FISH OUT OF WATER
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PROG REVIEWER
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Posted Saturday, January 24, 2004 | Review this album | Report (Review #27130)
SPECIAL COLLABORATORProg Folk
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Posted Tuesday, March 2, 2004 | Review this album | Report (Review #27131)
PROG REVIEWER
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Posted Sunday, March 14, 2004 | Review this album | Report (Review #27132)
PROG REVIEWER
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Posted Saturday, April 3, 2004 | Review this album | Report (Review #27133)
SPECIAL COLLABORATORHonorary Collaborator
Lots of instruments involved here: Saxophone and standard keyboards on Lucky seven give it a jazzy touch. Flute on silently falling, combined to the beautiful voice and piano, gives this song something soothing. Mellow harp, voice and piano on "Safe (Canon Song)" give this epic song all its majestic dimension.
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Posted Wednesday, April 14, 2004 | Review this album | Report (Review #27135)
SPECIAL COLLABORATORHonorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
When the members of the then Yes line up (Anderson/Howe/Squire/Moraz/White) decided that they should each record solo albums, the betting was on that Squire and White would produce the inferior products, while the three front men led the way. While White's "Ramshackled" album was passable if unspectacular, Squire defied the odds to deliver a first class collection of progressive rock songs.
Squire, (Known as "Fish" before Fish was!) gathers together a band of competent musicians including one time Yes members Patrick Moraz, and Bill Bruford, plus Mel Collins, Jimmy Hastings etc, not to mention a full orchestra(!) to assist with the performance. Squire retains full responsibility for the song-writing, vocals, guitar, and of course bass.
With only five tracks on the album, the space available to develop the tracks into fine individual pieces is fully exploited by Squire. From the opening "Hold you your hand" he creates a sound which, while having echoes of Yes, is very much his own. His vocals, which sound familiar through their constant appearance behind Jon Anderson, hold up well on their own. "You on my side" is a real symphonic rock classic, with beautiful orchestration supporting a wonderfully strong melody.
"Silently falling" is a major opus, which sees Moraz combining with Barry Rose to sound more like Wakeman than ever in the huge space they are afforded. While Squire's version is superb, I get the feeling that had Yes developed the track as a band piece, it could have become another "Yours is no disgrace".
Just two tracks fill side two of the album. "Lucky seven" is a rather weak Average White Band like funky ramble, pleasant but no more. "Safe (Cannon song)" is the second opus on the album, a symphonic piece not unlike "Awaken" in structure, but with orchestra replacing keyboards as the feature sound. It's a majestic track, which allow Squire to roam free on bass, while avoiding the indulgence of using that instrument as the lead sound.
Squire appears perfectly comfortable with being the focus of attention throughout, which makes it all the more surprising that while he has been involved in collaborations with Billy Sherwood since, this is his only true solo offering to date. It's time for another Chris.
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Posted Friday, July 16, 2004 | Review this album | Report (Review #27139)
SPECIAL COLLABORATORHonorary Collaborator
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Posted Wednesday, September 8, 2004 | Review this album | Report (Review #27140)
PROG REVIEWER
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Posted Monday, November 8, 2004 | Review this album | Report (Review #27141)
PROG REVIEWER
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Posted Tuesday, May 24, 2005 | Review this album | Report (Review #27150)
SPECIAL COLLABORATORHonorary Collaborator
And this morning: July 4, 2005 (thirty years later - thanks GOD you still give me a chance to enjoy prog rock!) when I was in my car this morning, an FM classic rock radio station (the legal one, of course) aired "Lucky Seven". My pulse was running rapidly, and I was stunned. It reminded me to the glory days of seventies rock scene. Oh, I remember my teenage times when we had a strong passion for rock and sometime we even yelled "I sold my soul for rock'n'roll, and never turning back!!!" (Friends, do you remember Triumvirat? Yeah .. they have that part of rocking lyrics!). Hey, the passion has got stronger nowadays - that's why we are much more appreciative to prog musicians! They are our hero.
The other tracks that blew me away were the first two tracks that must be enjoyed as one: "Hold Out Your Hand" and "You By My Side". You know what? I love the orchestration at the end of first track and continues seamlessly to the opening of "You By My Side" with powerful vocal line by Squire. The melody is really killing me man!
