FISHMANS

— First review of this album —

This is such a joyous and life-affirming concert despite related tragedy, or maybe more so because of it. People can be so resilient, pay fond homage to that which has been, and move forward with joy and pride in their hearts. It feels like, and is, a celebration.

In 1999 the Fishmans' frontman, singer, primary song-writer/composer, and guitarist Shinji Sato died. This effectively put an end to Fishmans, but the tribute band Fishmans+ with surviving Fishmans members and other other band members formed later for concerts. Only one of these songs, the longest, "A Piece of Future", is performed particularly by the group Fishmans+, the rest is considered to be Fishmans with many guests. This concert acts as a tribute to Shinji Sato, whose father reputedly was involved in organising the concert not long before he in turn died, and I think also in tribute to the great collaborator Honzi (violin, piano, keyboards accordion) who died in 2007. This concert happened just two months after the devastating Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami which made waves around the world with the news of it in 2011.

This concert is best worth seeing and not just hearing. Watching the crowd in the rain, say, adds to the feel, and seeing the smiles and enthusiasm adds to the experience. I love the sound of the rain too when you hear it. It does help to know some Japanese, at the least, or have subtitles in your own language to get a feel for some of what is being expressed to the audience. My Japanese is limited, and I have not seen subs, so I lacked detail in what I heard commonly. Of course things like recognising the performers and thanking the audience is obvious. I think because I have worked in Japan and travelled there quite a lot, and my time in Japan has been very important and special to me and changed the course of my life, as a non-Japanese person I probably would feel more of a sense of connection with the whole "happening" than most. Also, it would really help to appreciate this concert if one is already a fan of Fishmans, as I very definitely am.

One thing I love about Fishmans is that they would consistently take their compositions and improvise and evolve them for later performances. Every time I have heard a different version of a Fishmans' song, there were surprising and delightful differences to me. The music in this live shifts and moves in both interesting and unexpected directions (after listening to it a few times, I notice more each time). I do tend to favour Fishmans later work (into the second half of the 90s). While the loss of Shinji Sato meant that they lost their main creative force, and to my knowledge no more original compositions were produced as Fishmans or Fishmans+, what was left of Fishmans, and working with others, lead to other creative takes on Fishmans material. Sato's last composition that I know of, "A Piece of Future" which he had performed at about 8 minutes, shorter, or a bit longer depending, has now been tuned into a 26 minute piece (the "talking" start of that sounds very Swans, by the way. It has post-rock qualities).

Instrumentally this is very good. The drummer, Kin-ichi Motegi, who was a big part of organising this and was with the original Fishmans, plays drums very well and I think his vocals when he sings are very fitting. And i think he does a great job taking on the front-man role while talking to the audience. It makes me feel happy. The guitar playing is superb, and I love various vocalists, especially the female vocalists and I love the choir aspect. The violinist does a great job is the absence of Honzi. Honzi may have had quite small feet (I can't report on the actual physical dimensions), but those are some big shoes to fill metaphorically-speaking.

The dub (reggae) influence and aspect is very significant in this performance, and I love the joy of that. Fishmans was more of a dub band early on before it went in more of a dream pop and neo-psych direction. There is plenty of dreamy music too. It is long, but the energy of it translated to me.

Some personal highlights are "In the Flight" and "Weather Report" (two of my favourite Fishmans songs and I love these takes) as well as "Walking in the Rhythm", "Night Cruising" and more. I really like this version of "I Dub Fish". It's often the instrumentals that come into the songs that really lift the music for me despite liking vocals. And I appreciate the hip-hop that is utilised. There is diverse expression coming into the music from a diverse group of performers. One thing I have noticed with Fishmans is that elements that might not be much in my wheelhouse normally I can appreciate and enjoy when incorporated into their music. Fishmans has got me to love dub.

