of sky" he says. No prizes. It's a sort of Sugar Mice for the post-Blair generation. And after 90 seconds you can hear the big man crack up . I don't know if he does this live but I'd imagine some refreshment would be needed at around this point. So there you have it. The big bald Scots guy has written a song to match A Gentleman's Excuse Me and the aforementioned Sugar Mice in the emotional stakes.

Well, there's all this and more, cos if you get the album now from www.the-company.com or at one of his gigs, you'll get a free "The Making Of..." DVD which is well worth a look.

So is this Fish's best album ever, including the Marillion ones?

I'd go as far as to say it's definitely his best work since Vigil. Time will tell on the rest.