FISH RISING

Steve Hillage's first solo album is also his best. This is essentially a Gong album, but without Daevid Allen, and addind Dave Stewart on keyboards and Lindsay Cooper on bassoon. The result is an amazing work of Canterbury psychedelia. Some friends have commented to me that the whole album has too much of a hippyish feel, but that is one of it's charms in my opinion,

My favorite track is the opening Solar Musick Suite, a multi-part epic, featuring some of the best compositional work I've ever heard from Hillage, as well as a great performance from the entire band. The off-time jam in the third movement Hiram Afterglid Meets The Dervish is particularly pleasing to my ears.

The rest of the album is just about on the same level, featuring fantastic work from Pierre Moerlin on drums and marimba.

Not a perfect album, but very close. 4.5 stars, rounded up.