Customer Reviews

Bish

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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Stephen Bishop's 1978 second album, "Bish" (titled after his nickname, of course), is an ambitious effort with very much of a cinematic feel to it--it figures that this guy has done lots of soundtrack work over the years. It's telling that Bish starts the album off with an instrumental cover version of "The Wizard Of Oz" tune "If I Only Had A Brain". There's also the brief "Recognized" which seems like something that was written for a 1920s musical, and the same thing pretty much goes for "What Love Can Do", the latter of which adds caveman-style background vocals to the mix. Admittedly, these 3 aforementioned tracks are ultimately all minor works. However, there are a bunch of gems here showcasing Bishop's classy songwriting, as well as his highly expressive and smooth vocals. The piano lead orchestrated ballad "Looking For The Right One" is tender and affecting. "Everybody Needs Love" is an incredibly catchy uptempo song with an infectious extended high note from Bishop that arrives toward the end. The dramatic, epic ballad "A Fool At Heart" is sumptuous. The brilliant "Vagabond From Heaven" is an exciting uptempo song with witty lyrics seemingly about his troubles with his stepfather as a kid. The fittingly tropical-flavored "Bish's Hideaway" is a soothing, sighing ballad with defeatist lyrics and excellent melodicism. "I've Never Known A Nite Like This" is an evocative song with a 'rainy day' feel on the verses and a great catchy chorus. Also very pleasant is the mid-tempo pop-rocker "Losing Myself In You" which has Michael McDonald on background vocals. "Only The Heart Within You" is a quality piece of songwriting, but unfortunately it's very much marred by the overproduction/ excessive synthesizer layers. The album closer "When I Was In Love" is okay, but weepy. So, "Bish" is certainly a flawed album, but the great stuff makes it a mighty fine album anyway. If all you have from Bish is the "On And On--The Hits Of Stephen Bishop" and/ or his "20th Century Masters" disc, and you want to dig deeper, you won't regret getting a copy of "Bish".

"Bish" was lovingly reissued on CD in 2005 by Hip-O-Select Records, with excellent remastering, as well as a recreation of the layout of the original gatefold vinyl LP--if you're looking to get the album, this is the version I recommend you go for.

This is one of my very favourite albums. I bought it back in 1978 and have been playing it regularly ever since. I've never tired of it. It's a very "complete" album, with no dud songs you'll want to skip past. Stephen Bishop's lyrics are memorable and unusual as always; songs like Vagabond from Heaven take quite a while to lodge in your brain but once they do... you just wish Stephen had been a little more prolific. This album is very nearly as good as his Careless album.

Not the kind of music you would expect out this songwriter. Varying music types and rhythms lead to richly layered songs highlighted by lyrics of characters and lost loves. I'm pleased to see that is finally available. I origionally bought this on cassette for 1 track. Although I was not a great fan of MR. Bishop I found myself being taken in by this recording on it's first listening. My often repaired cassette can now be retired and now I can enjoy this recording without fear of hearing it for the last time.

Beautiful replica of original gatefold LP cover.
Remastering is terrific - warm and natural.

This album is a classic that followed up
one of the greatest debut albums ever, Careless,
which is also available in a deluxe reissue like this one.
BISH is almost as strong and durable as
Careless was, which is quite amazing.
Great songs and performances.

Bish's 3rd album (Red Cab To Manhattan) is also wonderful,
and was just re-released by Wounded Bird records.

