FISH OUT OF WATER

Wounded Bird put this out on CD a year ago, which is great since it has been out-of-print forever. Like most of the other Yes solo projects I either didn’t bother back in the seventies, or got rid of them along with the KISS solo albums when that decade came to a close. In the case of this album I was something like 13 years old so didn’t discover it until later anyway. If you haven’t picked this up on CD yet you may want to get the enhanced version that came out this summer in the UK instead (and just last week in the US). It has the U.S. version of “Luck Seven” as a bonus track, and also comes with a DVD. Someone please write a review of this soon so I know whether it is worth picking up.

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