FISH OUT OF WATER

Chris Squire's only solo release carries the trademark Yes sound of the mid-1970s, less the synths, but with the addition of an orchestra and flautist. The album starts off with two shorter pieces that sound more or less like a radio-friendly version of Yes, kind of like some of the music on Yes' Tormato. The final three songs are much longer in length and save this work from falling into the never ending pit of incompetent solo albums by members of great prog bands with nothing better to do between group projects. Silently Falling is a wonderful and lush work containing much orchestration and lots of great piano work. This is the crowning jewel of the album. The next track, Unlucky Seven, is a departure from the Yes sound and sounds like a mix of Supertramp and Alan Parsons Project, partly from the funky bass line, but predominantly from the electric piano. It ends with an outstanding sax solo from Mel Collins. The last track, Safe (Canon Song), is good for the most part, but I found the middle instrumental section (from about 5:00 to 11:00) to be a little too repetitive and Squire's bass line seemed awkward compared to the rest of the band. The last three minutes feature a good climactic ending. I think this song would have been much better if the six minute middle instrumental section was cut in half and placed before the last verse.

Squire's playing on this is, as expected, extraordinary. He does all the lead vocals in a very Jon Anderson-like style. Although he is far from matching Anderson's wonderful voice, his performance is nonetheless, above average and adequate for this album. The combination of Patrick Moraz on organ, Andrew Pryce Jackman on piano and electric piano, and a backing orchestra make for an interesting symphonic presentation. One wonders why Yes itself did not consider including an orchestra at this time, because it would have added a new dimension to their music. Finally, Bill Bruford does the drumming on this release. He does a fairly decent job of it, although most of the material on this album is hardly challenging. Squire's composition skills really shine here, too. Much better than I expected.

I would hardly consider this work essential in the grand scheme of things, nevertheless, it is quite good and should be an essential addition for serious Yes fans or bass guitar aficionados. Easily three stars.