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, Songs From The Mirror and Internal Exile. It is n ow time for the retrospective that goes furthest, to Fish’s solo debut, all the way back to 1990.

The speculation about Fish’s successor in Marillion, prompted by the very way Fish had filled that role and with which he was inextricably seen by everyone in those days as the voice of Marillion, something that was, however, still seen that way by superficial listeners for years afterwards (‘Huh, is there another singer then?’, remained audible until long after the band’s tenth album.), was by now behind us and Steve Hogarth, unknown to the progressive public, was allowed to become the band’s new frontman with Seasons End. With the album’s cover Seasons End featuring four symbols from the Fish-era, a feather floating away, the tip of a joker’s hat against a blue sky, a chameleon in front of a fire and a painting that was very reminiscent of Fugazi’s cover, there was also the question of whether the title should not be read as Sea Son’s End, which would then be a direct reference to Fish’s departure.

Let’s call that speculation from young fans. Because in the meantime, work on new material was also going on in Fish’s house. And what Fish brought out showed that he was still holding his ground. How logical was that, too, wasn’t it? It was his voice that had coloured Marillion’s music. Yes, the band was not bad, far from it ánd those solos by Steve Rothery, they were always quite special, weren’t they? So how would Fish find new musicians? And what would they sound like?

Around the release of the album, information came out only sparsely in those days. The internet was not yet the source of information it is today. Singles trickled out in advance, starting with State Of Mind, then Big Wedge (the formal first single) and, later, A Gentleman’s Excuse Me. Knowing that the first song had been made with Hal Lindes, second guitarist of Dire Straits, with the drummer of Spandau Ballet behind the kit already had heads spinning. Who else would we meet and what would it sound like?

Fish – A Gentleman’s Excuse Me 1990 Music Video HD (youtube.com)

The keyboardist on duty, Mickey Simmonds, already distinguished himself on the beautiful A Gentleman’s Excuse Me with his very fine introductory playing. Definitely one of the nicer ballads Fish ever sang. If you consider that during the recording of the orchestra at Abbey Road, Fish was asked by the orchestra leader to sing the song on the spot and he did so very successfully, you understand that the recording of the song meant a lot to him.

It also became clear that the bass part on State Of Mind belonged to none other than John Giblin, the all-rounder on bass with an almost blessed CV where the Simple Minds stood out a bit pale to Messrs Collins, Gabriel, Jon Anderson, Scott Walker, Elkie Brooks, Annie Lennox and Kate Bush.

With the album in hand, it later emerged that the rest of the drum parts were played in by Mark Brzezicki (of Big Country fame) with percussion by Luis Jardim, backing vocals by Tessa Niles and Carol Kenyon. Guitar positions on the album were still filled by Janick Gers (of Gillan and later Iron Maiden fame) and Frank Usher. Big Wedge further featured horns from The Kick Horns, there were bagpipes and flute from Davy Spillane in the title track, Phil Cunningham contributed flute, Bodhran and accordion to both The Company and Internal Exile on which Aly Bain played violin. Gavyn Wright also played violin in the latter track and he wrote the orchestral arrangement for A Gentleman’s Excuse Me which, as mentioned, was recorded with a 23-piece orchestra at Abbey Road. Some of the people who played along were among people Fish knew from the music world, others were brought forward by producer Jon Kelly who thereby did more than just colour the album’s sound. For Fish, this made him a very valuable partner and sounding board.

The touring band consisted of Mickey, the Brzezicki brothers (Steve played bass alongside Mark), Frank Usher and Robin Boult on guitar. That tour also called at Düsseldorf on 9 March 1990, and all but one song, View From The Hill, the entire album was played. A great evening, the Marillion musicians were not missed: Frank and Robin proved to be an excellent guitar duo that, with Mickey also on guitar, managed to perform a very impressive version of a signature track by Steve Rothery: Sugar Mice. The band tackled it acoustically and how! To this day, that performance and the rapture it unleashed are etched deep in my memory. It was a wonderful concert that was also marked by the emotion visible on Fish’s face. A concert never to be forgotten.

The album then. Opening with the beautiful title track, your attention is immediately captured by Fish’s voice alongside Mickey’s sounds. Fish’s voice takes you along, into his experience, into his thinking, into his head. This is what the world looks like now and I am touched by what I see, by what is happening, can I still express myself? Sometimes I genuinely don’t know anymore and I too just need support.

A lyric of calibre, with charge and a build-up to the song with which Fish unpacked and wrapped you up. Your focus is already there and then the guitar comes in and Fish sings ‘I was just sitting here thinking’: the guitar and Fish’s voice have you in their spell and the song builds further. Back from the road and with what punch does that first song come in? Excellent drumming, the Celtic sounds mixed with Mickey’s keys and delicious double guitar work.

And then Mark Wilkinson’s artwork had gone with Fish too! Not only the cover was imposingly made by Mark. The gatefold folding cover showed a veritable dystopia with media domination, wars, consumer society and capitalism where getting on a hill if possible depicted success. The references to Marillion on the cover were obvious. At the same time, they were there at the time, suited the mood of the time and have been appropriately omitted in this release. However, it remains a very fine design by Mark.

