Fish
Internal Exile (Deluxe)
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, Field Of Crows, Fellini Days, Raingods with Zippos, Sunsets On Empire, Suits and Songs From The Mirror.
The last two reissues are from this year and are very fine releases of Fish’s debut and its successor Internal Exile. In this review, we dive into that second album as well as its very nicely designed new release. Again work by Calum Malcolm in the remastering and again exceptionally fine artwork by Mark Wilkinson. In terms of reissues, these two titles surpass all others in completeness and composition. Four CDs, with the now familiar composition of the album in revised, extended version, a disc of demos, alternative versions as well as live recordings. And then we are not there yet. A fifth disc is a blu-ray with an extensive documentary about the album, a documentary about the artwork, the album in 5.1 and Atmos mix, promo clips and 2 full concerts from 1991 that had previously been released separately.
Internal Exile was Fish’s second album after leaving Marillion. He released the former after Marillion released Season’s End and this second was in development during the battle he was still fighting with EMI. While that battle was going on, Polydor appeared on the scene to lend a helping hand and offer Fish a contract with them. That’s where Internal Exile appeared, then. Nine songs that included Celtic sounds much more emphatically than the first album, embracing the Celtic spirit as well.
It was a tumultuous period for Fish, with struggles with Marillion, with struggles with EMI, the relation with his wife not at a peak, and with the loss at that all, of one of his closest friends, Andy Field, and all this in the knowledge that he had just built a studio that was far from paying off and in the knowledge that he was going to be a father. Polydor’s move took the sting out of the battle with EMI, but damage had been done on a personal level. The relatively young Fish, who had to find his way in the music industry after Marillion, may also have assumed that the record company would be there for him anyway. Listen to Tongues, read its lyrics and remember that this is about EMI’s then foreman Rupert Perry. Too cynical, perhaps? It’s a song where, albeit with edginess, there’s a look back at mutual communication and Fish also looks in the mirror at his own behaviour. Did he perhaps not get it all? Yes, he is sharp, but is he different in that from earlier Freddy Mercury in Queen’s Death On Two Legs? Above all, the song is a successful expression of the experience he was in the middle of at the time.
With Tongues, however, we are well past the opener. The album’s opener is the extremely tight Shadowplay. The Marillion fans were at their beck and call and, with the Celtic sound and the wonderful guitar playing of Robin and Frank, they had, perhaps, the follow-up to Vigil that appealed to them greatly and, with this, didn’t the band already even show itself to be Marillion’s equal? There has certainly been a feeling in the Marillion community for some fans that Marillion as a band was made up of fine musicians, that Fish’s bandmates were not of the same level on their instruments. Regardless of the qualities of the musicians, Fish’s music and Marillion’s music are not comparable. Frank Usher and Robin Boult are neither Steve Rothery, but vice versa, don’t assume that Fish’s music should necessarily sound like Steve’s guitar. On the contrary, when you listen to Fish’s music, that includes his band. Very often, that also means a more rocky approach. But with the opening track, especially enjoy the variety in the song.
In the original version of the album, Credo follows the title track. The track list has been changed, leading to us now getting Lucky as the second track. It is a nice rocking song that always pops live and also says a lot about rock’s influence on Fish. Even in 2024, the song retains its appeal.Two quiet and beautiful songs then follow, as on the original, Just Good Friends and Favourite Stranger. Just Good Friends is a very fine ballad and that really appealed even on a first listen, we come across that song later in the release as a performance with Sam Brown. Favourite Stranger is laidback and with slight jazz influences, nice song too, it actually already shows the variation Fish was going to introduce on several albums.
We already mentioned Tongues. Next we find Something In The Air, the 1969 song he closed Internal Exile with earlier. By subsequently including the great Poet’s Moon in the track list, the balance of the track list actually changed the character of the album as well. And that has been a very good choice. Poet’s Moon rightly gets a place with the album here, and that already gives this new release an edge over the first release. It is simply one of Fish’s finer songs.
More than with Marillion, Fish focused on pop and rock songs. Dear Friend is more poppy, almost a ballad even, and also shows how diverse Fish knew how to make his music. With Credo subsequently included in the track list, the balance of the album is really also significantly stronger than the original. A very fine song by Fish that became a sing-along live just like Lucky.
The closers are the title track and Carnival Man. The title track earlier still prompted discussion within Marillion to whom Fish also submitted it, but the band did not want a song that also touched on aspirations for independence from Scotland. No politics was the thinking. For a band that had shown itself political before and would do so more often later, a remarkable choice. The second song that was also B-side at the time, less strong than Poet’s Moon, but with its laid-back atmosphere now a fine finale to the regular album.
The second disc in this set covers demo recordings. So here’s another great look at the development of the songs. Listen to the initial shaping of Big Wedge or the steps Dear Friend went through. From demo to final release, that’s often a world of difference and so you hear that here in a number of songs.
And when you then consider that this is followed by a couple of fine new recordings (from Yin and Yang) including the version of Just Good Friends with Sam Brown’s lovely voice, you already have a fine prospect. With the addition of very fine live recordings from the distant past, the set is really already very, very rich. The dedicated Fish fan is already very content with that. Then there is the bouncer with a fifth disc, the Blu-ray. On it, again beautiful documentaries about the album and about the artwork, the album once more in Dolby 5.1 and Atmos. And on top of that, even more live recordings: simply enjoy!
Calum Malcolm and Fish have put this new release together very strongly. And with once again Mark Wilkinson’s artwork (actually watch those documentaries!), this reissue has really just become a model reissue. Perhaps the original album was less consistent than the former, but in this edition Internal Exile comes across extremely strong. It is that Fish is ending his career, but for attention, care and composition, he is a shining example to fellow artists and bands with this series of reissues.
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 soon be available again in a limited edition of 1,500.