Being the former singer of one my favourite bands, Fish means a huge amount to me but though the split with Marillion was painful at the time, I believe it gave us two special acts to follow and I’ve been with both ever since I first became a Marillion fan in 1986. Ranking albums is totally objective and no one list is more valid than any other.
Where this list is concerned, I enjoy every album down to number nine regularly and the gap between some is extremely narrow. Ranking the albums placed sixth and seventh in this list was the most difficult choice and on different days, I could easily find reasons to reverse their different order. The 11 albums have different highs and in this case I ranked them according to how consistent I think they are as entire albums. Feel free to add your own rankings and comments at the end!
11: Fellini Days (2001)
At the turn of the century, Fish’s and his co-writers’ compositions were not being tailored to accommodate the changes in Fish’s voice. Singing at the top of his register and regularly pushing his voice beyond its comfortable natural limits during his time in Marillion, Fish had sustained some long-term damage. Adjusting to the changes in his voice was clearly difficult and on Fellini Days there are some signs that Fish’s voice was not at the levels of previous albums, certainly in terms of power. Poor production and the overwhelming swamping (by rhythm guitars) of the keyboards on many songs detracts further from enjoyment of the album. John Wesley is undoubtedly a talented guitarist but here he seems to dominate proceedings even when the mood or lyrics of a song might suggest a more delicate approach (Obligatory Ballad for instance). At times, this leads to Fish’s vocal’s being a little a lost in the mix and the album is a little muddled.
My memories of this album are perhaps also tainted by the accompanying tour where it appeared Fish was particularly struggling. There is some good material here and in more recent years, live performances of songs such as Long Cold Day have been far stronger and taken on new life.
Three Favourite Songs: Long Cold Day, Dancing In Fog, Clock Moves Sideways
10: Songs From The Mirror (1993)
The story behind Fish’s decision to make a covers album is well documented. Polydor was not prepared to give Fish the time to write a follow-up to Internal Exile (an underrated album - more of which later), which had not sold well compared Vigil In A Wilderness of Mirrors and Fish’s decision to deliver a covers album meant the bell was tolling for his relationship with the record company even before it had been released. While there is not anything inherently terrible about the album, it does not come across as consistently exciting either. Fish’s previous idea for a covers album (the never to be seen Geisterfahrer) would have been interesting but totally the wrong move for Marillion following Clutching At Straws and in the early nineties, Fish simply did not have the time to put together a concept album, even one made up of cover versions.
By far the best song is Solo (a Sandy Denny cover that Fish had once considered recording to open his debut solo album), which has a beautiful vocal performance. Credit must be given to Fish for choosing (on the whole) deeper cuts from his selected artists and while his versions of Five Years and Question are pleasant enough, they are no threats to the originals. The cover of I Know What I Like by Genesis (complete with Fish aping Peter Gabriel) comes across as even more twee than the original and was a misstep even with the realms of this album. There are better and more convincing versions of some of the songs (and other covers that would feature on the re-issue) on the excellent Sushi live album.
Three favourite tracks: Hold Your Head Up, Solo, Five Years
9: Suits (1994)
After disappointment of Songs From The Mirror (as much about this not being original material as the quality of the album itself), fans of the Scotsman were pleased when news of Suits (much of which had already been aired on The Outpatients Tour) emerged. Lady Let It Lie (one of the highlights of the album) was a perfect lead single (which reached number 42 but deserved to do better) with a lyric extremely personal to Fish. When the album reached the Top 20, it seemed like Fish was set to capitalise on this with the next single but Fortunes of War (one of his finest lyrics from any album) stalled due to poor promotion of the four CDs over four weeks idea.
The album itself has some excellent material but is really an album of two halves. Mr 1470 and Pipeline can be counted amongst the some of the strongest material from this time. Lady Let It Lie and Fortunes of War (the gentle melody and instrumentation belying the deeper lyrical content) are both strong singles and the latter in its acoustic form shows just what a powerful song it is. Final song Raw Meat is one of the best in the whole of Fish’s catalogue. Here he pours out his emotions about the music business, the difficulties of recent years and his wish to never give up. It is a magical piece dripping with emotion. Elsewhere Emperor’s Song and Somebody Special are good efforts but do not reach the standard of the rest of the album and No Dummy must surely be Fish’s idea of a joke – one of the weakest songs he has ever recorded. Like on some of his other albums, there was excellent material to found amongst the B’ Sides.
While the production lacked the vivacity and feel of his first two original solo albums, Suits showed that Fish could still put together a solid album of original material and it was a welcome return.
Three favourite tracks: Lady Let It Lie, Fortunes of War. Raw Meat
8: Field Of Crows (2003)
If Fellini Days was the nadir of Fish’s solo output, the good news was that much better was to come and each release following built impressively on the one before, leading to Fish producing some of the best solo studio albums of his career. With the need to put together a new band, Fish set about the task of developing a line-up (including two guitarists again) that would put his studio work back on the right track.
Field of Crows is a step in the right direction and Fish’s voice seems to be back in decent shape. It is not a perfect album and while some of the more upbeat tracks have some outstanding sections (The Field, for example, starts well and builds beautifully but the extended coda lets it down a little) it’s the quieter tracks which shine here. Exit Wound is a particularly subdued but excellently crafted ballad about the trauma left by a broken heart and Scattering Crows ranks as highly as any of his solo material.
Three favourite tracks: Exit Wound, Shot The Craw, Scattering Crows
7: Raingods With Zippos (1999)
Raingods With Zippos is very much album of two halves: the opening six (unrelated) tracks and the six-part epic Plague of Ghosts. It has a varied selection of tracks and styles, which should come as no surprise as only two of the seven songs have the same songwriters. Similarly to Internal Exile, the flow of the album is stilted but the quality of the material is more variable here.