While I like "Season" on this, playing "Long Season" might have elevated this farther. It's already long, but I would have happily had a 40 minute plus version of "Long Season". That would have made for a very long night for the band and audience if added to the performance. They might not have been so joyous after that, but aren't we supposed to suffer for our art? They had the players for it to put out an incredible, dynamic version of that "epic" (so to speak). That said, I can't complain, but there is a little regret there. Hopefully some other time. Fishmans reunion for 2026! This time I will try to be there be it in Tokyo, or even in Vancouver. I'll be the one in the audience wearing the trout mask replica and codpiece. One can wish; I wish for more Fish, man.

— First review of this album —

"Me Fish bring" (some cool people will get that). "We got the funk" (more cool people will get that).

Full disclosure: I love Fishmans! And hearing them play live, even if recorded is a wonderful thing, and I so wish I knew the band while in Japan in the 90s.

Fishmans has made several great live albums, and I do count its "98.12.28 Otokotachi no wakare" as my favourite live album of all, but hot dang, this has serious highs too and I would absolutely recommend this to not just fans of Fishmans but many fans of funky and groovy music. It's a wonderful hour and 52 minutes spent, well, for me anyway.

I love the rendition of "Long Season" (I do prefer to return to this live version, and especially the one on 98.12.28, than to the studio album), "Oh Slime" is great and this is a terrific version of "Go Go Round This World!". Like on "Sunny Blue", this can be a really bluesy rockin' album, and it is a very funky release from Fishmans. It is less dreamy than later releases and more in your face, I might say. While I tend to veer towards more atmospheric music, I love this for what it is.

And Honzi (RIP), the violinist and keyboardist shines. She is electrifying. And I really like this drummer's work and the guitars. By the way, the drummer, and chorus contributor Kin-ichi Motegi proves how good he is as a front-man, drummer and vocalist when Fishmans reforms later with surviving members and others (Fishmans+).

This album has groove, and it also plays looser than other Fishmans releases. I like its less obviously structured and controlled dynamics.

An issue I do have seems to be the mastering/mixing. Honzi and other instrumental parts shine, and the chorus is wonderful in "Long Season", but Sato's (RIP)'s vocals are too prominent in the mix. It sounds too forward. It can take away from the instrumental parts. Of course Sato is dearly missed by many... but so is Honzi, which is not to say that Sato was put more forward in the mix due to his status among many fans. And while this is a very energetic performance by Fishmans, I don't feel Sato's vocals were at their best -- I am particularly comparing the vocals here to a live performance from earlier in the same year that also was released much later. "Long Season" off this live has significant sonic quality differences to my ears, and does sound recorded at a different time or times. It sounds later and I find the mixing/mastering better in that, and maybe it was how the equipment was set up. Again, it's a different and wonderful version of "Long Season". than the studio album version or the 1998 live.

Also, while I should take this album on its on merits, fun though this is, it is not as emotionally resonant to me as the December of 1998 concert. That feels more heartfelt, and also bittersweet since Sato's life was so short at the time. There is a kind of weariness and fragility and sensitivity in the 1998 album that I don't find here. But being lively/ energetic is of course not a bad thing commonly.

This album is very lively, very funky, and a good listen. I am giving it four stars because while very good in its own right and having some superb renditions and moments, the mixing could work better to my ear, and it is not as emotionally resonant to me (and lacks the atmosphere) of the 98.12.28 concert, a concert that takes place in the same venue. If you're looking for a harder funking Fishmans than you might know, this album could be the Fishmans album for you. The falsetto vocals, which can be very screechy, seem to be the main impediment some have in enjoying Fishmans. Your ears have been warned.

The Fishmans are a neat band and it's about time they were added to the archives, I'm not super familiar with this band other then a few songs here and there but everything I've heard from them is good, I decided to check out this album after I saw someone say something along the lines of this being the 90s equivalent to Pink Floyd's Echoes, now whether or not that's true it intrigued me. The album is a 36 minute song spanning multiple sections like a classic prog album but with modern influences. The song is very psychedelic but lush, it sort of has a Post Minimalism thing going on here, sort of reminds me of Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians especially with the keys and little sounds that add detail to the song like sounds of water dripping and chimes. The song has a noisy (almost LoFi) section, it's sprinkled with sounds of chimes and lazer? Sounds, it's amazing really. Around the 26 minute mark the song goes full Steve Reich and I love it, it's probably my favorite section of the song. The song has a little reprise and a grand finale that finishes it off overall an amazing song/album that definitely should be recognized by prog fans more often

