FISH OUT OF WATER

It's easy to see how this album can be overlooked - released after Yes' controversial Relayer, bassman CHRIS SQUIRE's only solo effort Fish Out of Water could have been either an ambitious disappointment or a retread of well-established prog-rock ground. Surely a mere bass player wouldn't have time to write, sing and play an entire LP, not especially with touring and the band recording Going for the One...

Instead, Squire delivers a merciful surprise that is one of the most balanced prog-rock albums I've ever heard, with countless amazing moments that cover the spectrum from orchestral bombast to straight out jazz-like jamming and improvisation, all anchored by some of the smartest songwriting ever to emerge from the Yes camp. Squire has help, of course, in the peerless Bill Bruford and the underrated Patrick Moraz, as well as common sessionmen Mel Collins and Jimmy Hastings, among others.

What makes this album work so well is that for all the waters Squire explores on this record, he dives in to each one instead of just toeing them. Mel Collins' sax solo on Lucky Seven, in addition to Bruford's drumming and pianist Andrew Pryce Jackman's hypnotic and tense Rhodes line and the occasional flourishes of string tremolo, give this tune the type of jazzy/noir authenticity that can't really be carbon- copied. The first half of Silently Falling features some of the best up-tempo prog-jamming ever - it's concise, the solos - layed down over a serpentine bassline - don't meander, especially Moraz's leslie-heavy organ run. We get a bit of balladry with You By My Side, which despite some overly sentimental lyrics (nothing like Jon Anderson's solo work, don't get me wrong) doesn't use the song format to show any laxity on the quality of songwriting and musicianship. Safe(Canon Song) is a success because it fully embraces its orchestral ambition, forshadowing later themes, employing all sections of the orchestra and giving them more to do than imitate a Mellotron, I would go so far as to say that the orchestral arrangements here are the most layered and complex that any the Yes camp has featured, and that includes the disappointing Yessymphonic AND Rick Wakeman's Jules Verne and King Arthur concept albums. So its clear that Squire allied himself with people as smart and musically literate as he, and the result is an amazingly authentic album that sacrifices none of prog's complexity while allowing it to fundamentally explore other genres in a way that doesn't feel trite and condescending. On this album, the music is placed before the pretention, and the result is really kind of refreshing.

The title is wrong - Squire is not out of his element in trying to do it all himself - the album is beautifully put together, it sounds great, the songs flow between one another with seemingly incidental bridges that make sense - hell, the only thing it really needs is roger dean cover art - although the more down-to-earth choices on this LP make equal sense to the songs here. This album is brilliant and ambitious, and (not like he needed it) proves unmistakably the talent of bassman Chris Squire. Highly recommended.