Fish (Ex-Marillion) Remasters - Any Opinions?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Runicen, Sep 9, 2016.

  1. JonMcK

    JonMcK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    Mine is like that too, definite drop in one channel. From memory it wasn't a complete dropout in the effected channel, just some of the instruments, so I figured it was a mixing error.
     
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  2. Calling All Stations

    Calling All Stations Forum Resident

    Location:
    Texas
    Any word on vinyl reissues of these albums?
     
  3. JulesRules

    JulesRules Weaponized, Deranged Warthog Thug

    Location:
    Germany
    Fish said the funds at the moment are too tight for vinyl reissues, but he is well aware that there's some demand. I'd not rule it out.
     
  4. JulesRules

    JulesRules Weaponized, Deranged Warthog Thug

    Location:
    Germany
    I love this pic from Fish's website:

    [​IMG]
     
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  5. AdrianSoundchaser

    AdrianSoundchaser Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sheffield, UK
    Mine's in there somewhere!
     
  6. AdrianSoundchaser

    AdrianSoundchaser Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sheffield, UK
    Anyone looking for good live Fish, I can heartily recommend the two live discs in the Misplaced Childhood box. You'll have to buy the whole thing of course, but the Utrecht concert is top notch.

    Reminded me of Fish's 'official bootleg releases from the 90s. Lots of banter, lots of atmosphere and a killer setlist.
     
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  7. JulesRules

    JulesRules Weaponized, Deranged Warthog Thug

    Location:
    Germany
    Just listened to it today. Amazing. Fish at the end of "Fugazi", just wow. His singing in general. Also his announcements, lol.
     
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  8. AdrianSoundchaser

    AdrianSoundchaser Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sheffield, UK
    Yeah. A shame his voice has gone now but listening to what he did with it in the 80s (and all the drinking) it's hardly a surprise. He can paste over the problems in the studio but most recent live stuff is painful to listen to. The only recent live album I can recommend is Communion. He's not straining much on that and has excellent support. The acoustic setting obviously helped!
     
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  9. JulesRules

    JulesRules Weaponized, Deranged Warthog Thug

    Location:
    Germany
    I do confess I rolled my eyes when I heard the bit about the "private bar" on stage...
     
  10. Barnabas Collins

    Barnabas Collins Senior Member

    Location:
    NH
    I wouldn't think all the years of smoking have helped his voice either. I don't think he ever stopped. In the booklet of the Misplaced Childhood 5.1, there is a recent full band photo and you can clearly see a cigarette in Fish's fingers.
     
  11. dpv2008

    dpv2008 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ukraine
    As for smoking I agree with you. Cigarettes are not good things for the voice.
     
  12. Runicen

    Runicen Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Been making another pass through the reissues. Sunsets on Empire today...

    The demos have grown on me a bit and it's interesting to hear Steven Wilson putting in lead guitar bits that would be stripped before the album went to press. Gives a clearer sense of his stamp on proceedings than I gave it credit for.

    I'm still struck by how badly Fish's voice had degraded by even this point. There are points on the album and demos where he's resorted to speak-singing where before he would have been belting out. Even on Suits, for all the flak it gets, you never had that unless it was deliberately intended to be a spoken word passage. What the hell did he do to his pipes? That can't just be cigarettes at work.
     
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  13. ytserush

    ytserush Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northeast US

    I'm really loving The Movable Feast (his latest live album.) Communion is one of the Fan Club gigs right? (Too lazy to check the shelf!)
     
  14. Runicen

    Runicen Forum Resident Thread Starter

    On my second pass through Raingods with Zippos, I find myself appreciating "Plague of Ghosts" far more - good thing too as it's on this reissue some five times in total (original studio take, a studio run-through, the original ideas demo on which it was built, and two live versions).

    This album is definitely a grower overall and I appreciate the bonus material more as I go. Funny enough, it's really interesting how "Plague of Ghosts" developed considering that the original demo was pretty insubstantial in a lot of ways. Ironically, it sounds like a very early attempt at a long piece by Steven Wilson. There are a number of things I would swear were his work in the more atmospheric passages - which is wild considering he had nothing to do with it. Unsure if the original writers of the piece were fans of or influenced by SW, but it wouldn't shock me to learn it. Granted, it needed a LOT of work to get into the finished shape we recognize.
     
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  15. AdrianSoundchaser

    AdrianSoundchaser Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sheffield, UK
    This one's next on my list to buy. I've always thought Plague Of Ghosts is brilliant but side 1 is a bit patchy.
     
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  16. Runicen

    Runicen Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Side 1 is worth the price of admission for "Incomplete" alone. That song belongs in a top 5 list for Fish.
     