Just a pretty short commentary lacking as much detail and not nearly as lengthy as my other FIshmans reviews: it's not nearly as essential as the live 98.12.28 Otokotachi no wakare (my favourite live album) to me, or the final studio album, Uchu Nippon Setagaya, nor is it as seminal as Long Season, but it is a lighter, chill and breezy album. It is not as complex as later albums, it is more pop. The dub aspect is strong, but so is the the dream pop and I like the psychedelic qualities. It has shoegaze qualities. It doesn't have the lusher arrangement or dynamic qualities of later albums, especially the live release I mentioned, but I find it to be a lovely and delightful album. I do prefer live versions of music. This still has moments that stand out and make me stand up and take notice like with the other albums I mentioned, and I really like the opening number, "Sunny Blue" I love, "Slow Days' is quite wonderful, "ナイトクルージング" is a great track to my ears, very dreamy, I really like "Nice Choice". Sad that I have to consider rating it. While it's something like a four for me, I'm giving it a three for PA. I would at least give it 3.5 if we had half stars. it's not a very "progressive album", it doesn't have the longer tracks, it is simpler, it is lighter on the whole and less dynamic as I said. I really like it, but unlike some other albums, it has not screamed at my OCD brain to play it again and again and again, but sometimes I don't want that. It's a very nice album. Note: this is still essential to me, and would be for many others depending on interests. I love Fishmans.

(This review was written in Apr 07 2023)

While I may not have been all that fond of Long Seasons, it did introduce me to Fishmans and I am grateful for it as they definitely do have a great dream pop and dub sound. I think after I listened to their live album of 98.12.28, I became a bit more interested in Fishmans as a whole, and with my recent endeavors of their 1997, and last album of Uchu Nippon Setagaya, they really cemented themselves within my brain.

Unlike making a repeat of Long Seasons and releasing a big song, Fishmans went back to a multi-song structure for this album, but they do dabble a bit more in song structure, clearly as a refinement from Long Seasons. I think the best thing about this album, for me, is how lively, yet very laid back these songs feel. I think it is mostly due to the downtempo and reggae inspired sound found here, but I never feel like these songs ever grow into something super intense, or increasing into tempo, most songs here stay a relative and smooth tempo that are quite slow, but I think it works out in the group's favor as it makes their dream pop and psych rock sounds feel all the more buoyant, and a little nostalgic for me. I don't know why, or how, but these tracks make me feel like I lived in late 90s Japan a long time ago, even though I was born long after the 90s, and I am not even Japanese. Maybe it is some past life deja vu, but the fact this album can make me feel nostalgia for a time and place I never even been in makes this quite a powerful trip.

I also have to take praise where it is due with the long track of Walking The Rhythm. Man, this song is so good, with its first minute consisting of this beautiful piano and rhythm movement and then shifts into this very sweet ambient dream pop soundscape that I just adore. I personally believe, compared to their other long song of Long Season, this track beats it out of the water in terms of consistency and power.

I do have one problem with this record and it is the fact most of the stand out moments on here just seem to be relegated to the last 3 tracks. I mean I really enjoy all the songs on here, but I think if you compared Pokka Pokka or In The Flight with バックビートにのっかって or Daydream, it just ain't no contest to me on which is better. I think if the band spread these last three songs throughout the album and try to make all the other songs into something also truly special, I think we might have a masterpiece on our hands.

A very great record from this little trio from Japan. Sad this is the last album they made, but I am glad they have left us with some great music. Definitely will look into more of their stuff, and who knows, maybe review more. They definitely piqued my interest here, and I think one day, I might find my absolute favorite from them.