Stephen Bishop's 1978 second album, "Bish" (titled after his nickname, of course), is an ambitious effort with very much of a cinematic feel to it--it figures that this guy has done lots of soundtrack work over the years. It's telling that Bish starts the album off with an instrumental cover version of "The Wizard Of Oz" tune "If I Only Had A Brain". There's also the brief "Recognized" which seems like something that was written for a 1920s musical, and the same thing pretty much goes for "What Love Can Do", the latter of which adds caveman-style background vocals to the mix. Admittedly, these 3 aforementioned tracks are ultimately all minor works. However, there are a bunch of gems here showcasing Bishop's classy songwriting, as well as his highly expressive and smooth vocals. The piano lead orchestrated ballad "Looking For The Right One" is tender and affecting. "Everybody Needs Love" is an incredibly catchy uptempo song with an infectious extended high note from Bishop that arrives toward the end. The dramatic, epic ballad "A Fool At Heart" is sumptuous. The brilliant "Vagabond From Heaven" is an exciting uptempo song with witty lyrics seemingly about his troubles with his stepfather as a kid. The fittingly tropical-flavored "Bish's Hideaway" is a soothing, sighing ballad with defeatist lyrics and excellent melodicism. "I've Never Known A Nite Like This" is an evocative song with a 'rainy day' feel on the verses and a great catchy chorus. Also very pleasant is the mid-tempo pop-rocker "Losing Myself In You" which has Michael McDonald on background vocals. "Only The Heart Within You" is a quality piece of songwriting, but unfortunately it's very much marred by the overproduction/ excessive synthesizer layers. The album closer "When I Was In Love" is okay, but weepy. So, "Bish" is certainly a flawed album, but the great stuff makes it a mighty fine album anyway. If all you have from Bish is the "On And On--The Hits Of Stephen Bishop" and/ or his "20th Century Masters" disc, and you want to dig deeper, you won't regret getting a copy of "Bish".

Following on from the hugely popular album "Careless" (his debut released December 1976 on ABC Records in the both the States and UK) - "Bish" was more of the same - only in many ways a classier effort - and one that is beloved by fans to this day.

On CD, there's been budget issues of some of its tracks here in the UK on MCA/Half Moon and in the US on the excellent Rhino "Best Of" remaster in 1988, but this is the first proper sonic doing of the entire album and the result I'm happy to say is just beautiful - breathtaking clarity that fans will absolutely delight in - pretty much the same as "Careless" (see separate review).

Released December 2006 in the USA-only, Hip-O Select/Geffen B000298402 is a straightforward reissue of "Bish" - his 2nd LP released August 1978 in the USA on ABC Records AA-1082 and in the UK on ABC Records ABCL 5252 (44:30 minutes total playing time).

This Hip-O Select CD is a US-ONLY LIMITED EDITION of 5000 issued in a 5" hard card gatefold repro sleeve (numbered on the rear). There's also a see-through sepia-printed inner sleeve giving re-issue details. The card sleeve has the words LIMITED EDITION boxed in gold on the rear and the detail even stretches to a pasted-on inner gatefold sleeve like US albums of the time. It's a shame though that there is no history to the album, no proper liner note contributed by the man himself, not even an original release date of the LP or singles or photos from the sessions - still, that all pales against the real deal - the stunning sound...

Universal uses several top engineers (Erick Labson, Ellen Fitton, Suha Gur and Kevin Reeves are among the names I've reviewed before) and GAVIN LURSSEN is one of them. His work here is a sensation (as it was on the 2005 Hip-O Select "Careless" CD). The album "Bish" was beautifully produced by Bishop in the first place - but here all that work comes shining through. The mastering is 'so' sweet - it's like a Mobile Fidelity CD - you feel care was taken with it and the result is a genuine thrill.

Like its predecessor, the tracks are top-heavy with contributions from 'superstars of the day' - "Losing Myself In You" features David Foster on Piano with brilliantly complimentary Michael McDonald Backing Vocals (lyrics above), "Everybody Needs Love" features Ray Parker on Guitar, "A Fool At Heart" features Bill Payne of Little Feat on Keyboards with Natalie Cole and Chaka Khan on Backing Vocals. The opening double track on Side 2 is called "Prelude/Vagabond From Heaven" and it features a lovely keyboard lead-in by Steve Porcaro of Toto on "Prelude" which is in turn followed by more spine-tingling duet vocals from Michael McDonald on "Vagabond From Heaven". The beautiful and plaintive "Only The Heart Within You" has Art Garfunkel on very subtle Backing Vocals towards the end, while Porcaro turns again on "I've Never Known A Night Like This" but this time with Tom Scott on Saxophone. Even the opening instrumental cover version of "The Wizard Of Oz" classic "If I Only Had A Brain" is pretty - setting up a sort of whimsical feel to certain tracks on the album. It's a very nice album indeed...

