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Fish: Fellini Days

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Artist: Fish
Title: Fellini Days
Released: 2001.08.06
Label: Chocolat Frog Records
Time: 57:07
Producer(s): Elliot Ness
Appears with: Marillion
Category: Pop/Rock
Rating: *****..... (5/10)
Media type: CD
Purchase date:  2001.08.08
Price in €: 16,99
Web address: www.fishheadsclub.com











 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] 3D (Dick/Wesley/Young) - 9:11
[2] So Fellini (Dick/Wesley) - 4:06
[3] Tiki 4 (Dick/Wesley/Young) - 7:32
[4] Our Smile (Dick/Wesley/Young) - 5:25
[5] Long Cold Day (Dick/Wesley/Young) - 5:33
[6] Dancing In Fog (Dick/Wesley/Young) - 5:30
[7] Obligatory Ballad (Dick/Wesley) - 5:15
[8] The Pilgrim's Address (Dick/Wesley) - 7:18
[9] Clock Moves Sideways (Dick/Wesley) - 7:17
 

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


FISH (aka. Derek William Dick) - Lead vocals, Front Cover Concept
JOHN WESLEY - Guitars
JOHN YOUNG - Keyboards
STEVE VANTSIS - Bass
DAVE STEWART - Drums

SUSIE WEBB - Backing Vocals
ZOE NICHOLAS - Backing Vocals
DAVE HASWELL - Percussion
PADDY MAYNE - Voice on [8]
Mr. SAMPLES - Other samples

ELLIOT NESS - Recording, Engineering , Mixing
CALUM MALCOLM - Mixing, Mastering
ERIC DEWOLF - Loop Programming on [9]
MARK WILKINSON - Cover Artwork
DAVID AXELL - Cover Artwork
PIERRE GUILLLAME - Photography
 

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


2001 CD Chocolate Frog Records 16784-2
CFVP007CD

Recorded at The Studio, Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland with additional recordings taken from sessions at The Grand Hotel, Pristina, Kosovo and live recordings from Leeuwarden, Utrecht and Oberhausen.



Dem italienischen Regisseur und künstlerischen Quertreiber Frederico Fellini gewidmet, bringt der Ex-Marillion-Frontmann ein Album auf den Markt, welches den Vergleich mit den Solowerken des Pink-Floyd-Masterminds Roger Waters nicht zu scheuen braucht. Wie gewohnt präsentiert der Schotte Progressive-Rock vom Feinsten. Die Produktion ist ausgezeichnet, das Album voluminös, wobei nichts überproduziert anmutet. Stimmlich wird der 43-jährige immer besser, die Begleitband kann sich hören lassen. Vor allem der neun Minuten währende Opener "3D" ist ein kolossales Werk von beeindruckender Fülle und Atmosphäre. Freunde opulenter Rockmusik werden mit Fellini Days hundertprozentig bedient, für Fans ist die Scheibe ohnehin unabdingbar. Fish enttäuscht seine Anhänger mit Fellini Days in keiner Weise, er festigt sogar seinen Stand im Olymp der konzeptionellen Rockmusik, die leider im Aussterben begriffen ist.

Felix von Vietsch, Amazon.de



Offiziell kommt "Fellini Days", erscheint das neue "Fish" Album erst im August. Die einzigste Möglichkeit, das Doppelalbum schon jetzt zu bekommen, ist mit dem Besuch eines Fish Konzertes verbunden. Die erste CD enthält das neue Studiomaterial mit neun neuen Songs, die zweite CD Livemitschnitte der "Fellini Days" Tour und neu gemixte Songs. Leider ist die zweite CD noch in der Mache, so dass der Käufer am Konzert "nur" in den Genuss des Studioalbums kommt. Über "Fellinis Days" habe ich selber schon einige gute Kritiken gelesen, so z.Bspl. eine Aussage "Bis heute ist Fellinis Days das beste Fish Solo-Album, ja vielleicht sogar das beste Album des Jahres oder vielleicht das beste des Jahrzehnts". Dem muss ich aber wiedersprechen, "Raingod with Zippos" hat meiner Meinung nach etwas mehr Format als "Fellinis Days". Zu den Songs im einzelnen; Der Opener weiss durchaus zu begeistern, "3D" strahlt eine warme Athmosphäre aus, verfügt über ruhige sowie rockige Momente. Über das Gesangstalent "Fish" brauche ich wohl kein Wort verlieren, der Mann mit ist einfach Klasse. Das beste an "3D" ist aber nicht der Gesang, sondern das instrumentale Gitarrensolo von John Wesley. Nicht ganz so begeistert bin ich von "So Fellini", der mich an einer "T Rex" Nummer erinnert. Auch "Tiki 4" vermag mich nicht richtig vom Hocker zu hauen, irgendwie hört sich der Song ein bisschen aufgewärmt an. Dafür weiss die Ballade "Our Smile" mit seinen herrlichen Melodiebögen vom ersten bis letzten Ton zu gefallen. Mit das beste Stück Musik ist "Long Cold Day", hier gibts eine satte Portion Rock mit geilen Gitarrenriffs und superguten Gesang. Mit "Dancing in Fog" folgt eine etwas phsychedlische Nummer mit einem dichten Keyboardteppich und Saxophoneinlagen. Wie der Titelname des nächsten Songs vermuten lässt, handelt es sich bei "Obligatory Ballad" eben um eine Ballade. Der Song ist sehr spärlich instrumentiert, und hier muss ich sagen, da hat "Fish" schon viel bessere Sachen geschrieben. Mit "The Pilgrim's Adress" folgt gleich noch eine Ballade, bei der anfangs vor allen Dingen die Akustikgitarre sowie der Gesang von Fish im Mittelpunkt steht. Mit Einsatz von Keyboard, Schlagzeug und Bass gewinnt der Song reichlich an Farbe. Den besten Song bekommt man ganz zum Schluss geboten, "Clock Moves Sideways" ist eine sauber arrangierte Nummer mit schrägen Gitarren, viel Percussion und einem "Fish" am Mic., der eine unheimliche Stimmung erzeugt, echt stark. Stark auch die spanischen Gitarren, sowie die recht psychedelischen Elemente im Mittelteil des Songs. Fazit: Wie schon erwähnt, kommt "Fellinis Days" nicht ganz an das Vorgängeralbum ran, dies ist aber kein Grund das Album links liegen zu lassen. Mit "3D", "Long Cold Day", "Our Smile" und vor allen Dingen "Clock Moves Sideways" sind wirklich vier grandiose Songs auf der CD.