(This review was written in Sep 12 2022)

For many, obscurity and popularity are two things that never cross paths. For them, it's either you never heard of them, or you've heard everything from them. I would like to break this process away from the status quo, since I fully believe that an album can be both obscure and very popular, as long as you know where to go. In online music communities, people can find and hear albums they never knew existed before, and that is generally how I discover most of my music. Music circles share albums from one hand to the next like two cars passing by each day. In that sharing of two separate, but equally musical things, people grow attachments and love for some albums, some of which they never heard of before. There are communities built up from the groundwork for finding new and interesting music, such as Rate Your Music, Album Of The Year, a lot of music-focused Discord communities, and even my little darling that is ProgArchives. The internet, while being a bit of a dumpster fire in most places, helped a lot in terms of finding new joys in life that no one in the history of time could comprehend. So in that context, it is safe to say that without the internet, not many people would know about the Japanese band, Fishmans, and their album, Long Season.

Formed in 1987 in Minato, Tokyo, Fishmans was formed by the founding members of the late Shinji Sato (Vocals, Guitar, Trumpet), Kin-Ichi Motegi (Drums, Sampler), and Kensuke Ojima (Guitar, Vocals). Kensuke would leave the band in 1994. Two more members joined the group in the later years of 1988 and 1990, that being Yuzuru Kashiwabara (Bass), and Hakase-Sun (Keyboards). Their music often falls in the same boat as The Flaming Lips, being a blend of dreamy pop music with Neo Psychedelic Rock, however, they have done more ambient pop, and progressive pop music as well, especially found on this album. In recent decades, they have gotten a good following over the years, especially on sites like Rate Your Music, where this album is considered the #1 album of all time in 1996 with a rating of 4.19/5.0 from over 20 thousand ratings. It is clear that this album or more accurately song is one that many people fell in love with, and to be honest, I really do get the hype and care surrounding this entire album, because it is really good, however, I would be remiss to not point on something I do not particularly find that great on this album.

This album is one big 35-minute epic that goes through this abstract valley of sound and noise. Sometimes you get flavors of very dreamy keyboard and drum playing skills, mixed in with a wide array of varying instruments, from violins, to sound effects, bells, and some tribal beats as well. This whole song feels very much like waking up from a dream and having that dazed confusion while hearing your alarm clock blaring in your ears. Everything here feels very abstracted, and I think in some, mostly good areas, it works. I think the best thing about this song is that I always come out of it fairly good, and while that goes for most epics I listen to, hearing this more surreal type of music being pushed to half an hour in length and getting out of it does surprise me a lot. Usually, I would only ever truly love it if it was something like Tangerine Dream or Jean Michel Jarre where you can get very loose and experimental forms of longer music, but here in a more rock/pop context, it makes me surprised to see it come through so well. Every bit and part of this song is very airy, and I think the band was aware of the space they were given for this song since you get a ton out of it while still keeping up with what the intended sound should be. Everything is consistent in its direction, so props have been given. Oh, and also the singing is very well done. I do dig how soft the vocals here are, they feel very in line with the music being played here.

However, the song also can suffer from that abstract sound that I praised in the last paragraph. Like trying to remember a dream, some parts I have trouble trying to remember because sometimes this song can feel very boring at times, or just too Avant Garde to where it gets lost in the weirdness. It seems like a lot of times they get lost in trying to find a new but consistent direction for the song to take, and sometimes they can find their way to a new place that'd improve things, sometimes it feels as though they cannot seem to know how to get through the thicket and end up scraping and bumping into things that do not go well with this epic. Honestly, I feel like they could've made this song even better if they reworked the parts at 14:35 through 27:00, especially that part where it's tribal drumming with a weird repetitive sound effect looping a bit, and that violin part. Honestly, that violin is the worst part of the song, it is so ear-grating that when I hear it I most often than not turn my volume down to be much quieter so I cannot hear it. Honestly, this song would be one of my favorites if it didn't seem like they get lost in their direction and focus on those middle pieces.

I get why this album is very beloved, and I do enjoy a good deal of parts on here, heck I'd say most of the good elements on here outway the bad, but I cannot in good faith say this is a must-listen, or would recommend it to anyone due to those middle parts. It's still a perfectly good album, but not one that I can really adore. If you want some other more dreamy psychedelic or more atmospheric psychedelic rock music then this could be a good place, but I'd suggest being acquainted with other types of bands or projects before hearing this one.