Sorry, I don't actually plan to bombard you with my right-placed childhood but . you know,. talking about this album brings me back to my teenage times so it always connects me to my past - beautiful one of course. As far as this album concern, I would recommend you to have it in your collection. It's an excellent addition to any prog music collection. If you love Yes, this is a MUST! Keep on proggin' .!
With the heart of prog, PEACE! - Peace on earth and mercy mild, Mother Brown has lost her child, just another forgotten sons!!!!
GW
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Posted Sunday, July 3, 2005 | Review this album | Report (Review #38426)
PROG REVIEWER
1. Hold Out Your Hand 8.5/10 : This is the kind of song that screams 'I want to be in classic rock radio!'. It is an excellent melodic song with beautiful organ work and a bass guitar solo.
2. You By My Side 7.5/10 : This song is a great symphonic song with great pop melodies and feels like the second half of Hold Out Your Hand.
3. Silently Falling 8.5/10 : My favourite song from the album. This is the most progressive song of the album too. It begins with a painfully beautiful flute solo, then is followed by nice melodies until a musical explosion of keyboards floors you. After the calm, Squire sings again with gorgeous piano work.
4. Lucky Seven 7/10 : This is a nice jazz song with a good keyboard line. There is a saxophone playing here, to make it sound more jazzy.
5. Safe (Canon Song) 8/10 : This is a favourite song of mine. It is a classical music piece with great orchestra arrangement, and some of the best bass playing from Squire. He plays a good solo buried under an orchestra, and plays two amazing bass lines.
My Grade : B
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Posted Monday, August 8, 2005 | Review this album | Report (Review #42025)
PROG REVIEWER
Squire's playing on this is, as expected, extraordinary. He does all the lead vocals in a very Jon Anderson-like style. Although he is far from matching Anderson's wonderful voice, his performance is nonetheless, above average and adequate for this album. The combination of Patrick Moraz on organ, Andrew Pryce Jackman on piano and electric piano, and a backing orchestra make for an interesting symphonic presentation. One wonders why Yes itself did not consider including an orchestra at this time, because it would have added a new dimension to their music. Finally, Bill Bruford does the drumming on this release. He does a fairly decent job of it, although most of the material on this album is hardly challenging. Squire's composition skills really shine here, too. Much better than I expected.
I would hardly consider this work essential in the grand scheme of things, nevertheless, it is quite good and should be an essential addition for serious Yes fans or bass guitar aficionados. Easily three stars.
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Posted Sunday, September 18, 2005 | Review this album | Report (Review #47213)
PROG REVIEWER
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Posted Wednesday, February 22, 2006 | Review this album | Report (Review #70216)
SPECIAL COLLABORATORHonorary Collaborator
Kicking off with the upbeat "Hold Out Your Hand", the bass guitar is immediately to the fore in this oddly timed number which is vaguely reminiscent of "Parallels". This song goes straight into the second number, the excellent and slightly country- flavoured "You By My Side" with its rousing chorus. This leads us into the "epic" song of the album, the brilliant "Silently Falling". The roots of this song can be found on early Yes numbers from the BBC recordings, but here it becomes an 11 minute classic, with a long Moraz organ solo, and a slow fade out kicked along nicely by the footwork of Bill Bruford.
Mr Bruford's classic snare sound is immediately recognisable on the next song, "Lucky Seven", which is a jazzy, seven to the bar number featuring the electric piano of Andrew Pryce Jackman. The album is rounded off with the 15 minute "Safe (Canon Song)" where the orchestra comes to the fore. This one is a little bit too long and repetitive for me (various instruments in the orchestra take turns to play the same short riff), but doesn't take anything away from an excellent album. The only other criticism I would make is that the bass guitar sound itself is occasionally a bit "rasping" and could do with a bit more crunch, other than that it's a four star album for me.
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Posted Tuesday, April 11, 2006 | Review this album | Report (Review #74626)
PROG REVIEWER
During the recording of this album, Bruford and Moraz talked about playing together some day. This lead to them recording two duet albums in the `80s. It was also a curious thing to read in Bruford`s official website that he left YES in 1972 among other things because he was tired of "always waiting for Chris Squire to arrive". In 1975-76, Bruford was without a permanent band, so he worked as session musician, and maybe this was the main reason why he appeared in this album.