Werner Wachtarczyk



This might well be the biggest Roundtable Review we have ever done. When the new Fish album was received by DPRP no less than 5 people volunteered to review it, all of them long-time Fish fans. This is something to keep in the back of your mind when reading these lenghty reviews; these are the opinions of those who have always loved Fish' music ..... The reviews are presented as a track-by-track plus conclusion by Remco and Hester, and more overall (but no less lengthy) reviews by JJ, Ed and Mark. It might be a bit much, but I think that especially for this CD, it subscribes the fact that each reviewer does not stand alone in his opinions.

3D
Remco: Would Mr. Fish, who I lost after Internal Exile and refound with his Sunsets on Empire album be able to come close to or even surpass his last two albums? That was the big question, especially since he parted with Steve Wilson, who has worked miracles with him. The last album, Raingods With Zippos was and is very special to me, since I had the opportunity to do a very nice interview with the big man for DPRP, and had the pleasure to listen to the album for the first time with about 20 people in a small living room in the Irish Pub in Groningen in a very special atmosphere (and good beer). I was curious to find out! The album opens with a projector starting, a sound that keeps up through out the entire album. A Sunset-like track follows, which is not half bad on the composition site, but the mix is too "fat" which is a bit annoying and is a flaw that the whole album suffers from. Fish' vocals are quite okay here, dark and warm, but somehow the interplay with the background vocals is not perfect, creating a bit of a chaotic sound. But the composition definitely is strong. The guitar work could have been "smoother" in my opinion, but that is just a matter of taste. Hester: 3D was the song I thought sounded best of the six new songs that were played during the Dutch fanclub day on January 28th. Now, hearing the final version, I am less enthusiastic. I remember not being able to hear the keyboards very well then and that may explain something, since I do not like the keyboard sound at all. The electric piano gives me some strong, easy listening-like vibes and that just is not my kind of thing. The song gains strength in the choruses, but the not-entirely-synchronous backing vocals which are also wavering slightly above and below Fish's vocal line give the song a rather chaotic, out of tune sound. The atmosphere gets rather depressing because of that and considering the subject (cheating), maybe this was done intentionally. Still, on me it has the same effect as somebody scratching his or her fingernails over a blackboard has. The guitar riff starting the first instrumental section is really good, but sadly played using an effect which makes it almost sound out of tune. Again, maybe this raw quality was intended, but it is slightly too close to the edge for me. Wesley's guitar solo a bit further on into the song does not seem to go anywhere for a long time. It therefore gets somewhat boring after a few bars. It does move to a nice conclusion, though, and the guitar sound does actually get slightly Pink Floyd- like at that point.

So Fellini
Remco: The Sunset-like style is continued in So Fellini. Fish obviously hasn't got the vocal skills he had ten years ago, but he manages to aviod to risks. A rich sounding track with lots of howling Hammond and other keys, again a good composition, although quite repetitive. The same can be said about the lyrics. Is this "the man with a gift of words"? Hester: So Fellini is more to my liking, in fact, this is one of my favourite tracks on the album. Nice, rocky guitars and a pounding drum rhythm set the scene. I can almost see Fish's twinkling eyes while he is singing these slightly provocative lyrics. It is a shame that the backing vocals are responsible for most of the "fireworks" in the last line of the verses. The simple chorus works very effectively; it keeps dwelling through my head all day long. Also, the addition at the end of the track of a whole venue full of Fish fans singing the chorus is a nice and original touch. A point of comment about the lyrics, though. I do not think that people who are not familiar with Fish's use of the expression "Fellini day" (as I understood it, a really special day on which some kind of weird coincidence occurs) will really understand what is going on. The lyrics to So Fellini do not really explain the term and it actually seems that Fish has expanded the meaning of the term, since I do not really see the connection between the verses and the "sooooo Fellini" chorus.

Tiki 4
Remco: Now quite a weak track follows, Tiki 4, which leans back on the days of Internal Exile and Songs from the Mirror, combining Fish's rock sound with more traditional folk composition. This song excels in repetitiveness. Nope, this one doesn't do it for me. And it goes on for seven-and-a-half minute! Hester: Some "bongos from a box" open Tiki 4 and although I guess that they are only fitting to a song with such a tropical title, they just irritate me immensely throughout the entire song. Fish's vocals are sounding off key every now and then, whereas the backing vocals give the track an even cornier atmosphere than it already had. The great imagery of the line "The darkness zips up the city like a body bag" seems completely out of place amidst all of this. This ode to chilling out is one of my least favourite tracks on the album.

Our Smile
Remco: Our Smile is a typical Fish ballad, of the type that at least I have had enough of by now. This could have been on any previous album as well. Redundant track and irritating guitar. Hester: The lyrics to Our Smile are really good and heart-felt, but the music sounds a bit too ordinary for them. Something seems to be missing, although I cannot really put my finger on what that could be. Maybe a different guitar sound (especially for the solo) would have worked better. Still, why did there have to be electronic bongos in this track too?

Long Cold Day
Remco: Back to firm guitar work, a bit Perception-like in Cold Long Day. Some people don't like Wesley's guitar, but in tracks like this he can really convince me. Fish himself too is quite good en route on this track and delivers the track with feeling and emotion. Yeah, this one rocks again! Hester: A great, raw guitar intro sets the scene perfectly for Long Cold Day. Fish is angry at someone (someone he loved) who has betrayed him and brilliantly makes that clear in the intensity of his vocals. At the end they are almost drowned out by the backing vocals, though, and that is a shame. One of my favourite tracks, although it does get slightly monotonous towards the end.