I will start by saying that I find this to be an absolutely wonderful album. There is something about Fishmans that really touches and enthralls me no matter the style of music being focused on. Partially it is the sincerity I hear in Sato's (or Satoh) vocals, his falsetto and fragile vocals. I have read that the lyrics are very meaningful. I still know some Japanese having worked there in the 90s when Fishmans was active, but I don't feel the need to look up translations as the music is meaningful to me as is, and I like to bring my own meaning to things. I will one day, and that may deepen my appreciation still, when the weather is right for it.

It is a regret of mine that I did not get to see or know Fishmans while in Japan, but this band has become very special to me in more recent times and I'm still getting to know this band more deeply.

I have read that there were difficulties and conflict during the process of making this album, apparently the singer/ guitarist/ songwriter Sato had been upset with the direction that the band wanted to take and his depression was getting worse and the band was upset that Sato was very controlling and this ultimately ended up being very much a Sato album where they felt they were given little opportunity to contribute. Even if a certain melancholy comes through on the album, the difficulties do not show for me, but then maybe that's because Sato got his way in the end. I could be getting this wrong, but however it worked it out, I like the results.

One thing I love about this album is just how different it is from "Long Season", which is THE work that most associate with Fishmans, and is the most acclaimed both for studio and live versions, and I like the diversity on this album. That said, it's not without its similarities. Both albums float along, can be trippy, are atmospheric, can be ambient, have familiarity and beauty.

Skimming reviews, I have read people say that "Long Season" is THE masterpiece, and then others conveying, "Forget Long Season being the masterpiece, this is its true masterpiece!" I would say that they are both masterful at what they each do. Like with apples and oranges (and "Orange" is another lovely Fishmans album) one can have a preference, but neither need be considered better than the other. I love and respect each in its own right.

It has taken me multiple spins to I feel really "grok" and appreciate every track on the album. I immediately loved the first three tracks and the last, but the others were not doing it for me so much. It helped when I could just let the whole album float along without actively thinking about it. Especially the longest track had felt overlong, too repetitive even for me and not as dynamic as I wanted. I came to appreciate the subtly and Honzi's violin is epic enough (she is such a star). But I will go into track details more below.

"Pokka Pokka" opens this album beautifully presenting quite off-beat music with a definite Japanese melodic flair. I find it magical, and the strings are so beautiful and brings a repeated motif that touches me deeply. I love the atmosphere,

"Weather Report" is another highlight of the album for me which brings a change of mood. It is more techno and trip-hoppy, and does to some extent bring to my mind favourites of mine like Boards of Canada and The Orb. And its joyous, yet also has a certain fragility coming though in the vocals that resonates with me. I adore this, including the techno beats.

"Ushirosugata" I also find wonderful and part of the melody actually reminds me very much of the theme from the TV show "Snuff Box" and other things that English composer and comic actor Matt Berry composed (he is a favourite of mine).

"In the Flight" had not enamored me quite as much at first as those others, I think because I had heard a live I preferred, but it really grew on me. It's more direct and folky in part, but also very dreamy, and I love it. There is reverb in the vocals, which might remind one of music like that of Melody's Echo Chamber. I like the harmonica in this and the kind of downtempo vibe. I think Radiohead could do a very good cover of this.

"Magic Love" definitely was a grower for me. It's getting back to some more of Fishmans reggae/pop roots, and I really appreciate it in the context of the album, but also it has for me wonderful passage in the middle that elevates it beyond similar music. While appreciation is about the moments for me, also an album is more than just the sum of its parts commonly, and this track works so well for me when flowing with the music. And I enjoy the groove.

"Back Beat ni Nokkatte" ? again this has reggae qualities, and blues qualities, and a jangly guitar part that would not be out of place in The Residents' "Moisture" off Commercial Album. It's dreamy and has a wonderful piano passage.