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Posted Thursday, July 6, 2006 | Review this album | Report (Review #82959)
PROG REVIEWER
Fortunately, the Fish also pulled off TWO great performances which actually trumped anything his colleagues from Yes then had on offer. "Hold out your hand" is an exciting opening number with delightfully 'floating' organ playing, more convincing than the similar "Parallells", which would appear two years later on GOING FOR THE ONE. And "Lucky Seven" is superb: Squire, Bill Bruford and the gorgeous Mel Collins conspiring to give us a catchy, funky tune which proves how much music they have in their blood.
If only Chris had kept FISH OUT OF WATER simple, and left out those orchestral excrescences! Two and a half stars.
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Posted Sunday, July 8, 2007 | Review this album | Report (Review #127900)
SPECIAL COLLABORATORProg Folk Researcher
This came out at the same time as Jon Anderson’s ‘Olias of Sunhillow’, Howe’s ‘Beginnings’, Moraz’s ‘The Story of I’, and Alan White’s ‘Ramshackled’. Anderson’s album was a bit ‘out there’, which of course was no surprise. I personally feel Moraz’s solo work is mostly bland and boring. And both Howe and White’s albums were decent but a bit uneven with several tracks that were either filler or just plain not good. Plus we all know now that Mr. Howe should never, under any circumstances, sing.
The same is not true of Mr. Squire, who of course has every bit as ranging and rich a voice as Jon Anderson. He does all the singing on this album, plus bass of course, and also 12-string guitar. Guests include Moraz and former Yes drummer Bill Bruford; the late Andrew Pryce Jackman (keyboards) who also appeared in the Syn with Squire; King Crimson/Camel/et.al. saxophonist Mel Collins; and Pye Hastings’ brother Jimmy on flute. Barry Michael Rose plays the St. Paul’s Cathedral organ for “Hold out Your Hand”. Trivia – Rose also conducted the choir at St. Paul’s for the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana (which for some reason my mother watched and videotaped despite being an American and therefore should have probably known better).
Anyway, this may be the best of the seventies Yes solo albums. Bruford also put one out after leaving the band, although his was the first of several jazz works. And Wakeman of course started off his string of 14,253,495 solo albums even earlier. ‘Six Wives’ is probably the closest rival to this one, and is the only Yes solo effort I can think of that may be better than Squire’s.
The opening “Hold out Your Hand” has a lot of the characteristics of ‘Relayer’ but without quite as grandiose of keyboards (although the organ is a great addition). This could have easily been a Yes b-side as far as I’m concerned. Same goes for “You by My Side”, although this is a bit closer to something Yes would have put out around ‘Tormato’ or maybe ‘Going for the One’. “Silently Falling” is a lengthy work that features great keyboards from Jackman and a number of elegant tempo shifts, but in a couple case and especially near the end I get the impression Squire is dragging this one out of the sake of being able to claim an 11-minute plus song on his album. Same goes for “Safe”, but here the jazzy influences give the track a lot more variety than on “Silently Falling”.
I know “Lucky Seven” was Squire’s favorite, but I don’t hear anything particularly special about it. “Hold out Your Hand” is much more lively and interesting.
In all I’d like to give this four stars, but a high three feels more accurate. If the enhanced 2007 reissue adds anything interesting I may revisit this, but for now let’s just say well-recommended to Yes fans and leave it at that.
peace
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Posted Monday, August 20, 2007 | Review this album | Report (Review #133912)
PROG REVIEWER
Hold Out Your Hand, You By My Side. These are essentially one song with two melodies. Plenty of playful bass/church organ interplay on the former, and a majestic series of vocal harmonies and beautiful orchestral chords in the latter. So full and lush, you can't help but smile at the end.
Silently Falling. A nice transition leads to a nice melodic build, and then Moraz, Squire and Bruford REALLY cut it loose. This was back when Moraz was still tasteful and somewhat restrained, and Squire rips out some awesome grooves. The track then slowly finishes with a melancholy refrain. A brilliant contrast to the beginning the largely works for me.
Lucky Seven. I'm always a sucker for changing things up and adding diversity to an album, so this jazzy groove in 7/4 is very welcome. It's definitely the weak point, and almost 7 minutes is too long, but some of Squire's basslines are worth waiting for.
Safe (Canon Song). This is one of my top 25 epics--lots of originality and energy. An orchestral opening leads to a huge chorus, and then it's bass time: at least three going at once, by my count. Absolutely awesome bass mayhem. Then the song leads into an extremely extended, quirky 11/4 section. Not many could pull this off, but dynamics and instrumentation change just enough to really keep things interesting throughout. An absolutely MASSIVE finale and Awaken-like die down close this gem in a great way.