Dancing in Fog
Remco: Dancing in Fog has a bit of a Dance beat, like some of the Plague of Ghosts sections, but the melody line is nothing special and very repetitive. The title also reminds a bit of Raingods. Hester: The beginning of Dancing In Fog seems to be the prelude to an exciting song, but after the intro the song changes into a rather average, somewhat boring track. The raw sounding guitar interlude brings a few sparks back into it, but the music calms down again soon after. For some reason, there are bongos on this track as well...

Obligatory Ballad
Remco: Obligatory Ballad is a track that you either hate or love. The idea is good, but it could have taken another recording since the very first word Fish sings (Time), is not sharp but shakes. Anyway, this one works excellent if his voice is in order. If for some reason (I guess we all know which one) his voice is not one hundred percent, this one will fail miserably. On the album it is marginal. It takes about two minutes too long though. Hester: Obligatory Ballad sounds a lot like another Rites Of Passion, including its sometimes very out of tune vocals. The metallic guitar sound (the electric guitar is the only accompaniment of the vocals during most of the song) does not really help and only tends to underline the false notes.

Pilgrim's Address
Remco: Pilgrim's Address is another ballad, and starts almost acoustic. A Dylan-esque protest song, this one takes us a long time back! It is not a bad idea of Fish at all to wander around Dylan's tracks once in a while. From a musical point of view this is not the most exciting part, but at least he knows how to put his feelings and thoughts on paper. Hester: I remember hearing after the fanclub day that Pilgrim's Address would sound "huge" in its final version. It should contain ten (!) tracks of guitar sound, even though Fish and John Wesley performed an acoustic version of the song in January. The final result is not as impressive as I had expected, though. Yes, the guitar sound is pretty "big", but it tends to make the entire sound rather muddled (which is actually something most of the CD suffers from). I have always been very appreciative of Fish's way of bringing issues out in the open, like he did in, for instance, The Perception Of Johnny Punter and What Colour Is God?. Still, I think the way he did that in those two songs was so much more impressive than the way he now brings the fate of the many half-forgotten soldiers all over the world into the limelight. The song is way too long for its rather unvaried structure. I actually find myself thinking "Yeah yeah, Fish, I do know what you mean by now" after some three minutes and I do not think that that is the desired effect. Clock Moves Sideways Remco: Finally a surprise follows: Clock Moves Sideways (ehhh, didn't Wilson do an album with an almost similar title?). Why a surprise? Because this is a fantastic track. With a bit depressing New Age like chord sequence, it reminds a bit of the final sections of Plague, and Wilson's efforts. Very dynamic and powerful, Fish finally finds the guts to scream his lungs out, for the first time on the album. With some really interesting bridges and climax-building, this is absolutely the highlight of the album (and he even uses the phrase "Fugazi" again. Is he coming to terms with the past?). Hester: A drum machine, some more raw guitar and a haunting keyboard line create an eerie atmosphere on Clock Moves Sideways. Fish's sneering vocals fit in perfectly. The chorus is a great outburst of thundercloud-like threatening sound. Sadly, the drum machine is way too high in the mix and it becomes rather irritating after a while. Live it is drowned out by the "real" drums in the heavier parts, but here it is audible at all times. If the sound would have been like the ticking of a clock, I could still understand that, but it is not. I do not know whether it is because of the drum machine, but towards the end, the track becomes a bit too repetitive which makes me think that it could as well have been two minutes shorter.

Remco's Conclusion
In conclusion: an album of very variable quality. Some tracks are good like the first two, some are mediocre, or even boring, and there is one killer (the last one). Now to the grading. Of course you always keep in mind who created the album and the level you can expect from them. If this were the record of an obscure Russian band, it would have gotten a 9, but since it is the ex-vocalist of Marillion when that was the greatest prog-band in the world at that time, and he proved with a couple of other albums (Vigil, Sunsets and Raingods) that he still knows how to deliver a wonderful album, this one disappointed me somewhat. Still, I do recommend it to Fish fans, and I am sure that a couple of tracks of this album will be in your favourites one day. On the other hand, the album has too many flaws when compared to previous work. So ....

Remco: 7.5 out of 10



In my opinion, Fish could have moved in one of two different directions after the album Raingods With Zippos. He could either further explore the road he had taken with Plague Of Ghosts, or develop more towards the other, more straightforward rock side of that album. I was secretly hoping for more Plague-like tracks and when Fish indicated that he would like to explore that side of music more, I was very enthusiastic. Add to that some remarks from John Wesley that the next album would become heavier and I found myself really looking forward to Fellini Days. I think that it was not very long after the last "real" tour (as opposed to the small tour surrounding various fanclub days last January) that Fish announced that everyone could follow the entire process of making Fellini Days via a special Fellini Days website. Great idea, I thought, but I was slightly disappointed every time I checked the site since there was not that much information on it. Even now that the album is finished, one cannot find the final versions of the lyrics on it... All in all I must say that Fellini Days is bit of a disappointment to me. I really miss the brilliant dynamics, the subtlety in build-up and the hypnotising spoken parts as demonstrated on the album Sunsets of Empire and in Plague Of Ghosts. Most tracks on Fellini Days have about the same speed and do not vary much. The lyrics consist of many expressions and themes you will probably recognise from other Fish (and early Marillion) albums; some new ideas, but a fan of the Scotsman's music has definitely heard most of it before. The ideas behind the album are good, but it all feels as if the end result could have been much better. A few extra takes would probably have resulted in more sparkling, in key vocals and more synchronicity in the backing vocals, for instance. Apart from that, the keyboards could have been mixed more to the front and the overall sound could have been made less muddled. Luckily, the songs sound much better live and knowing that Fish usually produces a live album after every tour, I am looking forward to the release of the next live CD.