"Walking in the Rhythm". Now I'd heard a live of this I really like, it has reggae and strong African vibes. This version did feel too long to me at first, rather plodding on the whole with is rhythm that the song is walking in, and even too repetitive for me. I would listen and started adding more harmonies in my head, but now I appreciate the subtlety of it, I like the variations, I like the chorus, and I love it when Honzi is playing her violin. There is a quite subtle layering that supports the length, She doesn't step in huge and showy, but it still adds excitement. I have come to love this. Yes, I'm sure that for many this could be very trimmed, and it might be seen to become too much like over-extended atmospheric ambient music in the end with its repeated motif. But that has its purpose as I find that sets up a mood for the next and final track beautifully (the whole is greater than the sum of its parts).

"Daydream", along with "Long Season" is considered by many to be among the very, very best of Fishmans. It is so dreaming and floats along. I find it beautifully atmospheric. And I also find it exciting while chill, and while a little unnerving, I also find it sublime.

I do wish this was a more informative review, but like the music of Fishmans, I'm just floating. Now the part I dislike, the rating. I gave an over two hour Fishmans live album five stars, then I decided to give Long Season five stars, but what about this? I love this in its own right. It is more "pop" than Long Season, quite likely will be seen as less "progressive" or less related to Prog, and so I would be more reluctant to recommend this to Progheads. This is a masterpiece to me of what it is rather than Prog genre music, and I don't want to penalise this for not being Prog generic music that I often am not into at all even if acclaimed by many Progheads (I'm a music lover, not a Proghead). So reader and potential buyer beware!

Three stars would feel like not only a disservice to the album from my perspective, but a disservice to how I feel. So I thought that maybe I will compromise with a four, but then I am not following my heart, and my heart says five. I would not expect most others to rate or value it as highly. This is a wonderful and remarkable album to me in its own right, and it is an album, like with other Fishmans albums that I can play again and again and again very happily. I kind of wish that it would never end. Speaking of endings, I find it so sad that this would be the last Fishmans studio album. Rest in peace Shinji Satoh, and long live your music and legacy.

Note: After returning again and again to various Fishmans albums, I do count this as my favourite Fishmans studio album release with the live 98.12.28 Otokotachi no wakare being my favourite of all (that version of Long Season is so great).

The fishmans's album LONG SEASON is a single 35 minutes long song that uses their very signature melancholic sounding way that is perfect for a long listening experience. I wouldn't call it prog rock but it is very poprock-psychedelic-ambient like. My favourite part of the song is definitely the when the violin kicks in and then all the way to the end of the song. The drum part is also pretty neat.

I'm happy to see the fishmans on this site, as it is a favourite of mine. I found it during a pretty dark time of my life and it helped me thoughout. Now, I listen to it whenever I want a feeling of that everything will be alright again...

I don't often review and with good reason. Not only are my communication skills not where I would like them to be, but I like to experience music, not dissect it. Putting on "paper" what I feel, how the music deeply can touch me ends up feeling like I am trivializing the experience, just skimming the surface of what can be great emotional depths. It can feel like such a superficial exercise and in the end I wonder, is this review more about me or the music? I want the main focus to be about my personal, unique experience with the music as we all experience and hear music rather differently. It is a subjective relationship between the music and the listener. Here is my extemporaneous commentary.

Fishmans is an act that was active in Japan in the 90s. Sadly, the leading man of the band, Shinji Satoh, died in 1999, which put an end to the act, mostly... The band dabbled in reggae, pop, dub, dream pop, spacey music, Neo-psych, ambient music, Shibuya-kei, funk, blues, experimental music, and post-rock sounds during its career.

Long Season, which is Fishmans' penultimate album, is commonly considered to be its greatest work, both for the studio version and live versions of it. It is split up into parts on albums, but really is one long piece with different sections. The first section is quite psychedelic with a theme that I immediately loved, then it gets very ambient, and then it goes back to the theme and builds a wonderful crescendo.

