Chris Squire - Fish Out Of Water : 50th Anniversary Edition (Two Disc Set)
Chris Squire's critically acclaimed 1975 solo album Fish Out of Water is far from the first, nor will it be the last, classic rock/ prog album to be given multiple rereleases (this particular Fish has been put back in the remastered waters a few times, including a 30th Anniversary reissue and a 2Disc release in 2018 featuring a new mix from Jakko Jakszyk).
While many such rereleases are little more than a commercial opportunity for the label/ artist/ current rights holder, or an excuse to create an alternative mix (cue cries of "sacrilege!"), this 50th Anniversary Edition of Fish Out Of Water now stands tall as the definitive version.
The reason? The remix from acclaimed audio engineer Stephen W Tayler; he has stayed pretty faithful to the original mix but also brought out the sonic spread best in the album.
Essentially a collaboration between Chris Squire and his good friend Andrew Pryce Jackman (orchestration, conductor, piano), Fish Out Of Water also features significant contributions from, among others, Bill Bruford (drums, percussion), Patrick Moraz (Hammond organ, bass synth), Mel Collins (saxophones), and Barry Rose (pipe organ).
This Two Disc set also contains an illustrated 20 page booklet with an essay by Sid Smith.
On first (re)listening to the excellent new stereo mix you are immediately reminded just how much of an influence Chris Squire had on the music of Yes, from his innovative and technically proficient bass lines to his vocal parts and compositional abilities.
He is also a master of effective ostinatos which, coupled with some dissonance, were recurring features in those classic Yes albums of the 70s.
Opener 'Hold Out Your Hand' benefits from Stephen W Tayler's excellent stereo spread and mix of the orchestration and vocal parts, while Chris Squire’s unmistakeable Rickenbacker "growl" underpins the number, bolstered further by some very impressive orchestra arrangements in the outro.
'Hold Out Your Hand' segues into 'You By My Side,' a lovely downtempo that betrays influences of both the Beatles and Crosby Stills & Nash (no bad thing).
More detailed and interweaving orchestration elevate this song further, as does the use of pipe organ throughout (some tubular bells in the outro also suggest the influence of a certain Mr Oldfield, who released his debut opus two years previously).
'Silently Falling,' with its delicate woodwind opening (featuring flautist Jimmy Hastings), is an ambitious longform piece where Chris Squire provides multi-layered vocals and an underlying ostinato to propel the song toward its increasingly frenetic instrumental section.
Said section features a stellar Hammond solo from Patrick Moraz before the introduction of a new ostinato, which Squire adds to with his bass part before a sudden stop and breakdown.
Some more effective bass and vocal parts build the number up again, but at a slower tempo.
While many such rereleases are little more than a commercial opportunity for the label/ artist/ current rights holder, or an excuse to create an alternative mix (cue cries of "sacrilege!"), this 50th Anniversary Edition of Fish Out Of Water now stands tall as the definitive version.
The reason? The remix from acclaimed audio engineer Stephen W Tayler; he has stayed pretty faithful to the original mix but also brought out the sonic spread best in the album.
Essentially a collaboration between Chris Squire and his good friend Andrew Pryce Jackman (orchestration, conductor, piano), Fish Out Of Water also features significant contributions from, among others, Bill Bruford (drums, percussion), Patrick Moraz (Hammond organ, bass synth), Mel Collins (saxophones), and Barry Rose (pipe organ).
This Two Disc set also contains an illustrated 20 page booklet with an essay by Sid Smith.
On first (re)listening to the excellent new stereo mix you are immediately reminded just how much of an influence Chris Squire had on the music of Yes, from his innovative and technically proficient bass lines to his vocal parts and compositional abilities.
He is also a master of effective ostinatos which, coupled with some dissonance, were recurring features in those classic Yes albums of the 70s.
Opener 'Hold Out Your Hand' benefits from Stephen W Tayler's excellent stereo spread and mix of the orchestration and vocal parts, while Chris Squire’s unmistakeable Rickenbacker "growl" underpins the number, bolstered further by some very impressive orchestra arrangements in the outro.
'Hold Out Your Hand' segues into 'You By My Side,' a lovely downtempo that betrays influences of both the Beatles and Crosby Stills & Nash (no bad thing).
More detailed and interweaving orchestration elevate this song further, as does the use of pipe organ throughout (some tubular bells in the outro also suggest the influence of a certain Mr Oldfield, who released his debut opus two years previously).
'Silently Falling,' with its delicate woodwind opening (featuring flautist Jimmy Hastings), is an ambitious longform piece where Chris Squire provides multi-layered vocals and an underlying ostinato to propel the song toward its increasingly frenetic instrumental section.
Said section features a stellar Hammond solo from Patrick Moraz before the introduction of a new ostinato, which Squire adds to with his bass part before a sudden stop and breakdown.
Some more effective bass and vocal parts build the number up again, but at a slower tempo.
Lucky Seven, which features Mel Collins on saxophone, has a slow and woozy, jazzy feel (a combination of some sections in 7/8 and Collins’ contributions).
Chris Squire’s bass parts on this number alternate between nailing the rhythm part, providing some melody, and solo parts. Put more simply, this song grooves.
Closing number Safe (Canon Song), which directly segues from Lucky Seven, is another where the new mix helps bring out the best of this fifteen-minute opus.
Building from a slow, pop-like melody, a repeating musical figure drives the song towards a gorgeous descending bass line that sits over the top of a simple but beautifully effective orchestral arrangement.
Chris Squire then plays the ostinato in different octaves over the top of an almost mediaeval sounding orchestra (the different instruments carefully placed across the stereo spectrum so the song is heard, and enjoyed, in all its glorious complexity).
The tempo drops, and a background drum solo added, before moving to an orchestral crescendo; the song then bows out with what sounds like reverbed double or fretless bass.
A stunning conclusion to a stellar album.
Given the compositional arrangements, instrumentation and sonic depth, the album also lends itself to Stephen W Tayler's Atmos and 5.1 Surround Sound mixes that can be found on the accompanying Blu-ray disc (which also includes visual content and Chris Squire's 2006 Audio Commentary).
Five decades on, Fish Out Of Water remains a timeless progressive rock classic from a sorely missed giant of the genre, and a virtuoso leader in his four-string field.
Nelson McFarlane (track by track) & Ross Muir (overview)
FabricationsHQ
Chris Squire’s bass parts on this number alternate between nailing the rhythm part, providing some melody, and solo parts. Put more simply, this song grooves.
Closing number Safe (Canon Song), which directly segues from Lucky Seven, is another where the new mix helps bring out the best of this fifteen-minute opus.
Building from a slow, pop-like melody, a repeating musical figure drives the song towards a gorgeous descending bass line that sits over the top of a simple but beautifully effective orchestral arrangement.
Chris Squire then plays the ostinato in different octaves over the top of an almost mediaeval sounding orchestra (the different instruments carefully placed across the stereo spectrum so the song is heard, and enjoyed, in all its glorious complexity).
The tempo drops, and a background drum solo added, before moving to an orchestral crescendo; the song then bows out with what sounds like reverbed double or fretless bass.
A stunning conclusion to a stellar album.
Given the compositional arrangements, instrumentation and sonic depth, the album also lends itself to Stephen W Tayler's Atmos and 5.1 Surround Sound mixes that can be found on the accompanying Blu-ray disc (which also includes visual content and Chris Squire's 2006 Audio Commentary).
Five decades on, Fish Out Of Water remains a timeless progressive rock classic from a sorely missed giant of the genre, and a virtuoso leader in his four-string field.
Nelson McFarlane (track by track) & Ross Muir (overview)
FabricationsHQ