Hester: 6.5 out of 10



I've considered writing a track-by-track review of Fish' new album, but I realised that if I did, I would only be repeating myself several times, just as the subject of this review seems to do. To put this review into the right context, let me inform you that I have been a Fish fan for a long time. I've been a member of The Company ever since it started. I've seen many concerts, have all of the studio albums and at least one of the official bootlegs of every tour. Twelve long years of joy and twelve long years of doubt. Continous doubts about a lot of ups and downs. The mediocre Songs from the Mirror album, the many compilation albums and continuous stream of re-releases and re-hashing of the same material, the doubtful quality of some tracks that would be mingled with classics on the albums. And now the big Scot seems to have reached a new all-time low. I was delighted by the result of the cooperation with Porcupine Tree's Steve Wilson on Sunsets of Empire, which I consider Fish' best album since Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors. On the next album Fish reached another peak with Plague of Ghosts, although I still think that the Raingods with Zippos is little more than that marvellous track plus a handful of bonus tracks that never reach the same level of quality. And now we have Fellini Days. I should have known what was coming after seeing Fish play live with John Wesley in Vredenburg in 1999. I really disliked Wesley's guitar play at that gig; all of the subtle and emotional guitar parts were destroyed and mangled into one unpleasant layer of noise. That same layer of noise returns on Fellini Days. Wesley might make a fine rhythm guitarist but he hardly plays any descent lead guitar part on the album. His continuous 'string rape' covers the music like a thick festering layer of mud, drowning out any melodic contribution of bass and keyboards. Imagine somebody trying to play acoustic chords on electric guitar all the time. The album was produced by Elliot Ness, and although he obviously did a good job on Raindgods, the production and mix on Fellini Days is a mess. As mentioned, the music often just turns into a wall of noise, with some instruments becoming almost inaudible.

I had high hopes for the new album since John Young was joining the band. Young is a fine singer/songwriter and plays great keyboards (maybe not as good as Mickey Simmonds, but lots and lots better than Foss Patterson). He's composed some great stuff, some of which was used by John Wetton. Unfortunately, John's role on this album passes by almost unnoticed. He seemingly wasn't much involved in the writing process (almost all of the songs are credited to Fish & Wesley) and the keyboards mainly play a supportive role on the album. Only very occassionally does he get the chance to shine, like in the short piano solo at the end of Long Cold Day. Because of the lack of piano, the album misses a certain emotion. As someone said to me, the throw-away Obligatory Ballad would have been much better if it would have been piano/vocals-only instead of piano/electric guitar-only. Imagine what a track like Gentleman's Excuse Me would sound like if the piano parts would be replaced by chords on electric guitar. But that's not all folks. There's much more that's not quite right about the new Fishy product. Most of the melodies and ideas on the album are not that bad, and some of them are even very enjoyable. However, most of these ideas are far from original; we've heard it all before. A track like 3D (which I probably consider the weakest track on the album) sounds like a cross between Favourite Stranger and Jungle Ride, Obligatory Ballad sound like a weak version of Say it with Flowers, Dancing in Fog sounds like something that could have come straight out of Plague of Ghosts and features a melody that sounds an awful lot like the verses of Worm in a Bottle, Our Smile sounds like another Favourite Stranger-clone, and so on. The second weakness of the compositions is that a melody which in itself might be quite pleasing is just stretched out and repeated far too often. There's not much variation in the songs, and the same melody is just repeated over and over and over again. Thereby, almost all of the tracks are twice as long as they should have been, and interesting melodies like in Tiki 4, Pilgrim's Address and Sooooooo Fellini lose out because of continuous repetition.

Although in my opinion Fish' voice doesn't sound weaker than in the past couple of years, he certainly has lost the power he used to have. He obviously is struggling with more aggressive songs like Long Cold Day and Clock Moves Sideways, which nevertheless are the best songs on the album. Especially Clock Moves Sideways is the only track on the album that contains some interesting ideas that actually work, and also gives us a good-old angry Fish. By the way, note the lines from Fugazi and Auld Lang Syne in Clock Moves Sideways. To sum it up, Fellini Days is too repetitive, not original, has a bad mix and production, is too much guitar orientated and overall ranks as Fish' most disappointing studio album to date. At the same time, the guy continues proclaiming that this is better than the previous two albums. Who is he kidding ? Does he actually believe in what he's telling his fans ? I've just paid my annual subscription for The Company a week before I heard Fellini Days. If the CD would have arrived a bit earlier I probably wouldn't have bothered to re-subscribe at all.

Ed: 6.5 out of 10



I was waiting for Fellini Days with great anticipation. I always loved Fish for almost everything he did and with especially Sunsets of Empire and (major parts of) Raingods with Zippos the big Scotsman really touched me in several ways. Also, the idea of using the famous film-director Fellini as a source of inspiration, seemed very interesting to me. Adding to that, the interesting combination of the roughness of guitarist John Wesley and the melodic skills of keyboard player John Young, with the prospect Brian May and Steve Lukather providing solos (who, in the end haven't), seemed very interesting at first thought. Regrettably Fellini Days doesn't meet my expectations. Maybe my high expectations are to blame, maybe the record hasn't become what it could have been. I'll explain the shortcomings in my review, but not before I've told what I do like about the album. A false, one-sided image of my opinion could arise from this review otherwise. Fellini Days is a very cohesive album, contrary to Raingods, which I always thought was a bit unbalanced in a way. Fellini Days also has some great hooklines, like the choruses in Clock Moves Sideways and So Fellini, two of the best tracks on the album. These lines stick in your head and (like the Raingods With Zippos-line on the album with the same title) deliver great audience-participation moments, when played live. The current tour proves this. Both tracks mentioned are powerful moments in the set. With this I come to another positive aspect of the album: its power. I never thought Fish was good in delivering "poppy" albums, which is what I always thought was one of the weaker points of the Suits album. Fellini Days goes back to the power-approach of Sunsets of Empire, although in a different way. Both 3D, with its Led Zeppelin-like (do I hear anyone say Kashmir?) ending and Long Cold Day feature -besides the already mentioned tracks- Fish in an aggressive mode, spitting out the lyrics. Another approved recipe is the combination of rock-elements with dance-beats. In Dancing In Fog, this is done in a fine way, which would have fitted on Raingods very well.