Big Wedge delved into that consume-ever-more society. A song the band and Fish had struggled over: anti-American isn’t it? The song stands for more than that but the band didn’t want to get into it. Fish shows that you can very catchily wipe the floor with that consumerism and the importance of money. The Kick Horns give the song wings. Wonderful how Fish sings about TV-reverends: ‘As God and his accountants drove away’ Yes, of course that is a reference to the USA, but in more countries people allow themselves to be intoxicated by pseudo-better-wits, religious or not. The masses bow their heads and pray. The combination works very well: the rocking side with Fish’s passionate drive.

State Of Mind with its great Giblin bass run makes you think. How often can you rely on the government or not? In the documentary, Fish mentions the Oliver North story. Swearing on the Bible, selling lies. A wonderfully relaxed song with beautiful guitar work. You wouldn’t want to hear the song any other way.

Official: Fish – State of Mind Live (youtube.com)

The Company is the song that most directly addresses the relationship with his former bandmates. A song with lovely Celtic sounds that paints an ideal picture of the company Fish wants to surround himself with, it’s entering into an alliance with people who are behind him, want to be there for him and who he wants to be there for. Take the world so many years later and when you consider how much people want to come to his farewell tour, some of it has certainly worked out that way. The Fish following has, for the most part, certainly stayed true to him as well. Wonderful song with also a lovely instrumental middle section that always made Fish dance at concerts.

A Gentleman’s Excuse Me is an extremely beautiful and sensitive ballad in which Fish’s voice really comes into its own. Very nice orchestration and Mickey plays the stars from heaven.

The Voyeur (I Like To Watch) is perhaps the rockiest song on the album. Uplifting and, again, touching on the way we sometimes take in our images of the world, the spectacles, the emotion, carnage and disaster on display and nowhere, nowhere is there empathy or involvement. Yes, of course Fish puts himself off. That’s how he is and that’s what he did within Marillion. What do you think Forgotten Sons, Fugazi and White Russian are about?

Then follows a trio of extremely strong songs. Family Business deals with domestic violence and Fish is crystal clear about that. Do we allow it not to be known and addressed? A song that builds delightfully and that also underlines that this is exactly how it should be played, with this line-up of the band and with no need for his old band. A rock-solid and powerful song.

The same goes for Cliché, a very beautiful ballad characterised by Frank Usher’s guitar work. Another lovely build-up, with also lovely bass playing and fine backing vocals. The song remains simply movingly beautiful. Especially listen: glowingly brought to life! And that solo by Frank? Wonderful!

View From A Hill then concludes the album tracks proper. The change in order of the songs is appropriate though, Cliché comes more firmly on board, and View From A Hill once again connects more closely to the recurring theme of the damned Hill and our striving always for more, more and more. With a starring role for Janick Gers, who shows here that he really is an excellent guitarist and doesn’t have to run across a stage just to impress, it really is a great song.

After the main course of tracks from the album, three more songs have now been added: Jack And Jill which would not have been out of place on the album, an early version of Internal Exile and Whiplash, an almost cabaret-like song about the driving behaviour of one of the tour bus drivers. The songs are not mustard after the meal, not that, but the main meal is extremely tasty in itself.

Then we only highlighted the first disc. The structure of the set is similar to the other reissues. A second disc where the demos take centre stage where you get to see the genesis of the songs, certainly very interesting for Fish fans, with especially The Curious Hill, as the closing track still standing out: listen!

The Curious Hill (Unlabelled 1) (youtube.com)

CDs 3 and 4 bring live recordings of the album recorded at several places and at several times. Live, the songs are all exceptionally convincing, just like the album, and the recordings show once again what the Düsseldorf experience was all about.

Finally, there is the Blu-Ray. Which is again of great class. Wonderful documentaries, interviews with Fish about the album and its creation, with Mark Wilkinson about the art, the album in 5.1 and in Atmos and live recordings.

Can reissues be more complete? That’s a near impossible task it seems to me. With the sound quality that Calum Malcolm has given to the whole set, including this reissue, there is already no stronger set imaginable from the audio experience of music. The completeness of the set, with Fish’s great accompanying lyrics and attention to the artwork, Fish and his team have made for an excellent reissue. That’s true in general and it’s no different here. What is different here is that this was Fish’s solo debut. In the tumult of leaving Marillion with all the discord and lawsuits associated with it, coming up with this debut, with not only top songs and good production but also extremely well-crafted with indeed Mark Wilkinson’s great artwork, was a stunner of a statement.

To Fish’s credit, his experience of the concerts during that first tour was so intense: the album as a statement was one step, the response of the fans confirmed that with Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors he had released a hell of an album. Fish was ready for the world and he took on his career. Heady it certainly was, but he did it with conviction. With that same conviction came these reissues. And this is, not even so secretly, perhaps the very best.

Thank you, Fish, for the wonderful musical -and more- journey we were privileged to take thanks to you, make a success of this last tour and then, above all, go your own way, whatever that brings and enjoy yourself with Simone on Berneray.

For all 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.