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Editorial Reviews

A lot of fans of Yes and Chris Squire may well feel as though they died and went to heaven -- or wonder if they're dreaming how good this release is -- when they start in on the second disc in this CD/DVD set. Yes-like in every possible aspect, Chris Squire's Fish out of Water was an album typical of his band's progressive formula: softened keyboard extensions à la Patrick Moraz, steady yet atmospheric percussion work from Bill Bruford, and a smattering of flute and saxophone accompanying a small orchestra, with effective horn and harp work. Squire's guitar playing was standard, coming to life the most on "Silently Falling" and "Lucky Seven," the former boosted by a rather dazzling synthesizer solo from Moraz. Even though there are few surprises laid out on the album's five tracks, the elemental composition of pure '70s progressive rock is strewn across each song from start to finish. Squire even sounds like Jon Anderson, especially on "Hold out Your Hand," and each of the song's melodies cater to Squire's vocal ascent. Fish out of Water harbored some firm instrumental and vocal crossbreeding while remaining well within the prog rock norm. This 2007 Castle Music reissue takes all of that and broadens and deepens it exponentially, adding a DVD that includes not only the promotional videos (complete with an orchestra in full-dress) for "Hold out Your Hand" and "You by My Side," with Moraz and Bruford present as well; and a wonderfully extensive interview from November of 2006, in which Squire recalls the circumstances behind Fish out of Water and the songs represented on it, his approach to his instrument and his influences, some of the secrets behind his sound in the studio, and numerous other aspects of his work. (He also goes out of his way to praise composer/arranger Andrew Jackman, who played a key role in the creation of the album). By itself, this interview is worth the purchase price of this double-disc set, not only for fans of Squire's playing but more general listeners of Yes, as well. But then, to add to the value of this bonus disc, the producers have included an optional commentary section -- Squire, on camera, with the album running in the background on audio, talks us through each track and the background, history, and development of each song, intercutting with relevant video material (where available), and even delving into such matters as the stylistic connections between "Hold out Your Hand" and "Ritual" from Tales from Topographic Oceans, and of the whole album to Yes' Relayer. (Indeed, he ranges across his entire career, leaving few aspects of the music untouched, and seeing and hearing this section of the DVD, one longs for someone to do the same with the five members of Yes on Tales from Topographic Oceans or Close to the Edge -- or, for that matter, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Martin talking us through Sgt. Pepper's). This release is a chance to totally immerse oneself, head to toe, in the music, and it works better than you might expect it to. Needless to say, it should be a mandatory purchase for any even slightly serious fan of either Yes or Squire's playing. ~ Mike DeGagne & Bruce Eder, All Music Guide All Music Guide

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