Other elements that deserve an explicit positive mentioning are the Fellini-element that has been woven into and between the songs (I bet there's a lot to discover here), the atmospheric female backing vocals (3D and Clock Moves Sideways), the nice, romantic melody of Our Smile, and the possibility to post-order a bonus disc with extra material (out-takes etc). This takes me to the difficult part: explaining what disappointed me on the album. Simplifying it and summing it up in one word: production. The album is too full of raw guitars (although it works in Long Cold Day), and Fish's voice is at some points too low in the mix. 3D is the best example of this. When I heard this track live at the fanclub-convention I immediately liked it. However, on the studio-version Fish isn't up-front in the mix, where he should be. In other tracks, Fish almost gets lost in the background vocals (Tiki 4 and Long Cold Day). One example of the 'wrong' guitar-sound is Obligatory Ballad. The personal nature of the lyrics almost beg for a gentle, fragile approach, but here the nasty guitar-sound doesn't create the right atmosphere for me. To be honest, I don't think John Wesley is very lucky on this record at all. I'm convinced he's a great acoustic player and a fine rhythm-guitarist, but I often don't like his sounds (end of Long Cold Day and solo in Dancing In Fog), don't find his solos too inspiring (for example 3D and Our Smile) and at moments he's not reserved/simple enough (sometimes less is more). John Young's keyboards, on the other hand, could have been more prominent in the mix (and in the compositions!). At moments I get the idea he's only there to start the sound-effects or the drum-machine (Dancing In Fog or the too loud drum-loop in Clock Moves Sideways). All these things are linked to the production by Elliott Ness, who -strangely enough- also was responsible for Raingods with Zippos, which sounded a lot better. Other recent prog-productions by producers like Rob Aubrey (Jadis, IQ) or Karl Groom (Landmarq, Pendragon) for example, sounded more transparent. Finally, there's two songs that simply fail to catch my attention: Tiki 4, with its ongoing beat/riff lasts way too long and Obligatory Ballad, where I don't like the vocal melody, with Fish strangling his voice as well, for an unclear purpose.

After several spins, my pitiful conclusion has to be that Fellini Days, although "it's a grower", fails to convince me in the way his previous albums did. Fish still is a skilled songsmith, and I do like large parts of 3D, So Fellini, Our Smile, Long Cold Day, Dancing in Fog and Clock Moves Sideways, but most of these songs have some shortcoming in them, which is distracting. Some appeared to have overcome these shortcomings in a live-rendition, like 3D and Clock Moves Sideways, some haven't.

JJ: 7- out of 10



I would like to get one thing straight before you read this review. I've been an admirer of the Scotsman for many years now and his concerts in the Netherlands (or Belgium) were, and are, usually some of the highlights of a year in music for me. I am the proud owner of the entire set of Fish's studio albums and quite a few of the live albums. So please do not think I'm writing this with the intent on putting the big man down, even when his escapades besides as a pure musician in recent years haven't always given me a greater appreciation of the man. Quite frankly, I've been looking forward to this album. Having said that, here's my conclusion in advance: In my opinion Fellini Days is by far the worst studio album Fish has ever released and his only bad album so far, in that it mostly contains songs of meagre quality. I find hardly anything worth my while here and certainly nothing worth my money. It's hard to imagine, but it is a fact that Fellini Days was produced and mixed by the same team that did such a fine job on Raingods with Zippos. I'll start with a few words about the continuous sound of a film projector running underneath the tracks. When I first played the album, I skipped 3D and moved straight to So Fellini. Towards the end of the song, I became aware of an intrusive noise, which had me thinking the received promo copy must have been a very bad print. Imagine my annoyance when it turned out this was not due to faulty factory production, but intentionally added throughout the length of the album! It is especially irritating during the quieter parts, as in Obligatory Ballad or the start of The Pilgrim's Address. But there are other pressing matters to underline concerning production. Instrumentation has at times been mixed to an awful instrumental jumble, as at the end of 3D and during the chorus of So Fellini. Vocals are badly handled in the second half of Long Cold Day.

I have nothing against John Wesley. I own his first solo album, which I enjoy playing from time to time. But his overall performance on Fellini Days is below par. A few examples: guitar is good in 3D, but I dislike the solos; Our Smile has some particularly weak parts and again the solo is pretty lame; it's too repetitive in Tiki 4; and annoying in Obligatory Ballad. On the other hand, I find Wesley's performance quite good in The Pilgrim's Address, Long Cold Day and Clock Moves Sideways.
The added value of the use of a drum computer escapes me; it succeeds in sapping quite a bit of strenght from Clock Moves Sideways which otherwise would have been a particularly strong track. Some of the female backing vocals are just no good. This goes for 3D, So Fellini and Our Smile. Then again, they add some strenght to Tiki 4. Whilst John Young adds some nice touches (Dancing in Fog, Our Smile), I think more could have been done with his talents. Fish's performance is fine as usual, though he misses the edge displayed on earlier albums.

A very compact track-by-track to make some statements not made above. 3D has very good verses, but the chorus doesn't impress. It is also too long, the result of the afore-mentioned instrumental jumble. So Fellini retains the charm it showed at concerts, but the sing-along bit has by now been done to death. Tiki 4, whilst it has some impressive instrumentation and a strong end sequence, I find a rather silly, repetitive song. Our Smile is enjoyable, but suffers from redundant backing vocals and Wesley's lame solo. Long Cold Day is pleasantly nasty, but has the badly mixed second half. Dancing in Fog is OK, I guess, but can't live up to Plague of Ghosts, which it seems to want to imitate in parts. Obligatory Ballad, well the title says it all. This guitar-vocals combo can be disregarded without remorse and skipping it in its entirety is prefereble, thanks to the mentioned intrusive projector-noise. The Pilgrim's Adress is good. And finally, Clock Moves Sideways is as stated one of the best tracks, if you can live with the digitized percussion. But screaming "Fugazi" doesn't help, as it has me wondering why I'm not playing that album instead anyway.
I honestly never thought the day would come when I'd have this many critical remarks to make concerning a studio release from Fish. But all in all I'm glad DPRP received a promo version for the purpose of this review. Because I'm not going to spend my money on this particular product. I got few "Fellini moments" from Fellini Days; rather, if you want to talk movie slang, it provided me with some "Alan Smithee days". Thumbs down.

