School of Fish

School of Fish | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 9, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B00000DRBL
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,609 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

School of Fish is the debut album by the band of the same name. It was released in March 1991. School of Fish was an alternative rock band which formed in 1989 and disbanded in 1994. The core members were Josh Clayton-Felt and Michael Ward who would play club dates in Los Angeles, California as a duo accompanied by programmed drums and bass. The band signed with Capitol Records in 1990, and released their first single on that same year on 7-inch vinyl. Their self-titled debut was released in March 1991, followed by their first single, "Three Strange Days."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most underrated albums of the 1990's., March 15, 2001

By 

M. Campbell "mhfoster" (Hermance, Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: School of Fish (Audio CD)

School of Fish's self-titled debut was highly praised by critics, yet never really garnered the fame it deserved by the general music-listening public. Some fans of "alternative" may recall the video for their single "Three Strange Days" getting some airplay on MTV. It wasn't their only video; "Take me Anywhere", from their second album _Human Cannonball_ also made it to music television. The two leaders of School of Fish, Josh Clayton-Felt and Michael Ward, created an album full of beautiful ballads and all-out rockers. Besides the catchy "Three Strange Days", other standouts include the bitter and seething "Talk Like Strangers" (one of the best breakup songs ever), the rockin' "King of the Dollar", the anguishing "Deep End", and the beautiful acoustic guitars behind the wistful "Fell". After two brilliant albums, Josh Clayton-Felt and Michael Ward amicably parted ways. Many of you have likely seen Michael playing lead guitar with the Wallflowers (yes, Jakob Dylan's band). Josh Clayton-Felt made a musically lush solo record, _Inarticulate Nature Boy_, and did some extensive touring. He was working on another album in the late '90s; sadly, he lost his battle with cancer in January of 2000. There are plans to release the music he was working on at the time of his death; please keep your eyes and ears peeled for it!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic first release with 'mature rock' sound!, December 1, 2002

By 

"mamlin" (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: School of Fish (Audio CD)

School of Fish's first album, the 1991 release 'School of Fish', is a great album but was, unfortunately, their one-and-only great album. Artistic disagreements between the SOF members and management led to a less-than-stellar second album and the eventual breakup of the band. Fortunately we still have this jewel to enjoy!

The two lead tracks (actually just one song), "Intro/Three Strange Days", still get limited radio play today even though the band remains all-but-unknown. "Three Strange Days" is a smooth, moderately-infectious rocker that preps the listener for the heavily studio-processed sound that's found throughout the album. The only other rock-and-roll song found on the disc is "King of the Dollar", an adequate but generally un-noteworthy track. The third track, "Talk Like Strangers", moves into the 'mature rock' category with a dark, plodding beat and a relationship-probing topic. A few tracks later is "Speechless", the first of two -very- good ballad-esque tunes. The second is "Fell" and both songs are mature enough in lyric and style to have been recorded by the likes of Crowded House or Elvis Costello.

Most of this album emotes a somber, slightly-depressed mood. The tracks "Rose Colored Glasses", "Under the Microscope" and "Euphoria" are all good songs that fully fit this description.

I listen to this disc from start to end, although I occasionally skip "King of the Dollar" when I'm in a more mellow mood. There are not many albums that I really enjoy every track on but this one comes very close to making my "short list". If you're looking for a generally mellow, mature-rock sound then I highly recommend getting a copy of the first and best School of Fish release.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow - flashback!, February 27, 2001

By 

Kristin (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: School of Fish (Audio CD)

I had completely forgotten about this album. I recently saw a commercial that had a small tidbit of a melody playing in the background that I could not seem to place. Rose Colored Glasses came to mind, but I knew that was not the name of the song or the band. Lucky me that websites like this one exist to help me track down SCHOOL OF FISH! I knew the name of the band as soon as I saw it. I purchased the cassette somewhere around late 1991 early 1992 and it INSTANTLY became my favorite. As others have stated - you could play the whole thing over and over and never tire of it. I can't begin to describe how excited I was to hear that commercial last week. Will be ordering my CD today! Even better - I had no idea there was a second album - will be buying that one as well! I am so glad I get to revisit School of Fish!