I really don't know how you could go wrong with this if you are into full, symphonic prog. I think some people let their expectations influence what they hear, because Squire and friends have really done something special here in my opinion.
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Posted Wednesday, September 12, 2007 | Review this album | Report (Review #137911)
PROG REVIEWER
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Posted Tuesday, October 16, 2007 | Review this album | Report (Review #145019)
SPECIAL COLLABORATORHonorary Collaborator
One other problem is Chris Squire�s voice which I find weak here. It is excellent when he sings second voice in Yes, but singing lead is not his game. It�s comparable to a band like Alice In Chains. When Layne sang the lead and Jerry sang backing vocals it sounded like heaven. But at the end of their career when Layne was too wasted on drugs, Jerry would sing much of their material when they played live. Now Jerry like Chris Squire is a good vocalist, but he is not excellent like Layne or Jon Anderson. I can understand why he would sing lead on his own solo album, but it doesn�t impress me.
The two long songs are clearly the best here. But not really interesting. 3 stars might even be too high here but the quality is too high for 2 stars so 3 stars it is even though this is not an album I will listen to very often.
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Posted Monday, December 10, 2007 | Review this album | Report (Review #155034)
SPECIAL COLLABORATORHonorary Collaborator
Chris Squire's single solo effort is quite a treat for Yes and symphonic fans alike, managing to pull together YesSounds with a new kind of sound that makes it sound familiar, yet new and refreshing. In the prog world its not uncommon to hear about lead piano, lead organ, or even lead sax, but ever heard of lead bass? Squire has, apparently, and in this effort manages to give bass players everywhere a good name. Five compositions fill this disc, each one a thing of beauty worthy of any prog fan's time.
The album starts out with a pair of twins separated at birth. Hold Out Your Hand and You By My Side should really be seen as two parts to one song, since the flow together seamlessly and work with one another to make one complete theme that opens up the album quite nicely. This pair may be a little out of character for a YesMember, being that they sound almost commercial but really in the end they just have that kind of sound without any annoying pop-ishness. In the same vein is Lucky Seven which, while slower, is another cool song that trudges along bringing you for the ride and turns out being another song that a big prog fan might not expect to be good, but it is. All the while one is likely thinking, wow, this guy can actually sing! True (for now, anyways. In hindsight it seems his voice doesn't age too well as shown on Yes' last studio album), it seems that all those years standing too close to Jon Anderson has given him the 'balls in a vice' syndrome that forces his voice to be so high. Of course, anyone who listens really close to Yes already knows the parallels the two men's voices share, it's good that Squire actually chose to use it for once. Back on subject the shorter songs actually work quite well on this album.
Now for the best part, the long songs. It's easy to get very excited as a prog fan when one sees a track that reaches over 10 minutes. Many will also feel a sense of terror, fearing the artist may not be able to deliver. But Squire, baby, he d-e-livers. Safe (Canon Song) is a great track that's easy on these ears, it just keeps going and going like song sort of Energizer Bunny of nirvana (not the band[s]) until the album ultimately comes to a close. Even this song, however, must bow down to the majesty that is the ultimate lost Yes song, Silently Falling. This is a serene track that's just about as sublime as any track can possibly come. Listening to this song evokes such a feeling of absolute zen and bliss that one loses all sense of time and space. Beautiful flutes peacefully open the track as Squire proceeds to blow away the audience with supreme vocals and bass that is just awesome (I've run out of intelligent words at this point). This one song is worth buying the entire album for, even if the rest of the album is excellent as well.
Conclusion time!
5 stars, this is a masterpiece. Maybe it's the lost Yes album, but really it's just Squire proving how great he is. Recommended to any Yes fan, any Symphonic Prog fan, and any prog fan in general. In fact, recommended to everyone short of metal-heads and rappers. Excellent album. It's too bad that Squire never followed up one this, or maybe it's good that he never spoiled his reputation by releasing poor solo work. Eh, that can be argued, but what can't be argued is the caliber of this album. Buy it.
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Posted Friday, January 25, 2008 | Review this album | Report (Review #159782)
SPECIAL COLLABORATORHonorary Collaborator
Though a lot of criticism has been aimed at Squire's vocals, I personally find them no less valid than Jon Anderson's - maybe less angelic and more down-to-earth, understated but solid throughout. Anyway, this is not the kind of album you listen to looking for vocal prowess - the presence of a more assertive singer would have detracted from the musical brilliance of the instrumental parts, a real feast for lovers of vintage prog.