The Dutch Progressive Rock Page



Just on the heels of the new Marillion disc, the new Fish showed up on my doorstep a week or two ago. Had my first chance to listen this weekend. What we've got is the same maddening problem that seems to plague most of Fish's albums: inconsistency. But let me start with the good: after the first two tracks, "3D" and "So Fellini", I was practically moved to tears with the enormity of the GREATNESS that this music held. In these two tracks, Fish fulfills all of his Roger Waters fantasies - in fact, this disc starts out sounding like something from a Roger Waters nightmare. And that's a good thing. Unfortunately, two tracks does not a full album make, and some of the tracks that follow the promising start are trite and uninspired. Much like his last disc, which had some second-rate songs, only to be offset by the brilliance of "Plague of Ghosts", on Fellini Days, Fish shows his genius in some moments, and his apparent lack of inspiration in others. The ballads stink - it's hard to believe that a guy that wrote "Cliche", the greatest love song EVER, can now put out such tripe. There are other nice moments beyond tracks 1 and 2 - "Long Cold Day" is an out-and-out rocker that is quite different than anything Fish has tried, and it's fun to listen to; and the albums closing tune "Clock Moves Sideways" is wonderfully atmospheric and is a suitable followup to "Plague...". I guess half an album of genius is better than none, and I highly recommend that everybody that likes Fish get this thing and decide for themselves. I just find myself disappointed that a disc that starts off like a masterpiece ends up being partially ordinary.

MitchG on May 29, 2001 at 17:46:38


Den neuen FISH-Longplayer genießt man am besten unterm Kopfhörer; zum Nebenbeihören ist er zu sperrig. Wie schon auf dem Vorgänger „Raingods With Zippos“ spielt FISH mit allerlei Sound-Effekten, ausufernden Arrangements und Ausflügen in Progrock-fremde Klangwelten, was die einzelnen Songs zu spannenden Mini-Epen macht, allerdings auch den Zugang für den Hörer erschwert. FISH-kundige Rock Hard-LeserInnen werden es zu schätzen wissen, dass der ehemalige Marillion-Sänger trotz aller Experimente auch das Gitarren-Element in seinem Sound verstärkt hat. Zwar geht es nicht ganz so rockig wie auf „Sunsets On Empire“ (´98) zur Sache, aber zumindest ist die Klampfe - in welcher Form auch immer - allgegenwärtig. Man merkt FISH wie immer die Liebe zum Detail überdeutlich an und wird quasi dazu gezwungen, sich intensiv mit den neun meist überlangen Kompositionen zu beschäftigen. Wer easy listening bevorzugt, ist hier ganz sicher an der falschen Adresse.

GöTZ KüHNEMUND - Note 8
Review aus Rock Hard Ausgabe 170


Und nun ist es soweit. Meine erste Fish-Studio-CD-Kritik. Und ich versuche mal, als langjähriger Fish-Fan und Mitglied des Fish-Fanclubs Deutschland (zu erreichen unter www.raingods.de ), halbwegs objektiv zu sein. Zur Zeit dieses Updates (25.06.2001) ist die CD noch nicht im Handel erhältlich und wird voraussichtlich Anfang August 2001 veröffentlicht werden. Die Scheibe gabs bis jetzt nur als schweineteuere Pre-Order über die Fanclubs (und wurde monatelang trotz Ankündigungen nicht ausgeliefert) sowie auf der letzen Mini-Tour (im Mai 2001) zu kaufen. Über diese Verkaufspolitik kann man sich streiten, aber was Marillion recht ist, ist Fish wohl nur billig (siehe Marillion-Kritik von 'Anoraknophobia'). Auf jeden Fall hat mir Fish versichert, daß die Pre-Order-Aktion ein voller Erfolg war (für ihn wohl schon, denn er konnte ein halbes Jahr mit dem Geld der Fans arbeiten) und er hat mir gegenüber auch behauptet, daß Fellini Days das beste Fish-Album ist, das er bisher rausgebracht hat. Nun gut, schauen wir mal, ob ich der selben Meinung bin: Absolut störend auf der CD finde ich das Geknaspel im Hintergrund (vor allem zwischen den Songs), das wohl das Geräusch einer alten Film-Kamera oder so darstellen soll (wohl die einzigste Verbindung zum Namen der CD bzw. Fellini) und das Gelaber zwischen den Songs, das meiner Meinung nach überhaup nichts mit den Songs zu tun hat. Soll wohl witzig sein. Der 9-minütige Opener '3D' beginnt arg müde und quält sich ganz schön arg dahin. Wer nach diesen 9 Minuten noch wach ist (was äußerst schwer fällt ... also früher gab's auf den Fish-CDs gleich mal einen Hammer wie Vigil, Shadowplay oder The Perception of J.P. vor den Latz), darf den Title-Track 'So Fellini' geniessen, der ein klein wenig flotter daherkommt und mich stark an 'Sunsets on Empire' erinnert. 'Tiki 4', der dritte Song, sollte wohl was Radiotaugliches werden, ist aber mit über 7 Minuten natürlich zu lang. 'Our Smile', 'Long Cold Day' und 'Dancing In Fog' dümpeln auch eher so vor sich hin, ohne wirklich zu überzeugen. Und das alles endet dann in 'Obligatory Ballad' bei der Fish wohl beweisen will, wie schlecht seine Stimme geworden ist. Eine einzige Katastrophe das Lied. Bis dahin also mehr schlecht als recht. In meinen Ohren die einzigen Highlights dieser CD sind die letzten 2 Songs 'Pilgrims Address' und 'Clock Moves Sideways', die halbwegs Fish-Standard erreichen. Allerdings werden bis zu diesen 2 Songs die meisten Hörer dieser CD gar nicht kommen, weil sie vorher den Silberling aus dem Player geworfen haben. Ganz schön schade, daß einer meiner absoluten Top-Faves so tief sinken konnte.

