Raingods with Zippos

Fish | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 26, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: United States Dist
• ASIN: B000078JLY
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,120,996 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Tumbledown

2. Mission Statement

3. Incomplete

4. Tilted Cross

5. Faith Healer

6. Rites of Passage/Plague of Ghosts

7. Plague of Ghosts, Pt. 1: Old Haunts

8. Plague of Ghosts, Pt. 2: Digging Deep

9. Plague of Ghosts, Pt. 3: Chocolate Frogs

10. Plague of Ghosts, Pt. 4: Waving at Stars

11. Plague of Ghosts, Pt. 5: Raingod's Dancing

12. Plague of Ghosts, Pt. 6: Wake-Up Call (Make It Happen)

Editorial Reviews

Fish's 5th solo album from 1999 followed on from Sunsets On Empire in that it again included Porcupine Tree's Steve Wilson and built on the positive reviews that album had received.

It includes a great cover of Alex Harvey's Faith Healer, but the main praise was centered on the epic 25 minute Plague Of Ghosts suite featured on the second half of the album. Comments like '...a fantastic collection of epic and sweeping songs... one of the best suites of music Fish has ever collated ...tour de force ...well worth the wait ...' proved the album would rate as one of the fans future favourites.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Vigil-style Fish has returned at last!, July 12, 1999

By 

Richard P Superfine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Raingods With Zippos (Audio CD)

When I found out that there was a new Fish album out, I was very pleased, but was just hoping that we would see a return to the Vigil-style Fish, rather than the rather commercial sounding Fish we've witnessed with offerings like 'Suits' and 'Sunsets'. Well, here's my rundown of the tracks:

Tumbledown: A nice catchy number to start the album, with a delightful piano introduction, which also ends the track. Strong guitar sounds, and toe-tapping rhythm. 7/10

Mission Statement: Hmmm. I don't particularly like this track, although it's bearable. The lyrics are simplistic, by Fish standards, and this is definately the most commercial offering on the CD. 3/10

Incomplete: A gorgeous ballad, consisitng of acoustic guitar, moving lyrics, and great harmonies. Don't like the sudden ending though. 8/10

Tilted Cross: Another ballad, although not as good as Incomplete. Lyrics sung with a kind of a vibrato effect. 7/10

Faithhealer: This is the rocking tune on the CD - the studio version of the pre-released live version. True hardcore Fish this one. 7/10

Rites of Passage: This track is definately more focussed on the lyrics than the music, telling us of how, in real life, not everything has a happy ending. It has a nice melodic ending though. 7/10

Plague of Ghosts: Now, this is good stuff, and IMHO, is what makes this album so great. Listen to this on headphones, loud:

Old Haunts: "I found a home in the darkness" sung a million times. Wonderful background music - haunting sounds. Really sets the stage for what's to come... 7/10

Digging Deep: Great futuristic sounding music, wonderful guitar riffs, great beat, and typical Fish singing/vocal mix. Great stuff this. 10/10

Chocolate Frogs: After Digging Deep has reached its crescendo, we get launched into this haunting sounding track which starts with a Fish vocal, but goes into singing. The background sounds mimic the sound of waves lapping at the shore. 9/10

Waving at Stars: Gotta love the intro into this track, which builds up throughout the song. 7/10

RainGods Dancing: I love this piece. It has a wonderfully flowing piano in the background, and powerful lyrics, which reference back to Tumbledown. 10/10

The Wake-Up Call (Make it Happen): A rather simplistic song, but works well to end the epic. It's a shame that it fades out, rather than comes to a definitive end. 7/10

So, overall I give the CD 7.5/10 = 4 stars. Get rid of Mission Statement, and I'd give it a 5! Well worth getting, if only for Plague of Ghosts. And yes, the Vigil-style Fish is back!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars His strongest yet, January 2, 2000

By 

Stegen (Grafton, NH, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Raingods With Zippos (Audio CD)

I have all of Fish's albums and this is his most impressive. While all of his recordings have been quite good, I feel this is his most balanced in terms of tone-- tunes on this recording run the gamut from rather hard-driving to quite mellow. As usual, however, his original and innovative style shines and is never boring.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fish - Worth Owning For Plague Of Ghosts, February 28, 2007

By 

Steven Sly (Kalamazoo, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Raingods With Zippos (Audio CD)

After dealing with record company woes from his previous release, Fish signs on to Roadrunner records for this album with the strange title. I've listened to this album many times and I still don't know the meaning of the title. Maybe it's a Scottish thing. "Raingods" gets incredibly mixed reviews from Fish fans. A lot of people thought it was pure crap while other thought is was one of his best. For me it is not his best release, but there is a lot to enjoy here. The first half of the album is shorter songs, none of them spectacular, but a few stand out. "Tumbledown" is a nice leadoff track and probably was written as a single. "Incomplete", "Tilted Cross", Rites Of Passage" are all decent enough songs and work fairly well with Fish at the helm. The songs that don't work as well are "Mission Statement" which is just kind of an overall weak track. Fish also does a cover of The Sensational Alex Harvey Band's "Faith Healer". It is ok, but really does not add much from the original. By far the highlight of the album though is the final section of the album, the 25 minute plus epic "Plague Of Ghosts". "Plague" is the most prog oriented work that Fish has tackled since the "Vigil" album, and for the most part it works very well. "Plague" is divided up into 6 sections that run in the 3 to 6 minute range. My only complaint is that the whole thing kind of peters out towards the end as the last section "Wake Up Call" is kind of a soft ending to the whole thing. That being said, this album is worth owning for "Plague Of Ghosts" alone and for me this was a good solid album from Fish.