"Fish Out of Water" strikes the right balance between melody and complexity, its compositions tightly structured yet leaving room for the musicians to let rip and show their chops. Even if solo albums are often seen as vanity projects, there is very little self-indulgence here. While Chris's awesome bass playing does take centre stage, as it is to be expected, it is never to the detriment of the other instruments. Listening to this album, you get the impression of a unit working together towards a goal, not of a motley crew of gifted musicians left to their own devices. What is even more important, the five songs on it get top marks on a compositional level, and work together to form a harmonious whole - unlike what all too often happens in the case of many modern bands or artists (no names here, but I have a few ideas in mind...).
The two initial tracks, "Hold Out Your Hand" and "You By My Side", are excellent examples of accessible, melodic prog, enriched by the backing orchestration and lavish vocal harmonies, as well as Patrick Moraz's solemn church organ. However, the album really comes into its own with the remaining three tracks, easily numbered. amongst the masterpieces of Seventies progressive rock. "Silently Falling" is 11 minutes of musical ecstasy, alternating between the monstrously intricate interplay of Squire and Bruford's state-of-the-art rhythm section with the other musicians, and the rarefied, melancholy moods of the refrain. The following "Lucky Seven", featuring Mel Collins' contribution on sax, is probably the most adventurous track on the album, based on a sort of funky groove that shows a different side to Squire's playing, and definitely reaching out into jazz-rock territory. The record closes with another symphonic masterpiece, the 14-minute-plus "Safe (Canon Song)", where the orchestra acts on occasion as Chris's sparring partner, leading the way to a sumptuous, majestic finale.
A richly satisfying experience, musically impeccable but at the same time warm and accessible, and certainly no mere exercise in technical brilliance, Fish Out of Water is essential listening for anyone who claims an interest in prog, especially of the symphonic variety.
This review is dedicated to someone who loves this album to bits, and plays a beautiful Rickenbacker bass just like Chris Squire does...
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Posted Wednesday, January 30, 2008 | Review this album | Report (Review #160217)
PROG REVIEWER
One has to recognize that this one is a very good work. The line-up is superb with ex-Yes Brufford, once Yes Moraz, the talented Mel Collins amongst others. And Chris is a pretty decent singer, no doubt. Since we all know his great talent on the bass, the only thing that could go wrong was the song writing.
But, in this sector as well, Chris surprised everybody by delivering nice ballads / melodies although more commercial oriented than true YesSongs ("Hold Out Your Hand", "You By My Side"). Still, pleasant to listen to even if there is an orchestra which is at times a bit invading (especially during the latter number).
The pastoral intro of "Silently Falling" is very much "Genesis" oriented ("Trespass"), but evolves very well into a more personal track. Nice bass / keyboards interplay. The melody is very catchy and the finale is rather bombastic. A highlight and a very powerful track (my fave here). Hats off Chris!
The jazzy "Lucky Seven" is my least favorite (but that's because I have never been into jazz probably). Still, the combination with the orchestra is not too bad a mix.
The epic track "Safe", closes this album brilliantly (during ten minutes). Bass play is superb and very strong. Keyboards sound almost as Emerson's ones at times and the vocal part is excellent all the way through. Not far from Jon's timber actually. Maybe that this number could have been either cut a bit or have the long and final orchestration part replaced by a more rock-oriented one. It should have been perfect.
Every YesFan should be pleased with this album. Surprisingly, no other will see the light. The one and only Chris's solo album. Actually, it is better to have released only a very good one than several average ones (like most of his YesFriends will do) right?
A solid four star for this excellent work. Bravo!
