Review Summary: This is excellent stuff. Fish proves a lot of his strength.
“A Feast Of Consequences” is the tenth studio album of Fish. The line up on the album is Fish, as usual, besides the participation of many other artists as guests in several roles.
Derek William Dick, better known as Fish, is a Scottish singer, songwriter and actor. He achieved prominence as the lead singer and lyricist of the neo-progressive rock band Marillion from 1981 until 1988. With Marillion he recorded four studio albums. In his solo career he explored contemporary pop and traditional folk and rock, having recorded eleven studio albums. Music critics have acknowledged Fish for his voice, which has been described as both “distinct” and a “conflation of Roger Daltrey and Peter Gabriel”. About his lyrics they have been generally praised as “poetic prose”.
It has been six years since Fish’s last studio album, “13th Star” and this one, “A Feast Of Consequences”. This new album has taken time to put together with Fish wanting to make sure that it was top notch both lyrically and musically but also in the illustrations and design. Fish spent a weekend at The Somme in the First World War battlefields in France. It inspired him to write the “High Wood” suite and helped to develop the illustrations and artwork of the album. Musically and lyrically, the album moves away from excessive complexity to place enormous emphasis on emotion, folk and narrative. It stands out for its more organic acoustic textures and Fish’s restrained and deep voice, which here has the important support of backing vocals by singer Elisabeth Troy Antwi. The album is considered by critics and fans as one of the masterpieces of his post-Marillion career. In terms of visuals, the album’s artwork is fundamental to it.
“Perfume River” opens the album and sets the tone. It has two distinct sections. The first is an atmospheric prog rock piece with excellent rhythmic drumming from Griffiths and swiping keyboards from Paterson. The second is a more up-beat rock section led by an acoustic guitar. Vocally, it’s the best Fish has sounded in quite a while. “All Loved Up” is a more straightforward track. It’s a pop rock number based around a simple riff from Boult. It’s just a melodic song that makes a statement about today’s society. “Blind To The Beautiful” is a nice acoustic number. It’s the first track on the album to prominently feature Elizabeth on the backing vocals. She harmonises well with Fish. Towards the end, there’s a good violin solo from Aidan O’Rourke that personifies the melancholy of the track. The title track is another straight ahead rocker based around a neat riff from Boult. All three main components of the track are excellent. The main verses have a nice groove. The pre-chorus backed by the piano is delicate and that leads nicely into the catchiest chorus on it.
The “High Wood” suite is the centrepiece of this album. It’s composed by tracks, “High Wood”, “Crucifix Corner”, “The Gathering”, “Thistle Alley” and “The Leaving”. “High Wood”, after a gentle intro, is pretty dramatic with some spiky guitar work and almost orchestral keyboard parts, leading beautifully into “Crucifix Corner”. Atmospheric is a good word to describe the opening of “Crucifix Corner”. Fish’s voice and the piano intertwine well as the track slowly builds up and it’s not long before Boult’s big guitars come in. Fish’s vocal melodies are possibly some of the best that he has ever come up with. My favourite part of the “High Wood” suite is perhaps “The Gathering”. From there, the album moves onto “Thistle Alley” which is very different from “The Gathering”. It’s a dark piece that sees Fish almost approaching metal territory, in places. “The Leaving” sums up the suite. It’s a poignant and intelligent piece, certainly very emotional for him. I have to congratulate Fish, as the “High Wood” suite is easily the best series of songs on the subject of war I’ve ever listened to till now. “The Other Side Of Me” is a typical Fish ballad. Elisabeth’s vocal contributions are again excellent and feature the first proper guitar solo from Boult on the album. “The Great Unravelling” brings the album to a nice close. I like the call and response vocals from Fish and Elisabeth and the really atmospheric keyboards. It also has the best instrumental break of any song on the album as Boult finally cuts loose for a really monster solo, which is the last thing you really hear before “A Feast Of Consequences” ends, indeed.
Conclusion: I don’t know if “A Feast Of Consequences” is his best solo work, as I read sometimes. But, what I know is this is just an album brilliantly written. It’s quite long, but it’s so well paced that it just flies by without every feeling boring or contrived. I must say this is an album that still is growing on me and that’s another thing that makes this an excellent album. The album balances intensely by personal reflections with harsh social criticism, focusing on human nature and the weight of our decisions. The heart of the album is the acclaimed “High Wood Suite”, a true epic concept work, in a dark and poetic way, the tragedies and horrors of the First World War. Musically, the album stands out for the return of guitarist Robin Boult (co-writer of several songs), its meticulous production and its graphic design, as usual.
Music was my first love.
John Miles (Rebel)