As a US import, the Hip-O Select label isn't cheap (it received no UK release), but like Ace, Bear Family, Rhino and Raven - their issues are the best. For lovers of the album, this a no-brainer - it's a must have purchase. This reissue of "Bish" is a superlative job done - and recommended big time.

PS: Lurssen's top-notch mastering work is also featured on the 2CD "Gold" anthology by THE CRUSADERS, another Hip-O Select release via Universal (see my separate review).

This is one of the most classic rock romantic albums I own. I have it on vinyl and years ago paid $30.00 for the CD through a Japanese import. This is far better then his greatest hits because the entire album carries a flow on a theme. From the very start with the melody from "If I Only Had a Brain"
I feel the same way about Cat Stevens early CDs, where the greatest hits is NOT the same as the original theme.
If you like the flow of the original intent of an album and not a bunch of disjointed hits but to express a mood, wine, firelight and Bish's smooth vocals, singing about love lost and On and On - this is the album to get. Beautiful!!! Glad to see it released on CD in the USA.

'Bish' - the second album by singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop - is an absolute masterpiece. If I were banished to a desert island and permitted to take just one CD with me, I would have no hesitation whatsoever about choosing 'Bish'.

What makes 'Bish' a masterpiece? First, the album is note-perfect - vocals, instrumentals, orchestration, arrangement - everything is on the top line. Though comprised of brilliantly-composed and perfectly-performed tracks, there is an atmosphere here which makes 'Bish' even more than the sum of its (very exquisite) parts.

Stephen's aim here was to create the romantic, magical atmosphere of the classic musicals, an intent signalled by the use of a small snatch of 'If I Only Had A Brain' as a curtain-raiser. Then we move into the beautiful 'Losing Myself In You', a soothingly warm track which embraces the listener into the romance that is 'Bish'.

If the listener wonders if this standard can be maintained, any such doubts are firmly put to rest with the exquisitely wistful 'Looking For The Right One'.

Stephen steps up the tempo with 'Everybody Needs Love', but does so without deviating from the luxuriantly-orchestrated, move-soundtrack theme which drives and encompasses this wonderful album.

After a short guitar interlude - ideally placed here - we're into 'A Fool At Heart', a lovely, indeed magically-atmospheric composition that, on almost any other album, would be the star track. Here, though, it's in company with so many other great compositions - and the best is yet to come.

'What Love Can Do' is superbly arranged - complete with howling cats - to reinforce the soundtrack-romance atmosphere, and combines lyricism with truly gorgeous arrangement. And then we're into one of the most wonderful of compositions even by the standards of this superlative album - the quirkily brilliant 'Vagabond from Heaven'.

The next track, 'Bish's Hideaway', is the track that you're most likely to be grabbed by on your first listen - it must be one of the loveliest and most wistful ballads ever composed, delivered within the dreamlike ambience that characterises this wonderful album.

That track is extremely hard to follow, but Stephen manages to do so effectively with the slow-tempo, beautifully-arranged 'Only The Heart Within You'.

After the brief (but effective) link of 'Recognized' we're into another truly gorgeous track, 'I've Never Known a Nite Like This'. The wistfulness and soundtrack-atmosphere of the album is fittingly concluded by 'When I Was In Love'.

So there you have it - not just an album, but an experience, beautifully composed, performed, arranged and orchestrated music that cossets you and takes you to a better and a dreamlike place of beauty.

As a solid Bishop fan, this is definitely the one must have Bishop disk.

I think it's fair to say this is Stephen's Sgt. Pepper. Perhaps not a masterpiece in the big picture of the music scene, but a wonderful well crafted album of classic songs!

Aloha,
I was very happy to see that this work was released on CD.
I played the album version so frequently that you could hear side 2 while playing side 1.
Only down side (has to be one right?)
is that the custom cover (which was designed to look like a small record cover) will not fit into my CD holder.
Splitting hairs to be sure, but a wonderful work!