FISH OUT OF WATER

When the members of the then Yes line up (Anderson/Howe/Squire/Moraz/White) decided that they should each record solo albums, the betting was on that Squire and White would produce the inferior products, while the three front men led the way. While White's "Ramshackled" album was passable if unspectacular, Squire defied the odds to deliver a first class collection of progressive rock songs.

Squire, (Known as "Fish" before Fish was!) gathers together a band of competent musicians including one time Yes members Patrick Moraz, and Bill Bruford, plus Mel Collins, Jimmy Hastings etc, not to mention a full orchestra(!) to assist with the performance. Squire retains full responsibility for the song-writing, vocals, guitar, and of course bass.

With only five tracks on the album, the space available to develop the tracks into fine individual pieces is fully exploited by Squire. From the opening "Hold you your hand" he creates a sound which, while having echoes of Yes, is very much his own. His vocals, which sound familiar through their constant appearance behind Jon Anderson, hold up well on their own. "You on my side" is a real symphonic rock classic, with beautiful orchestration supporting a wonderfully strong melody.

"Silently falling" is a major opus, which sees Moraz combining with Barry Rose to sound more like Wakeman than ever in the huge space they are afforded. While Squire's version is superb, I get the feeling that had Yes developed the track as a band piece, it could have become another "Yours is no disgrace".

Just two tracks fill side two of the album. "Lucky seven" is a rather weak Average White Band like funky ramble, pleasant but no more. "Safe (Cannon song)" is the second opus on the album, a symphonic piece not unlike "Awaken" in structure, but with orchestra replacing keyboards as the feature sound. It's a majestic track, which allow Squire to roam free on bass, while avoiding the indulgence of using that instrument as the lead sound.

Squire appears perfectly comfortable with being the focus of attention throughout, which makes it all the more surprising that while he has been involved in collaborations with Billy Sherwood since, this is his only true solo offering to date. It's time for another Chris.

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