As with Field of Crows, some of the more subdued (at least musically) moments such as Incomplete and Rites of Passage (one of Fish's best ballads) are more successful; the gem on this album is, without doubt, the concluding epic Plague of Ghosts - a contender for the best thing he has ever done since his days with Marillion.
Three favourite tracks: Incomplete, Rites of Passage, Plague of Ghosts
6: Sunsets on Empire (1997)
Fish was acutely aware that it had been a couple of years since the release of Suits and was keen to press home any advantage that may have been gained from the album and subsequent tour. Enter a certain Steven Wilson. His contribution to Sunsets on Empire cannot be overstated and some tracks were certainly a departure for Fish. Co-writer of six of the ten songs on the album, Wilson opened Fish’s mind to inclusion of different writing techniques some of which were initially rejected as too radical but enough of the kernels of those thoughts remain for the album to be one of Fish’s most varied.
Ranging from barbed political commentary (The Perception of Johnny Punter – still a misunderstood song by many), personal introspection (Sunsets on Empire) via Fish’s teenage memories (Jungle Ride), the album is another varied lyrical expedition. Brother 52 could have been a big hit given better exposure and Worm In A Bottle continues Fish’s penchant for drinking songs.
Three favourite tracks: Goldfish and Clowns, Tara, Sunsets on Empire
5: 13th Star (2007)
It is safe (and sad) to say that when Fish has an unfortunate time in his personal life, this often leads to some excellent material in response: the unhappy end to his relationship with Heather Findlay led to much of the lyrical content of 13th Star. A strong songwriting partnership (which would continue over the next two albums) with Steve Vantis and vastly increased consideration of Fish’s changing voice and vocal abilities led to an extremely solid album.
Three favourite tracks: Arc of the Curve, Dark Star, Where In The World
4: Internal Exile (1991)
Following Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors must have been a difficult task but the retention of Mickey Simmonds and Frank Usher and the addition of Robin Boult to studio work meant that Fish was able maintain a high level of songwriting and playing on his second album. While Vigil set an incredibly high standard, Internal Exile has become somewhat overlooked. There are several reasons why this might be the case: the lack of promotion from Polydor, the more blatant nationalism (including on the cover) or the fact that the album, while containing first-rate material, does not flow quite as well as its predecessor.
The albums subtitle (A Collection of a Boy's Own Stories) may give some insight towards the slightly disjointed feel of the album (Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors had the unifying theme of the hill amongst some songs); however, each song (including once again some of the B’ Sides) individually (including the "hidden gem" Dear Friend) is strong (although the title track could be a little meatier in production) and Fish’s lyrics are excellent.
Three favourite tracks: Shadowplay, Credo, Dear Friend
3: Weltschmerz (2020)
A long time in production (due once again for a whole catalogue of issues in Fish’s personal life including bereavement, romantic tragedy and serious medical issues), it would have not been a surprise if this album had never seen the light of day. Undeterred, Fish showed once again his fighting spirit. While we may have been given two brilliant acts to follow once Fish left Marillion, throughout his years as a solo artist, he has had to cope with far more financial hardship than his former band (although even they were not immune as evidenced by their necessary run of albums in the late 90s).
The Parley With Angels EP went some way in allowing Fish to show fans what was to come and once again a significant amount of the album was played live during production. This allowed the band to hone and perfect each arrangement and the result was another classic in Fish’s catalogue. For an almost 90-minute offering, the album is incredibly tight and not a moment is wasted. It is also the best produced album of his career and each instrument sparkles even in the heavier moments. What a way to end a brilliant career!
Three favourite tracks: Little Man What Now, Garden of Remembrance, Waverley Steps (End of the Line)
2: Feast Of Consequences (2013)
Having never written with Fish before, Steve Vantis helped him produce the excellent 13th Star and continued their relationship on this follow up. 13th Star came three years after the release of Field of Crows and it would be a further six years until the release of Feast of Consequences and subsequently 7 years until the release of Weltschmerz. Various reasons were behind these long gaps but with Feast of Consequences, there was a determination to put out the best possible album he could and it was given a good amount of time to gestate including several tracks being aired live during the writing of the album. However, Fish (who often seems to have the worst luck at the worst time) was to suffer voice issues and production delays during the run up to the release.
However, the result was worth the wait the release of his best album since his very first. There was meticulous attention to detail throughout its production and the quality does not wain throughout: a perfect marriage of excellent musicianship and powerful lyrics. The special edition of the album was also beautifully packaged and even by Mark Wilkinson’s high standards it was a masterpiece.
Three favourite tracks: Perfume River, Blind To The Beautiful, The High Wood Suite
1: Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors (1990)
Only one album was ever going to top this list. Once he left Marillion, Fish set about recruiting a seriously heavyweight band and the ideal foil in Mickey Simmonds. Even though many predicted Marillion would struggle without the charismatic frontman, Fish found that he was forced to wait to release his album due EMI’s schedule for Seasons End.
The release of singles State Of Mind and Big Wedge and an Autumn tour before Christmas allowed fans to know that Fish was very much moving forward. Incorporating some of the lyrics set for use on Marillion’s abandoned fifth album and others reflecting recent events both personal and political, Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors crackles with fire and energy throughout every song. An incredible debut solo album.
I always enjoy the B’ Side Jack and Jill (which links lyrically to the concept of the hill) but it was perhaps ultimately too lightweight in style to be on the album.
Three favourite tracks: Vigil, Family Business, View From A Hill
Written: June 2023
Listen to my Fish Through the Years playlist featuring my three favourite songs from each album in chronological order (with a few bonus B' Sides thrown in).