Roland Leicht



My pre-ordered "Fellini Days" (Fish) CD finally arrived today, but it was well worth the wait... It's great! I have listened to it five times in a row tonight, and love it... Initially, the opening track "3D" was a little disappointing... The live versions I heard at the recent Company Holland fanclub convention and last Thursday's Fish concert in NighTTown (Rotterdam) somehow seemed stronger... On the other hand, I hated "Tiki 4" when I heard it live but think the studio version is pretty good... "Our Smile" is a beautiful song worthy of a CD single release... I think "Dancing In Fog" was the only song I hadn't heard live yet... pretty good song. I'm also happy with the studio version of "The Pilgrim's Address", because the acoustic version at the Company Holland convention was, well, boring... The closing track "Clock Moves Sideways" is awesome, but unfortunately also a missed opportunity at some pretty cool cross promotion... The song was supposed to have guitar solo's by Brian May and Steve Lukather, but things didn't seem to work out... All in all it's a very strong album... I really only liked half of the "Raingods With Zippo's" album, but this one is good from start to finish... I think the album's official release date is July 13th (not 100% sure), but you can already get it through the official Fish site and the worldwide Company fanclubs... Whatcha waiting for?

Mark Bredius, May 15, 2001
  

 L y r i c s


3D

The character actor plays romantic leads and the kitten curls in wet anticipation,
The opportunity is here.
It's not the first time, it's not a dream, she cowers in the corner, she pretends
It's just a scene.

The Maitre D' has seen it all before, the actor, the actress, the gigolo, the whore,
Between the lines, between the sheets, there's no rehearsal, they make a deal, he'll soon be home.

Living in Wonderland, the grass is so green,
Tongue-tied, a dry mouth swallows a scream,
Yours to pretend, it's yours to pretend, this trip never ends, it's coming at you
In 3D.

The freeway's jammed, the lights bleed red, and the anger gathers in the fog, I meditate in green.
A wall of horns, blasts away, and the exit road to Jericho stands steady,
held in amber beams that play on misty screens and smoky cars whose occupants
mouth curses at a world that doesn't hear

Living in Wonderland, the grass is so green,
Tongue-tied, a dry mouth swallows a scream,
Yours to pretend, it's yours to pretend, this trip never ends, it's coming at you in 3D. 


SO FELLINI

Dance, dance, dance milady
Weave your spell
Take the floor milady
Catch a tiger by it's tail
Catch this tiger by it's tail

I caught your breath milady
Fell into your smile
Watched my own reflection
Swimming in your eyes
Swimming in your eyes

So Fellini! So Fellini! So Fellini!
Milady dance your dance
Dance your dance

I slide inside your body
You steal into my heart,
Used the key that I provided
Milady dance your dance, milady dance your dance
Milady dance your dance

So Fellini! So Fellini! So Fellini!
Milady dance your dance
Oh, dance your dance

Dance, dance, dance milady,
Weave your spell
Take the floor milady
Caught a tiger by it's tail,
You have this tiger by it's tail

So Fellini! So Fellini! So Fellini!
Dance your dance,
So Fellini! So Fellini! So Fellini!
Milady dance your dance,
Milady dance your dance 


TIKI 4

She holds court, queen of all the mountains
Snow leopards hide amongst her hills,
The bong billows clouds up to the ceiling
Fresh stars day-glo in the night.
Mai-Tais at the bar, she only sees charlie at weekends,
The cocktail monkeys are climbing, a tower is chiming, faraway.
Micha is smiling back in Tiki 4
Back in Tiki 4.

One eye is all that is needed to be king of all he surveys,
Grandmaster, apprentice of architects
Design curves where others leave trails
It's freaking you out as you search for the lock on the door
Pillars of smoke are guiding you back to the floor
Back to Tiki 4
Tiki 4
Tiki 4

And the darkness zips up the city like a body bag
The good citizens are lying asleep in their beds dreaming of the day ahead
Meanwhile we're back in Tiki 4.
Tiki 4
Tiki 4
Back in Tiki 4

Renee is curled up on the sofa
Judy scratches away at her scars
Loud lines that were only a whisper
Too weak for the angels to hear
But she's proud, she got the respect of her mother
She didn't waver, straight down the lines and out of sight
Judy woke up in Tiki 4
Back in Tiki 4

And the darkness zips up the city just like a body bag
The good citizens are lying asleep in their beds dreaming of the day ahead
Meanwhile we're back in Tiki 4.
Tiki 4
Back in Tiki 4
Writing graffiti on the moon
Graffiti on the moon
Writing graffiti on the moon 


OUR SMILE

So sorry, I never meant to fall in love with you,
Don't worry, I know you think I have to let go,
Believe, I would stay but we know that we'll wake up alone,
Pretend,
That there's nothing there between us

They don't know the full story,
The one we never can tell,
And I hide a smile, I hide a smile for you.

It's so funny,
I never thought I'd feel like this again,
I'm so scared,
But we know that we can't run away,
So easy to deny the attraction, the call of Fate,
And wake up and declare that it's only a dream.

They don't know the full story,
The one we never can tell,
The affair we declare to be over,
We lie to ourselves,
They don't know the full story,
The one we never can tell
And I hide a smile, I hide a smile for you
I hide a smile for you
Our smile, our smile, our smile.

I'm so drunk,
I'm so high, I'm not sure that I'm still making sense,
Can't explain,
For the first time these feelings inside,
And I'd thought
I'd control of my heart that this chapter was over
And you rewrote my life and showed me a happy end

They don't know the full story,
The one we never can tell,
The affair we declare to be over,
We lie to ourselves,
They don't know the full story,
The one we never can tell
And I hide a smile, I hide a smile for you,
I hide a smile for you. 


LONG COLD DAY

It's so funny, you don't call at night, always missing in action,
I'm left out in the cold and you'd never have thought I was thinking,
Turning it over
Putting the pieces in place and building a case for my anger
I'm taking it in, I'm taking my time in taking you out, 'cause it'll be a long cold day in Hell before I take you back,

So tired of your lying, I can't sleep at night,
I'll accept what I'm told, take what I'm sold,
There's no question to ask,
To sort out the answers,
To prove who is wrong or who is right,
But I know in my heart that we're breaking apart.
If we admit to the truth,
Pretend it's all been an act,
As a matter of fact
It'll be a long cold day in Hell before I take you back.

Sometimes I feel like I'm sailing on a dreamboat on wild and heavy seas,
I was cast adrift or fallen overboard, I catch my breath and head for shore,
I turn around, the ship sails on
This ship sails on.

