Raingods With Zippos Cary NC

Raingods With Zippos

Fish

Roadrunner Records, 1999

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 06/02/1999

When it comes to talking about the Scottish singer Fish, thereare a couple of schools of approach. Number one is the fan who hasfollowed his work from the days he spent fronting Marillion in the'80s; they might have a harder time separating his solo effortsfrom the work he did with Marillion. Then, there's my school:someone who heard precious little of Fish's work until getting hislatest solo release, Raingods With Zippos.

Now, I immediately realize that I'm put at a disadvantage inthat I can't compare his work to either his days with Marillion orany of his other solo albums. However, letting this disc be mymaiden voyage allows me to ignore all the words written about him,and approach the disc with unbiased ears. And, taking the disc viathis manner, it proves to be reminiscent of Genesis in many ways,but is both original and entertaining.

The gentle piano strains that open "Tumbledown" help to lure thelistener into a false sense of security; before you know it, Fishand his backing band whip things into an electric frenzy, and takethis tune into areas previously thought untouchable. Some of thechord progressions on this one are a bit uncomfortable, though, andthis might not have been the best way to kick things off.

After a decent but uninspiring performance on "MissionStatement," Fish really gets things cooking (no pun intended) withthe next group of songs. "Incomplete" is carried to new levelsthanks to the duet between Fish and Elisabeth Antwi; it really doeshelp to hammer the point of the song home. Likewise, "Tilted Cross"is a song that is both haunting and beautiful, and is one that willcaptivate the listener.