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Posted Saturday, February 23, 2008 | Review this album | Report (Review #162472)
SPECIAL COLLABORATORHonorary Collaborator
Genesis, Yes, and Floyd solo projects can be painful experiences for most fans, generally reserved for the most die-hard among them. "Fish Out of Water" is no exception. While it is one of the more tolerable of this solo project subset it is hardly reason for celebration. Just as Waters albums with high profile people like Clapton involved could not match prime Floyd, Squire's album packs a host of great guests with the finest chops and yet is nowhere close to the level of the previous Yes studio albums. Chris' talents are formidable from any angle but of course cannot match the benefit of having the others to bounce ideas off of, make decisions, and contribute their own parts to the tracks. The upside is that this album does have a very -interesting- sound and it does have some very fine moments scattered about. The irony is, it is the same things that make it interesting that ultimately undermine the overall value of the complete album for me. First, Chris' voice is unique and interesting but not enough to carry an entire album. Second, the placement of the bass as lead interesting rather than guitar is interesting the first time and then woefully inadequate down the road in creating variable textures for long term enjoyment.the absence of Howe (or someone else) is so apparent. And this comes from a huge bass fan. In the longer tracks the music really drags despite a nice flute or organ bit here and there. Third, an orchestra can be marvelous on an album but on "Safe" it flails and grates to the point of irritation. By this point Squire seems like many stars on solo spring-break throwing everything including the kitchen sink for effect but apparently saving the best stuff for the next band project (which really is what they should do when you think about it-their legacies lie in the band, not the little side trips.) Fourth and last would be songwriting as alluded to. The five tracks all have a quirky feel that definitely arouses attention when you first hear them, but to me they simply lack the engaging emotional qualities and joyous complexity of the prime unit at their best. And of course, no one is saying Squire had to recreate Yes.that isn't my point. But it's only natural to compare the quality of the finished product against the work that most people are familiar with, and on "Fish" this material most compares with the quality of certain "Going for the One" or "Tormato" tracks, things like "Parallels." You will not have to worry about "Hold Out Your Hand" bumping CTTE or Gates from the top of your favourite Yessong list. The lyrics for "You By My Side" will cure you of any future impulse to join the frequent criticisms about Anderson's lyrics. Again, that's not saying he had to copy Yes-he could surely make it different, I'm just comparing quality as I see it. My favourite track is the "Lucky Seven" where I really enjoyed Collins sax and Squire's bass doing some good light-hearted jousting. To be fair, most reviewers disagree quite profoundly with me on this album so take it with a grain of salt. But my advice for the curious or the hard core fans is to indulge thyself and make up your own mind. For casual fans, just walk away and spend elsewhere. 5/10
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Posted Tuesday, May 13, 2008 | Review this album | Report (Review #170934)
PROG REVIEWER
My take? This sounds very YES with a _Time And A Word_ orchestral Yes composition style along with slight King Crimson overtones(Bruford) and Canterbury influences. If you enjoy all the aforementioned descriptions, you can't go wrong here. _Lucky Seven_ is the best YES song Chris Squire never wrote. One more mention...get the REMASTER/DVD Deluxe Edition. I didn't really get into this album until I heard the remaster. A big difference with all the nuances. An almost classic and a great follow-up to YES _Relayer_. 4.5 stars.
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Posted Thursday, July 24, 2008 | Review this album | Report (Review #178070)
SPECIAL COLLABORATOREclectic Prog Team
"Hold Out Your Hand" Upbeat and in an odd time signature (15/8 followed by 3/4), Squire gets things rolling with organ and chunky bass work. The way the vocal melody and the lyrics intertwine with the oddly structured music, not to mention the powerful chorus that follows, the listener knows he is in progressive rock country.
"You By My Side" The first song goes directly into this ballad. It leans more toward pop, and could have even been a solid single. The vocal melody in the second half drags a little bit, but the backup singing is stupendous. Admittedly, the instrumentation is a tad ostentatious for such an otherwise simple song.
"Silently Falling" Various wind instruments work together somewhat discordantly to introduce Squire's slightly cleaned up bass guitar (which gets dirty again later). The chord progression and the vocal melodies are some of the best on this album, and Squire proves what a capable vocalist he is. The music for the most part stays interesting and fresh, and even though this is a solo album, Squire doesn't hog the spotlight. He gives the many other musicians, particularly keyboardist Patrick Moraz and drummer Bill Bruford ample time to do their thing. Things get quiet thereafter, as Squire begins singing. A basic chord progression on piano enters as Squire sings the title over and over. My only criticism would be that this section lingers too long, even though the steady build up is exciting.
"Lucky Seven" With electric piano and a funk rhythm section, this was not something I expected to hear from Chris Squire, but it's neat to hear him branch out into other genres. Mel Collins delivers the main theme on saxophone. Squire does some fine singing, but it's his growling bass playing that really stands out- this is Squire's hands' show- that is, until it becomes Collins's, whose saxophone runs all over the place, but never once enters the realm of nonsense.