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  17. Dr Mike

    Dr Mike Forum Resident

    SW played guitar on "Plague of Ghosts." I'm certain part of the idea was to replicate the success Fish had experienced with SW on Sunsets on Empire, although I don't know the extent to which SW was involved in anything beyond performance. (I suspect the answer is "not at all.") I think it definitely is influenced by SW, although to me it sounds more like the Up the Downstair era of SW's songwriting rather than anything he did on Sunsets.
     
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  18. ytserush

    ytserush Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northeast US

    Oddly that wasn't a favorite of mine from that album.

    I was fortunate to catch a few shows live from this tour and everything sounded great.
     
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  19. Runicen

    Runicen Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I forget where I read this, but I think it was in conjunction with SW's work with Marillion on their Marillion.com album where SW talked about how he found the process of writing/producing with Fish far too time and energy intensive where he preferred just going in and producing. I'm paraphrasing, perhaps badly, but I recall it referenced directly his diminished involvement on Raingods.
     
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  20. Runicen

    Runicen Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Still trucking through these reissues. On to Fellini Days today.

    Funny thing is, this was probably my favorite of this run of albums before getting into the reissues and I find it has lost a bit of shine as the others have grown in my estimation. Not that it's a bad album, but the arrangements and production leave a little something to be desired in a subtle way. For example, there's an acoustic demo of "Our Smile" included here that is far superior to the album take. It's a song that benefits from a slower, sparser treatment and the album take is all bouncy beat and busy guitars - it's always rubbed me up the wrong way and felt like a weak point in the album proper.

    The demos included here are mostly instrumental, which directs a lot more attention to the strength of the instrumental backing. Again, I'm not sure why this doesn't come across more in the album takes.

    So... The album seems weaker at this point, but the songs seem stronger as a result of the accompanying demos and live tracks? Yeah, I'm not sure I understand this one either. :D
     
  21. Runicen

    Runicen Forum Resident Thread Starter

    And we're through the lot with Field of Crows.

    When it comes to bonus material, this is probably the weakest of the lot, with a few instrumental demos and mostly live versions that don't deviate too much from the studio takes to round out the three discs. Fortunately, the entire album was remixed, so there's still something to recommend splashing out for a copy.

    Without playing the two mixes side-by-side, I can't make specific comments on where the differences lie. Personally, I'm inclined to hear a bit more lushness to the remix than I remember in the original album mix (which I enjoyed just fine, thank you). It just seems like there's more separation in the instruments and it has a much more Earthy quality where before it sounded like a modern album someone was trying to make sound Earthy, if that makes any kind of sense.

    This is one album where I wish they'd pulled back on the compression a bit as there are plenty of moments in these songs that would benefit from greater dynamic variance. It never seems to take its foot off the gas and it needs to from time to time. That said, it's far from an unlistenable brickwall. The compression simply aggravates when you're waiting for a dynamic shift down in some of these tracks.

    Personally, I really rank this album, so aside from the compression quibble, the remix is a welcome addition (I'm keeping my original copy so I have both versions in my collection) and the live tracks are inoffensive, if slight, additions to this release.
     
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  22. Merrick

    Merrick The return of the Thin White Duke

    Location:
    Portland
    Anyone else having an issue accessing Fish’s online store? I keep getting a warning from my browser saying the site might be a redirect attempt to steal my info.
     
  23. JonMcK

    JonMcK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    I got that yesterday too. He’s got a new site that works fine, and the old one is supposed to redirect, but clearly there are issues.

    If you didn’t already, then try fishmusic.scot
     
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  24. Merrick

    Merrick The return of the Thin White Duke

    Location:
    Portland
    Yes, that worked! Thank you.

    So for those who have both the remastered and the old CDs, are the new ones worth getting? I’ve seen a few comments but most have been focused on packaging or musical content.
     
  25. Runicen

    Runicen Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I stupidly wore out on the A/B comparisons and ditched my old copies for all of my duplicates except for A Field of Crows since the mixes are different.

    Honestly, none of these are remarkably dynamic albums and none of them seem to have been ruined by whatever remastering they were subjected to (I would have preferred increased dynamics, but we got what we got). So, based on that, what we're left with is the additional musical content or the books to make a sale for someone who already has everything.

    The books are great and go into a lot of detail from Fish's perspective about what was going on in his life at the time, some song inspirations, etc. I'd say they're phenomenal. Obviously, the appeal will vary from person to person. I expect I'll be reading and re-reading these going forward, so they add value to me.

    As for the additional content, there's a lot of duplication on all four albums. In some cases, it works. In others, less so. I'd say the least successful is Sunsets on Empire simply because the demos don't really do much other than show how haggard Fish's voice was even in the pre-production part of that album's genesis. It's nice to hear more unadulterated Steven Wilson in the mix, but again, that won't appeal to everyone.

    Personally, I'd say they're worth picking up if you're that interested in hearing a new mix of Field of Crows or if you want the books. The rest is kind of gravy. The additional live tracks are nice, but hardly essential.
     
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