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Joined: May 20 2010
Location: Australia
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Points: 5575
Topic: Steve Hillage - Fish Rising Posted: September 20 2010 at 12:13
Just listened to this album for the first time today and wow totally unexpected. He did some interesting stuff in Gong for sure and we heard flashes of what he could do in Khan but this album was completely unexpected for me i was expecting a space rock, canterbury sound but for the most part got symphonic bliss i loved the album from start to finish and it will definitely warrant many more listens in the future.
Joined: May 20 2010
Location: Australia
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Points: 5575
Posted: September 20 2010 at 12:22
Snow Dog wrote:
Check out Green and L too!
i shall do, i have many CD's to catch up on first, i bought Fish Rising about a month ago and only listened to it today and there is a pile of CD's up to the ceiling behind it!!!
Joined: August 14 2006
Location: United Kingdom
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Posted: September 20 2010 at 13:50
Yes I still like Fish Rising after all these years although I've never heard it described as symphonic. To my min its the best psychedelic album ever - admittedly it has the advantage of hindsight and better technology as it came out several years after most people ahd stopped producing psychedelic music, but if you want to hear mad crazy hippy music played well and without any embarassing bits then this is the album to go for. I don't think Hillage did anything to better this -L has got some good moment s but not as good as this - of course a lot of this might be due to Dave Stewart's presence which is significant, but there's much astonishingly good guitar work on there..
Joined: May 20 2010
Location: Australia
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Posted: September 20 2010 at 14:08
alanterrill wrote:
Yes I still like Fish Rising after all these years although I've never heard it described as symphonic. To my min its the best psychedelic album ever - admittedly it has the advantage of hindsight and better technology as it came out several years after most people ahd stopped producing psychedelic music, but if you want to hear mad crazy hippy music played well and without any embarassing bits then this is the album to go for. I don't think Hillage did anything to better this -L has got some good moment s but not as good as this - of course a lot of this might be due to Dave Stewart's presence which is significant, but there's much astonishingly good guitar work on there..
it felt symphonic to me especially Solar Musick Suite and it had psychadelic moments like Meditation of the Snake and some of Aftaglid i saw the ratio of psychadelic to symphonic moments in the favour of symphonic though but hey i guess it wouldn't be a prog album if you could categorise it!
Joined: April 05 2006
Location: @ wicker man
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Points: 32690
Posted: September 20 2010 at 14:24
I also was expecting something quite else with the album, and I was disappointed I loved Khan, and the Gong Radio Gnome Invisible albums, and liked Arzachel considerably, but Fish Rising did little for me.
Joined: May 20 2010
Location: Australia
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Posted: September 20 2010 at 14:56
Logan wrote:
I also was expecting something quite else with the album, and I was disappointed I loved Khan, and the Gong Radio Gnome Invisible albums, and liked Arzachel considerably, but Fish Rising did little for me.
i was addicted to Khan after i first heard that album but i never really got into the Radio Gnome albums i enjoy them and i like them but i wouldn't listen to them over and over Flying Teapot is definitely my favourite Gong album though
I was a Gong freak years before Hillage went solo and I think that ruined it for me. Unfortunate isn't it? I would listen to Fish Rising and feel the presence of Gong. Steve Hillage co-wrote and came up with interesting ideas for the Gong band but for me, when he went solo it was just the music of Gong all over again. I bought every Hillage title and found F.R. and Green to be my favorites. I was also a huge fan of Live Herald. I still love his guitar playing and the Fish Rising album. It must have been the style of writing and the sound of the Hillage band which reminded me too much of Gong.
Joined: July 24 2008
Location: Big Muddy
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Posted: September 20 2010 at 15:48
Khan is one of my favorite prog albums ever. Fish Rising has been called Khan II and RGI 4 but it's probably closer to the former. Really solid album and certainly Hillage had progressed due to his work in Gong.
Still, Space Shanty is my fave.
Actually my top 3 Canterbury albums are:
1. Space Shanty
2. Fish Rising
3. Live Herald
in that order
Green is good too, but I think you pretty much get the goods with those 3.
hmm.....Egg and National Health might have a shot at #3...might have to do some listening to decide.
Joined: January 20 2009
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Posted: September 20 2010 at 16:49
I'd say Khan and Fish Rising are my favorite Canterbury albums (Space Shanty is up there). It's ridiculous that they contain some of the same people seeing as Canterbury is easily my most listened to genre. Oh how I wish Steve had done more work like this.
With Fish Rising being perhaps my all time favorite album I (today actually, which is why I was surprised this topic came up) looked into more of his solo albums...
I didn't have L, but it's in the process of being acquired, along with Live Herald.
I finished Fish Rising in the car, and wanted more Hillage so I put on For to Next-And Not Or. The synth came in and I was worried it'd be too 80's sounding but was okay with the synth. Then the drums and everything else came in and my ears were immediately assaulted by obnoxious 80's production and music. I turned it off in easily less than thirty seconds, very unhappy.
Then I put on Motivation Radio, I didn't finish due to time, but it seemed like it had some potential, though couldn't touch Fish Rising (it sounded way more generic).
Then just now I tried out Open, and actually liked it a lot. It had that New Wavey sound, but with good experimentation still. I liked it quite a bit actually, and plan to listen to it again when I'm not also writing a five page paper so I can pay more attention to it.
To any Hillage fans who are well acquainted with his work, should I even try For to Next-And Not Or again? I was kind of horrified, but I'll admit it didn't get much of a chance. Is there anything worth it in there?
Edited by himtroy - September 20 2010 at 16:55
Which of you to gain me, tell, will risk uncertain pains of hell? I will not forgive you if you will not take the chance.
Joined: April 05 2006
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Posted: September 20 2010 at 17:25
Damn, I was rather hoping that a formerly unreleased Khan album had been "unearthed" and released as a self-titled album, but I guess I would have known about that. Anyone hear Khan's collaboration with Chaka? ;)
Joined: January 20 2009
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Posted: September 20 2010 at 17:31
It's not nearly as advanced, but it's still a good album in my opinion. Much better than I'd expect for their age, and well worthy of checking out if you're looking for more Hillage.
Which of you to gain me, tell, will risk uncertain pains of hell? I will not forgive you if you will not take the chance.
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