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Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius
Mark and I return for the first time in the 15th year of the YMP this week to discuss some of what we believe are the most important aspects of the classic Chris Squire solo album, Fish Out Of Water. I do mention that it’s 50 years since its release but, as you probably know, we are a bit late to the party. The official release date was November 1975 but that doesn’t affect any of the points we make in our conversation. As we didn’t celebrate the real 50th anniversary, we are making up for that today. Do let us know what your thoughts are on this amazing record by leaving a comment in the show notes for this week.
- What makes this album so good?
- Is it the best Yes member solo album?
- Who else was involved?
Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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- Ken Fuller
- Jeffrey Crecelius
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7 replies on “50+ years of Fish Out Of Water – 703”
Fish Out of Water is BY FAR the best solo album of the Yes Men. It’s so different than a typical rock album of that era (or this era). It is well analyzed and appreciated in the Thomas Mosbo’s book: YES, but what does it mean?
Thanks Dave. Yes, I agree that this record is very different and special!
At the time the Squire and Howe albums were the only two of the five
“Relayer” / “Yesterdays” era solo sets that I bought. I’ve never been the biggest “Olias” fan (a bit bloodless for my taste, then and now) but I wish I had passed on “Beginnings” and bought “Story Of I” when that came out the following year. Money for new records was never plentiful and duds were unaffordable. 20/20 hindsight and all that.
Fortunately “Fish Out Of Water” came out just a few days before my 14th birthday and I had a fiver from my aunty (which was a lot of money in 1975) burning a hole in my pocket.
I don’t think OGWT had yet shown the famous clip of Hold Out Your Hand and I don’t remember Nicky Horne playing anything from the record either so I was going in sight unseen (sound unheard?) but I remember going to Virgin Marble Arch (still can’t shake the wonderful smell of the shrink wrapping machine that used to permeate the whole store) after school, buying it and taking it home for a first spin while pretending to do my homework.
If you are unfamiliar it’s a wonderful record (it walks into my top 5 Yes and Yes related albums) and one of those very rare solo albums by members of a mega rock band (while still an active member of the band in question) that completely stands up on its own merits. And some. Donald Fagan’s “Nightfly” and Ron Wood’s “Now Look” come in a fairly distant second and third in that category. Which is some standard, I tell you.
All these years later I have never for a single moment’s listening hankered after a contribution from Howe or Anderson. I just wish he had done more a lot more studio work under his own flag. Though perhaps the fact that it is so singular is what makes it so special. Maybe he thought he couldn’t hope to match it?
Anyway, another very good episode that had me digging out the album this morning for one more spin.
As I’ve said online for many years, Fish is the best Yes solo album from ’75/’76, my favorite, and still my favorite Chris album that’s not a Yes album with him. I played the entire album on my radio show on its release day in Dec. ’75, and tracks from it throughout the following years. I have the original audiotape, original album, 8-track tape, Japanese versions, the ’06 and ’07 releases, and the re-release box set. Chris, Bill & Patrick signed 3 copies of the album for me in the 70s, and Chris signed an album for me another time. I love everything about it: the music, the playing, the singing, the production, the artwork and gatefold album, the lyrics, the mix of rock and jazz, and the addition of strings, brass and woodwinds. All in all, a perfect album.
Happy new year to you Kevin, Mark, and the crew of the best podcast online 🙂
I loved this episode on the Fish Out of Water album. I remember seeing the Lp in the early 80s in a local record shop (in MIssissauga, Mark’s neck of the woods I believe) having no knowledge of its existence before, and bringing it home as if it were a rare jewel…!
I’d have liked a comparison on the last (box style) reissue versus the original, but what you presented made my day anyways. (Why is the Jakko remix considered so terrible?)
One more thing if I may: I’d love to hear an episode about the “Solo Albums” tour, specifically getting into the weeds on the full-band versions of the “Fish” tracks and the other numbers played live. Incredible, that they did that at all! And is the Roanoke ’76 show the best concert available from this era?
Thanks again fellows, and I wish you all at the YMP towers an incredible 2026. Keep on keeping us up with your research!
A lot of love for this album which I’ve dabbled with over the years but never really fully engaged with. Maybe the Bluray/surround/5.1 etc may be worth a final spin to help convince me one way or the other!
As far as solo albums are concerned, I guess Jon Steve and Rick, having so many between them, must feature significantly. Rick’s classic early albums – 6 Wives, Journey, Arthur and especially the recent live versions in the Palladium box set are well worth a revisit. As a big fan of JA, I have a soft spot for Olias, Song of Seven and Animation, but never really engaged with the Howe solo stuff. Perhaps if he didn’t sing?!?! i don;t really think any of the outliers quite match, so at a push, I think if asked fro my personal fave solo Yes album, it would have to be Olias (just edging Animation!)
The Derek Shulman book, mentioned at the beginning of this episode, is truly great. What a story — both personal and professional — and from a world class gent, as anyone who has seen or heard him discuss it will attest. I recommend it to all fans of prog, even if Gentle Giant is a band that you might not have been able to fully get into, like me at first.