Some would find this album too repetitive, but music often resonates more deeply with me when themes are repeated with variations and built on. Repetition can bring a sense of euphoria to me or great annoyance. This fits the former. The repetition of this album helps with making it more hypnotic, transcendent, reverberatory, and it builds up the crescendo. I love crescendos. It also is a lush album and subtle. And many no doubt would dislike the extended ambient/experimentalish section and think this 35 minute piece would be better at half the length. I like the state that puts me in and it makes me enjoy all the more what comes later. Another issue some would have with this is the production and vocals, but to me they work. I find Long Season to be a very unique album even if I get some of the same feel from some Sufjan Stevens (say with "Impossible Soul"), and Boris' Flood to some extent.

While this was the first Fishmans album I heard and fell for, I later discovered the live version of Fishmans for their final concert (Satoh died three months later) titled 98.12.28 Otokotachi no wakare. That live is a version that I could and have listened to over and over again, and I have played that a lot over the past months. It is longer than this version, but flies by. It is more energetic, more lively, more exciting, the crescendo is much bigger. It is much better suited to a live performance. I reviewed and gave the album that it is off a five with "Long Season" being the highlight song off it. When I put this studio album on again, it did not enthrall me as much. It is more delicate, more subtly ambient, more subtle generally, smaller, more fragile, can be cold but also warm, sparse yet lush.

I thought to give this a four in comparison to the other, but having not played the studio version in quite some time while being besotted by that live performance, I knew I should spin this again. And then I wanted to spin it again. I spun the studio version three times in a row, and each time I experienced the music deeper and appreciated this version for what it is, for the beauty it contains, and how this uniquely moves me. The lives are not better, I believe, they're different. Each "Long Season" version I have heard has its own mystique and qualities to appreciate.

Numbers don't mean much when it comes to art, unless perhaps, say, you are a mathematician with the soul of a poet, but while I first thought I would give it a four, I am comfortable with a five (we don't have fractions) because I think that this is a truly remarkable release... beautiful and spiritual for me. This does not mean that I think that most Prog fans would rate it as highly, but I consider it to be a masterwork of its own idiom/ilk and of sufficient originality at the time of release to warrant such a high rating.

So long and thanks for all the Fish...

"Are you feeling good?"

Recently I added Fishmans to Prog Archives and decided that I should try to review at least one of the albums. The first album I heard by Fishmans is "Long Season" from 1996, and it was love at first listen for me. I was working in Japan as an English teacher (feels like yesterday) when it was recorded and released, but sadly it would not be for many years that I got to hear Fishmans. While I have not reviewed many albums, I decided to attempt a review, or something akin to a review, of what is something of a monster, the two hours and ten minute live album from 1998, "Otokotachi no wakare". I first wanted to hear this album for its over 41 minute long version of "Long Season", which has ended up being my favourite version, but ended up loving the whole album. I would say this is my favourite live album without diminishing other great 90s lives such as Portishead's Roseland Liv and Swans' Swans Are Dead .

This album comes from a concert in Tokyo on December, 28, 2008 and was released on September 29, 1999. Tragically, the main composer/songwriter, vocalist, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Shinji Sato died less than three months after this concert, on March 15, 1999 at the age of 33. I only found out about that after getting into the album and that hit me hard, but it explained why this wonderful band had not lasted. And then recently I found out that the great Honzi died not many years later (in 2007).

I do suggest trying to watch the performance at least once, not just listen. I will try a brief track-by-track commentary for this attempt at a review.

They introduce themselves and the concert's first song "Oh! Slime" is one of the album highlights for me and also has the band asking "Are you feeling good?" Yes I am! Thanks the Fishman. It sets the mood for what is to be, I think, a dynamic, electrifying and ethereal experience. I love hearing Sato talk to the audience, and it may help that I retain some knowledge of Japanese. Subsequently I have seen some of that translated, and some of the remarks take on an eerie and foreboding quality (like before "In the Flight")

Then we have the wonderful "Night Cruising" which is quite dreamy, tranquil, and gently post-rocky. "Nantettano" is another highlight, it just makes me feel happy in a way that only kinds of Japanese poppy music does. "Thank You" has a reggae thing going on, and Sato sings "Thank you for my life", which is very bittersweet to hear. Many thank him for his life.

