FISH OUT OF WATER

You know, I just don't get why some reviewers are proclaiming Chris Squire's 1975 release "FISH OUT OF WATER" as some kind of "lost Yes album," or wondering why Chris had "to do another Yes album." Sounds like some folks need to stop hanging around so close to the edge and clean the fragile topographic wax out of their ears! Other than a penchant for longer tracks and a couple of common denominator guest musicians (Bill Bruford and Patrick Moraz), FISH is a beast unto itself...a Yes-free zone. You will find no over indulgent keyboard solos, off-the-wall guitar work, or mystical lyrical mumbo jumbo. Instead, we find our hero at the top of his game, tasty bass riffs and runs at the ready, a headful of musical ideas, and a real live orchestra backing the band. And he pulls it off! Beautifully! That whole rock band/orchestra thing can be a recipe for disaster, (Deep Purple's GEMINI SUITE for example. Yikes!!), however, that is not the case here. The 11 minute "Silently Falling" features some gorgeous flute work overlayed on a really cool climbing bass riff. It builds and builds with band and orchestra grooving together. Fantastic from start to finish. The album's centerpiece, "Safe," is clearly the highlight of this collaboration. The 14+ minute opus establishes the song's very catchy verse structure early on. Lyrics are dispensed within the first 4 minutes. The final 10 minutes of the song is an elaborate exercise of full blown interaction with the orchestra. Chris sets up a straight forward quarter note bass riff in 11/4 time with the various orchestral instruments taking turns laying down a 10 note musical mantra. It's effect is almost hypnotic. As with "Silently Falling," band and orchestra take the listener on a journey that builds and swells and eventually crashes down, only to be wrapped up with a gentle bass progression that signals the end of this musical sojourn. Whew! What a ride. Is FISH OUT OF WATER pretentious? Maybe a little. Indulgent? You bet! But in a good way. Why 4 stars? Because I tend to skip over the other "shorter" tracks and proceed right to the biggies. Although these other songs are also very well done, they just don't hold my attention like the epics. Good stuff. -yak