Fish
Fellini Days (The Remasters)
October sees the start of Derek William Dick’s farewell tour or, as he is better known, Fish. That farewell tour will be much more than a retrospective of his years as Marillion’s frontman. And rightly so, because although his solo work maybe less well known than his Marillion legacy; whatever you do, don’t overlook that very period. To refresh your memory or to introduce you to his solo work for the first time at all, Written In Music dives into the catalogue of the sympathetic Scotsman and offers you an overview of Fish’s various studio albums. Previously we already shared our reviews of the EP A Parley With Angels, the albums Weltschmerz, A Feast Of Consequences, 13th Star and Field Of Crows.. In this edition we shift our focus to Fellini Days, which was originally released in 2001.
Fellini Days. You may not be aware of this yourself, but hey, you too do experience them. An everyday day that suddenly harbours something very special in something very small. On this Remasters release, you will again find extensive accompanying lyrics by Fish. And the description of the experience and recognition of Fellini Days is particularly beautiful in these lyrics. If are familiar with Fish’s writing style, you can imagine what to expect.
When Marillion and Fish broke up ages ago, it seemed like there were two camps. Yes, the Marillion and newcomer h camp and the Fish camp. Fish has suffered setbacks in his musical career, including issues with his voices as well. At the same time, if you listen to his albums with an open mind and drop any expectations of what you might want to hear, his albums offer a lot of beauty to discover. His music shows boldness to begin with and deviates, especially on later albums, from the music he made earlier with Marillion.
No, his music has not been a turn off in the same direction of what he brought with Marillion. And that’s just as well. Whether this album would ever have come about then? That too is only really the question. The great thing is that Fish somehow always finds a writing buddy to work with and it is precisely this collaboration, which thus also changes through time, that produces fine results. Here, American John Wesley, quirky guitarist and singer-songwriter was an important partner. Indeed, he also played in Porcupine Tree’s live line-up. Besides him, John Young, of Lifesigns fame, also co-wrote the music on the album. Steve Vantsis, on board here for his bass playing, had not yet developed into a writing partner.
A good company already to start writing. And with Dave Stewart joining on drums a fine team for recording. 9 songs made up the album and by golly, Fellini Days is another very strong album in Fish’s collection. 3D is a nice opener, with Fellini’s sound recordings also surviving in this reissue. For some, a distracting element to the album, but, to go along with the experience of the album, just right. The song does make a fitting opener too; you are already sucked into the experience of what might be an ordinary day, so to speak. Only, is it? Mysterious and with fine backing vocals.
The opening sounds of So Fellini are astonishing. Man, man, what a wonderful riff it is and how wonderfully the song builds. Beautifully sung by Fish and the backing vocalists and there’s no getting around it: the title really does stick in your head. Great track that also shows how strong Fish’s collaboration with John Wesley was.
Tiki 4 is quite likely not what you would expect. But how really relaxing is this song? You can easily imagine lying in the sun somewhere with a cocktail enjoying this to the fullest. It takes you far away from everyday reality. And if you’re wondering if Fish could write ballads too? Certainly, Our Smile shows that very well. Fine guitar playing by one John and beautiful keyboards by the other John and once again successful vocals by both Fish and Susie Webb and Zoe Nicholas make this another very strong song.
Around the time this album was written, Fish was going through a divorce. He managed to capture the misery of that very well in Long Cold Day. Do you think the title is a prediction of what to expect? Definitely! When you hear the riff live, its power pretty much blows you away. And that power is in the whole song. Ironclad playing from Wesley, don’t forget the rhythm section here too, and John Young adding the right texture.
Dancing In Fog is another gem. Danceable Fish on a lovely beat. And damn, the combination works. Steve Vantsis and Dave Stewart lay down a fine rhythm, John Young a strong colour palette and the finishing touch is brought by John Wesley with very subtle guitar work. Obligatory Ballad is anything but that. Beautifully constructed and a song that has its strength and beauty in its simplicity. Very beautiful. The Pilgrim’s Address is basically cut from the same cloth and shares a simplicity. However, the song gets quite a bit heavier. Socially critical, especially about warmongering. And whether it all paid off. This is how we got to know Fish in his younger years. His social heart comes out emphatically here.
The album closes with the very impressive Clock Moves Sideways. What a bouncer this is! A very strong song that shows that with good musicians alongside him, Fish made and makes extremely fascinating music. A song that just grabs you. For fans: the song has references to the title track of the second Marillion album in terms of impact and lyrics. Very rightly sensed and fitted in.
9 songs that have the spirit of Fellini attached to them, though perhaps more emphatically in some songs than others. You can certainly put the notion that there is more to an ordinary day in part on the music. None of the songs are that ordinary. And it has not, if you can even speak of that, become a standard Fish album. Do you dare to step into Fish’s experience? Then it is well worth buying this long-player set, especially since there is more to it than just the album itself.
The second album this time consists entirely of demos. Wonderful to zoom in on the genesis of some of the tracks here. Not all the demos led to songs on this album, but when you consider that Aggro would later get another chance as Square Go on 13th Star, you see that those demos really let you discover something more. Very cool to be so close to the creation of songs here.
The Remasters sets have live songs, of course, and it’s no different here. The third CD lets almost all the songs from the album shine in live versions. We only miss Dancing In Fog and Obligatory Ballad, but, do notice the difference, the songs are much more solid than on the studio album! The live version of 3D leaves the studio version far behond. One might comment that it’s a pity it’s not a full concert, but the performances are very appealing, to use a euphemism. And, the recordings are from multiple years: so you also hear different line-ups of Fish’s band. Enjoy! And looking again at how the album has now taken its final form? With Mark Wilkinson’s stunning artwork, the reissues, including this one, have just become very special.
It wasn’t the easiest period in Fish’s life, at the same time he managed to write an album that coupled rock with progressive influences, but which equally carried the energy that recurs in his music all the time. The rocking side, the influences of his heroes of yesteryear, it’s all there. And that makes Fellini Days in this performance more than highly enjoyable. It’s beautiful, listening intently to Fish’s Remasters. Calum Malcolm makes all these releases a joy to listen to. And certainly this one just continues as what it is: a top album!
For all the releases in this series, you won’t find them at retail. If you are interested in purchasing the titles, go to www.fishmusic.eu. There you will find most of the titles still in stock. Suits and Sunsets On Empire will be available soonish in an edition of 1,500.