"Safe (Canon Song)" Beginning with a trembling bass and lovely piano, harp, and wind instruments, the introduction sounds appropriate for the Christmas season. With strings and an array of instruments filling out the sound, Squire goes not only for the epic length, but an epic sound, so vibrant and full of variety. As it should be, the main artist's bass guitar stands out, though with a trebly sound and some light effects. Some lovely strings and all manner of instrumentation maneuver over his strange work, which is sometimes inharmonious. Eventually, the song enters its most stirring section, and it no longer sounds like a rock band playing, but a full orchestra playing in a coliseum, with on hell of a bass player.
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Posted Friday, December 12, 2008 | Review this album | Report (Review #192737)
COLLABORATORErrors & Omissions Team
02. You By My Side What it follows in stampede for the second limit track, You By My Side. With the piano of Andrew Pryce Jackman in the foreground next to the bass and voice of Chris and Bill giving a touch with the battery there behind. An epic song in we have composicionais, delimits! Just as Jimmy Hastings enters on the stage with his flute the freedom of thoughts and emotions it brings up thoughts of afternoons that passed and of afternoons that still will come. After a almost stopped, Chris returns with vocal duplicated for the refrain, which by the way is outstanding. I go down and it orchestrates side by side, showing of the one who went to idea composicional principal. Big, absurd, brilliant Chris Squire, pantheon of the biggest of the world-wide music, with the help of a professional people.
03. Silently Falling The most symphonic of all, Symphony orchestra in all the aspects, who is in charge here is the orchestra commanded by Andrew, I reminded of myself of Peter E The Wolf, Jimmy's flutes are entrancing, all around they appear suddenly ordering more and more subjects. Here I found a sentence that takes me to front every time I remember her. To 1′48 Chris sings: ' Don't Believe in miracles, but I of the believe in love. ' (I do not believe in miracles, and yes, in the love). This is the spirit, if only a small part of the world was thinking so, we would live in a better world. The only part in Bill really shows the one that came in the battery is the Central part of the song, when Patrick goes flat, around 4 minutes. A huge one of an example of as a ' progressive song ' should be. When the vocal thing returns, there for the 6′30, Chris's voice shines in haughty way. To 7′30 the song changes his subject again, piano to the front, bass with different insignia, battery accompanying to line of bass. One or two 'lost' lines of guitar here and over there, also in charge of Squire, guitars are not heard in the disc, and they are nor needed, but there is a quite legal melodic line near to the ninth minute of the track. In the sequence the orchestra takes care of the 'background'. Epic poet of historical proportions.
04. Lucky Seven This introduction of keyboard is matadora, in a broken time and with animal insignia. Bruford accompanies it in syncopated and frantic rhythm, while Chris's bass goes if permeating in the melody, and we have Mel Collins (Van Der Graaf Generator) doing a precise harmony in his saxophone. And clear, the orchestra does very well his paper. I do not know if they did tour, or even, shows of discus to the time, it me them would be interesting to hear this sound to the living creature. 3 minutes, knockout to the bass, full one of harmonic, artificial and non-artificial. A sharp ready knife to cut the rash ears. Harmonic plays between the violins and the fantastic saxophone. Taste more special what. The end was released to do Honey what well to understand to a sax, and he soon placed two superimposed melodies, nature.
05. Wear (Canon Song) out Again, in perfect harmony, the tracks are still joined together. Again the orchestration is put in charge of making everything go round in perfect harmony. And the whispered vocal thing of Chris is completely that one needs to give itself up to the track. In what a thing follows, average cartoon, blows interpret, ropes make fastening the breathing. And Chris touches a highly strong and moving sentence in the bass. Here what the 5th minute brings near and Chris invests in a line of bass, at the same time, finds strange and needs, the orchestra does a counterpoint to the bass, battery following with the strange time. A perfect and synchronized union of ideas and ideals. We pass of the half, almost they go out from the rails, but the train Squire is perfectly guided by competent hands, and in way avassaladora, they compose one more orchestral magnificent subject again. With escapes and worthy counterpoints of any stated 'learned' composer. Not more I will speak on this final part of the subject, which is for alone, deserving you all the ears and with total attention. I leave the only word with you listeners!
Haughty!
Do not satisfy in being a fabulous bass player, Chris Squire in 1975, it composed and carved with a good group of musicians, one of the best progressive discs that has piece of news, top10 easily.
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