"Shiawasemono" is smooth and lightly jazz rocky. Very nice. "Tayorinai Tenshi" has a kind of ska thing happening. "Hikouki" is a very fun and lively song.

"In the Flight" is gorgeous, a bit country, folky and just wonderful, and the music shifts. Wonderful keyboards. It is another serious highlight for me. Love it. And the violin of Honzi really lifts part of this. She is wonderful in this album. I love trhe chord change. Honzi's performance really lifts this to another level, and I much prefer it to the studio album version. Sato's vocals can be particularly extreme in the falsetto department (shrieky some might say in the way nails on a chalkboard aren't). Love it.

"Walking in the Rhythm" is a more Bluesy affair and has wonderful transition near the end to a different more classic psychedelic dynamic. I would have loved this to be expanded to 20 minutes. Note: every time I listen to this I love this more and more, and it is another standout for me. And this is my favourite version of the song.

"Smilin' days, Summer Holiday" is lighter and poppier while still having a rock edge, and is a delight. In fact, it's incredible with its changes. Ahhh..... So good, so dynamic. Another highlight.

"Melody" is a bluesy number and also one I like. Delightful.

"Yurameki in the Air" is the second longest track on the album, and one of the most major highlights of a release full of highlights for me. I adore the range of expression/ modes/ feelings in the track, the different sections of it and the shifts in the music.

"Ikareta Baby" is a light and enjoyable reggaeish track.

Then we get to the most significant track of the album, "Long Season", which is magnificent. Wow! This is perfection, sublime, triumphant. It was especially due to this that I decided to suggest Fishmans for Prog Archives consideration. It reminds me a bit of the Boris' Flood in feel in part somehow. But it is unique, and I am strange. I love the chorus, it has great groove. It is joyous, the guitar is down to Earth and joyful. And this is one where the drum solo (not quite solo) with related sounds really works for me. It has an ethereal, dream-like quality. I love the ethereal qualities that come into this. And the track can be so funky. Danceable. The violin is wonderful. It's the kind of music that makes me so glad to be alive although it ends on a sad note. This is a trip. It gets truly epic with an amazing crescendo, or crescendos. Crescendos are something I love. Some might find it too repetitive, but for me repetition with builds makes music magical. I love variations on themes.

This release can be likened to music by, say, The Flaming Lips and Flotation Toy Warning and various psychedelic rock, post-rock and Indie acts but while it shares qualities with other music it is also very much itself.. But it also has significant dub and reggae stylings that give it wonderful breezy feel. I love the contrasts. This album really gets me "in the feels".

There is something so transcendent about the album, it is more than the sum of its parts. It provides enough significant differences from the studio material to make this utterly essential. And to me listening to it is like some deeply spiritual experience ultimately. I love the interaction with the audience, hearing the audience talk back and laugh, the joy and at the end, the utter exhaustion. And I feel a sense of humility from Sato, sincerity and vulnerability when Sato speaks which makes it all the more endearing. I have read that Sato would need oxygen after the performances It is a masterpiece, blissful, and my top live release. There is nothing that I would remove from it. There is more going on that you would likely notice without paying close attention and in the right environment, which of course could be said for many, many an album, but most albums do not open up to me this way with glorious phrases, sounds and moments. Plenty of dopamine rushes and chills to be found for me. Sufjan Stevens music often does that for me.. And it deserves six stars from me. It's a release that I have loved more and more with every spin and I would not want to skip a moment of it. Some will not appreciate the falsetto type of vocals of Sato, but I like the uniqueness that his vocals bring, and he was an essential part of Fishmans who is sadly missed by many. So I see this release as a triumph and it warms my heart, but also it is sad to think of how much, much more Fishmans could have offered as well as the ending of a young, vibrant and talented life.

"The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long - and you have burned so very, very brightly, Roy" (Tyrell, Blade Runner, 1982).

So, this is my favourite Fishmans release and could count as my favourite release of all. My favourite studio album actually is not Long Season but Uchu Nippon Setagaya. If you are moved half as much by this album as I am, then you are a friend to me.