Customer Reviews

Sunsets on Empire

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After the horribly disappointing "Suits", it took me quite awhile before I could summon up the nerve to purchase this CD. Based on the strength of some of the songs I heard when I caught Fish live in the US, I decided to take a chance. I was glad I did. "Sunsets On Empire" is really a very good album that finds Fish taking on a new style of music and succeeding wonderfully. Gone are the overdone orchestral arrangements of his first solo album "Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors" (a fine solo debut, but lately it's sounding very dated). This is a harder-edged guitar-oriented Fish, and--dare I speak the word--a much hipper Fish. Even though the old man's voice is noticeably weakening with time, he plays to his strengths and the overall vocal delivery comes off well. His follow-up release "Raingods With Zippos", while not quite as solid an album, is also worth the money.

With Sunsets On Empire, former Marillion front-man Fish makes his most powerful musical statement to date. Proving that he's not merely a Peter Gabriel clone (something he was continually accused of during his stint with Marillion) or a solo artist content with past successes, Fish produces a hard, gritty album that's unlike anything he's released to date.

Highlights include the riff-heavy "Perception of Johnny Punter," the defiant "What Colour Is God," "Brother 52" about the life and death of a Marillion fan, and my personal favorite "Goldfish and Clowns." Fish's lyrics are meaningful and hard-hitting and his backing band is incredibly tight.

I had the good fortune to see Fish live as his tour supporting this album swung through the Washington DC area and I was astounded - I'd been listening to Marillion and Fish for several years but I became even more of a fan after seeing the man in person.

Sunsets on Empire is a must-own for everyone. Its not just for Marillion fans, Fish fans or progressive rock junkies. There's something for everyone here.

As an avid Fish/Marillion fan, I am surprised at some of the negative reviews listed here. Sunsets contains some of the best that solo Fish has ever done. If you don't like Sunsets - you simply don't like Fish. The guitar work on "Perception.." - and others - is huge, and reminiscent of Marillion's Rothery on "Clutching at Straws". With Sunsets, Fish firmly established that his solo work is diverse, unique and creative. Sunsets reveals the complete breadth of Fish's musical and lyrical genius. Besides - I saw this tour live in Denver at a small venue - it was excellent! If you are a Fish head - you must add this to your collection.

After the lackluster "Internal Exile" and it's follow-up "Suits" (which many fans consider Fish's weakest album), things seemed to be on a downhill slide for the former Marillion vocalist. For the "Sunsets" album Fish made the brilliant move of bringing in Porcupine Tree's Stephen Wilson as co-writer, guitarist, and producer and the result is Fish's best album since "Vigil" and possibly the best solo album of his career. Wilson has the golden touch and his influence is felt all over this disc. This is a much more modern sounding album than it's predecessors and is overall a bit more guitar heavy as well. The songs are not nearly as prog oriented as his Marillion or early solo stuff, but the change in style really works for Fish this time around. The highlights of the album tend to be the songs co-written by Fish and Wilson. "The Perception Of Johnny Punter" with it's spoken word middle passage is a simple yet very effective opening track. Fish uses spoken word on several tracks on this disc, and he has the perfect voice to pull it off. "Perception" is downright creepy with the protagonist "Johnny Punter" telling of how he views (and will take down) those who live "on the hill". "Goldfish And Clowns" and "What Color Is God?" are two more strong Fish / Wilson tracks. "Worm In A Bottle" again uses spoken word and contains some really outstanding Fish lyrics. "Brother 52" was the single and a video for the song is included on the disc. It is another great track. The title track "Sunsets On Empire" is yet another strong Fish / Wilson collaboration. The rest of the album is all decent stuff too. Wilson seems to be able to bring out the best in Fish and contributes some killer (albeit infrequent) guitar solos here and there as well. This was to be Fish's big comeback in America. He did his one and only full US tour in support of this disc, and really made the promotional rounds in support of it. Unfortunately, if I remember correctly, the record company went under right after this was released so the rug was pretty much pulled out from under him. With the exception of a very short mini-tour in conjunction with John Wesley's wedding a few years ago, Fish has not been back to the U.S. since. This really is the album that should have put him back on the map here, but unfortunately the music "biz" left Fish out to dry. If you are at all a fan of Fish or Stephen Wilson this is a good one to pick up.

Sunsets on Empire is a heck of an album from Marillion's former frontman and it is his best work so far in my opinion! Some good lyrics,nice tunes,especially the opener and Brother 52 and the title song! This album was produced by and stars the genius Steven Wilson.Wilson produced the album,plays guitar on several tracks and also keys on quite a few tracks,,seeing as how its Wilson you know it is gonna be top notch! Great sound,great songs,good vocals from Fish and of course excellent production!There is any accompaning dvd concert of this album however Steven Wilson (sadly) doesnt appear on it! Very nice album from the Fish! 4 stars!

This C.D is worth it just to hear Brother 52. This song is one of his best. Except for "Say it with Flowers" this is another solid performance by Fish. It's such a pity that he didn't stay with Marillion but to me, Fish's solo work is far better than post-Fish Marillion. Great lyrics and instrumentation. No Fish fan should be disappointed with this C.D.

The video was Great and Fish always puts out good music as always, in many ways better then with Marillion. the songs seem more personal and proformed with much more feeling

I cannot believe how good this guy is, and he has still not made it onto the mainstream. I have liked: Vigil in a Wilderness, Songs from the Mirror (a must have) and Suites. I cannot find a fault on any of them. He has the ability to play almost any type of music. Great. I cannot get his music easily here so Amazon is going to make a bit of money off me.

I guess I was as tired, as most Fish fans, of listening to old live bootlegs and Internal Exile/Wilderness CD's (since Fish's lackluster performance on Suits) until "Sunsets" came out. This is Fish at his best-you can tell he is more mature, (and just a little more jaded) than before, but I think with his writing on "Perception" and "Golfish and Clowns" you can get a sence of where Derick Dick is heading musically. The entire CD is loaded with vintage Fish, he can still write the rites to right the wrongs! Not a dissapointment at all, I just wish he put this out sooner!

This is the BEST post-Marillion work that Fish has done. I think that all the songs are strong and Steve Wilson's influence is immense though not overstated. I would recommend this release to anyone who is sick of the current corporate trends and wants to support a guy who is creating intellectually honest music on his own.