Fish (aka Derek Dick) left the progressive rock group Marillion in 1988 to pursue a solo career. Over the course of the remainder of the 20th Century the artist was quite prolific, releasing one disc in the '80s and fifteen in the '90s. While his output in the first decade of the 21st century paled in comparison, he kept reasonably busy with new product.
Fellini Days
"Fellini Days" was originally released as a mail order only album in May of 2001, but got wider release a few months later. The title referred to the Italian film director Federico Fellini. The album found Fish moving away from his more purely progressive rock roots and focusing more on mainstream melodic rock music.
Fellini Nights
Recorded during the tour for "Fellini Days," 2002's "Fellini Nights" was a two CD live album. Unlike many earlier Fish live releases, there were no Marillion tunes on the set. Instead the material all came from Fish's solo recordings and quite a few tracks from the "Fellini Days" were featured.
Sashimi: Live in Poznan, Poland, 1999
Live albums certainly dominate the Fish solo catalog, and "Sashimi: Live in Poznan, Poland, 1999" was the 2003 entry into the collection. It was another double disc set and featured a more progressive rock oriented set list including both a Fish solo suite and Marillion tunes, along with other material from Fish's solo career. The only question became, "do we really need another live Fish album?"
Field of Crows
"Field of Crows" was released in 2004. The disc was a welcome sign for the fans of the more Marillion oriented period of Fish's solo output. While there were no multi-track suites, the disc had music that leaned more on the progressive rock side of things than "Fellini Days" had. The music was fairly evenly balanced between mellower, more melodic cuts and rockers.
Return to Childhood: 20th Anniversary Tour of Misplaced Childhood
Fish fans longing for the days of Marillion were rewarded with the 2006 live album "Return to Childhood: 20th Anniversary Tour of Misplaced Childhood." While the first disc of the set was composed of Fish solo works, the second CD featured tunes from the singer's Marillion tenure.
That Marillion set started with the "Misplaced Childhood" album performed in its entirety. While that alone would please fans of that period, Fish didn't stop there. "Incommunicado" from "Clutching At Straws" was also included, but so were the older tunes, "Market Street Heroes" and "Fugazi." All in all, this second disc made this set the one that the Marillion fans would want to own, if they only owned one live Fish album.
Communion
While 2007's "Communion" continued the tradition of double disc live albums from the Scottish singer, the concept was a change. The concert captured was an acoustic performance. The songs (both solo and Marillion tracks) all took on a more intimate and emotional texture in that stripped down format. It made the disc another that stood out amongst a sea of Fish live releases.
13th Star
In 2008 Fish released his last studio album (and last album at all) for the first decade of the 21st Century. Many fans heralded the disc as his best solo work. While that opinion wasn't universal, in general it was considered one of his best solo CDs by the majority of fans.
The music was well balanced in terms of harder rocking and mellower. In some ways the disc covered more musical territory than anything else in Fish's solo catalog with some songs bordering on heavy metal.
While Fish didn't release as many albums in the first decade of the 21st Century, he seemed to be more selective with the quality and scope. In many ways that makes the discs from the era stand out better than other parts of his solo catalog. It seems likely that the second decade of the century will see more material released from Fish. With that new emphasis on quality, it bodes well for future Fish music.