Funny, you don't call at night, always missing in action
I'm left out in the cold and you'd never have thought I was thinking
I was thinking
Still thinking
Still thinking
Said I was, said I was

So tired of your lying, I can't sleep at night,
I'll accept what I'm told, take what I'm sold,
There's no question to ask,
To sort out the answers,
To prove who is wrong or who is right,
But I know in my heart that we're breaking apart.
If we admit to the truth,
Pretend it's all been an act,
As a matter of fact
It'll be a long cold day in Hell before I take you back.

And I still remember sailing on that dreamboat on starlit mirrored seas.
I hold my breath and I gaze from shore from this empty beach and this pile of clothes
I hit the water, the ship sails on
I hit the water, the ship sails on
I hit the water, the ship sails on
I hit the water, the ship sails on 


DANCING IN FOG

All that you left behind in this empty room was a question for which an answer was due,
If I admit to the truth, I admit to the lie

One bottle, one glass, a crisp Chardonnay, outside in the park the maples ablaze,
The ghosts from the hill whisper your name

Where no one can see and no one can hear
And no one's aware of the passion we feel
They all disappear when we're fog-dancing

I heard you laugh, I turned around
To face someone else I once knew I once found
Someone I've loved
Someone I've lost in fog

The message was lost, the picture was clear
I followed your call till no-one was near
Now I'm left in the dark while you're fog-dancing.

I drift through the days that fade into grey
The picture dissolves when you enter the frame
I follow your trail, I follow desire

The cry of the dog, the howl of the world
And somewhere above there's a crow in the clouds
Laughing away while we're fog-dancing.

I drift through the days that fade into grey
The picture dissolves when you enter the frame
I followed your trail I followed you fog-dancing

Where no one can see and no one can hear
And no one's aware of the passion we feel
They all disappear when we're fog-dancing

I heard your laugh I turned around
To face someone else I once knew I once found
Someone I'd loved
Someone I'd lost in fog
Lost in fog
Lost in fog
Lost in fog
I'm lost in fog.


OBLIGATORY BALLAD

Time was when I called you before we went to sleep
No matter where we were,
No matter the moment, no matter the time
Time was when the words we spoke were always true,
There was no need to lie or hide at that time the answers we knew,
There were no questions, there was no need, our love was there to be believed
But in time the passion seemed to appear so obligatory.

Time was when the moments seemed to last forever,
Time was when we never thought we would be anything but together,
Lonely people in separate rooms, lonely people with nothing to do,
Lonely people just like me and you, so predictable, so sadly true,
So sadly true, so obligatory,
Just like me and you, so obligatory, so obligatory.

If time will be a healer then time will be my friend
And in time the shadows lift and I can begin to live again,
But in the hollows of this aching heart remains a soul that was torn apart
And in time I will make a new start, oh so obligatory,
Learn to love again, oh so obligatory, so obligatory.
I will love again, so obligatory.

Once upon a time it was easy to say I love you, I love you,
I still love you, so obligatory,
It all became so obligatory. 


PILGRIM'S ADDRESS

Mr President, you don't know my name,
But you could find it if you really cared,
Because I pay my taxes and I pay my dues,
All I ask for in return is the truth.
Can we just be honest, I've heard that speech is free
So please believe me that this address is sincere
I'm no-one special, just a regular guy
But I just can't keep on wondering why
That the shells we fired they now kill our own
And we waste away like shadows in our homes.

I fell from blue skies, fought through desert storms
I froze in firefights, I killed someone,
That had a father who loved him just like mine
Who believed the sacrifice was justified
In the name of freedom and in the name of God
While shifting sands hid all our sins and all the blood
In the wake of glory, I flew back home
I watch videos at night in my uniform
Of those towns and cities being blown apart
By those bombs that fool the people by being smart
As they flew down chimneys, flew along corridors
And explode on film and everyone goes 'awe!'

And you read the stories about how no-one's killed
And I think about the photos that I kept
To remind me that it was all for real
And the ghost that I've become will be released
To the sands still shifting that cover all the lies
About what really happened and who really died.
Was it really worth it?
Was it worth the cost?
Did we really take the high ground or have we lost all the moral battles, did we lose the war?
Mr President I need to know for sure
That with all this knowledge, all this control
That we were on the right side after all
That we weren't lied to, that we weren't used
And the country that we fought for still upholds the truth.

Mr President you don't know my name
But you can find it if you really cared
It's on a black wall, it's on a cross of stone
In the Balkan States, the Gulf and close to home
On not so foreign islands out on city streets
Mr President, just tell me why I'm here
This is my question, this is my life, this is my address
Mr President
Mr President, Mr President
This is my address, this is my address, this is my address,
Mr President
Mr President
This is my address. 


CLOCK MOVES SIDEWAYS

Wheels within wheels, turning wheels, tumbling towards a conclusion.
A crimson cascade, the blood in the bowl,
And the mind that you're in is walking the world but you feel like you're walking on water,
Face up to the facts, face up to the truth, face up to reality, you're just being used
There's a spark in your eyes, when she calls you'll explode and she's blaming it all on crossed wires.

When the clocks move sideways, when the clocks move sideways, Fellini days

Fix a stare at the wall, avoiding the accusations that lurk in the mirror, trying to catch my attention,
Reflect on the fact that your life is such a mess.
Whose fault is that anyway?
The shutters are closed, did you lock all the doors?
Arm the alarms? Sheath all the knives?
Unload all the guns? Throw out all the pills?
Did you remember to switch off the TV?
Don't answer the phone,
Provide the impression there's nobody home,
As if there was anyway.
As if there was anyway.

When the clock moves sideways, the clock moves sideways.

Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock
Tock, tock, tock, tock...

When the clock moves sideways, when the clock moves sideways
Fellini days
Fugazi
Don't answer the phone
Fugazi

Wheels within wheels within wheels,
Tumbling towards a conclusion,
Wheels within wheels within wheels,
Tumbling towards a conclusion,
Tumbling towards a conclusion,
Tumbling towards a conclusion

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
For auld lang syne
For auld lang syne
Fellini days
Fellini days
Fellini days

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


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