Chris Squire: "Fish Out of Water"

Dr. Cheese · #1 08-28-2006, 10:44 AM

Does anybody have this on CD? I found an old cassette copy of the vinyl recording in my garage, I always loved that LP, and I am a huge fan of Chris Squire's tone and style. he was a pretty big influence on me despite the fact that I mainly play funk and urban gospel.

KJung · #2 08-28-2006, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Cheese

Does anybody have this on CD? I found an old cassette copy of the vinyl recording in my garage, I always loved that LP, and I am a huge fan of Chris Squire's tone and style. he was a pretty big influence on me despite the fact that I mainly play funk and urban gospel.

Hey! I actually just purchased the CD from Amazon, kind of just to have in my 'classics' collection.

+1 on the Squire influence. He was a big influence on my tone (not so much on my playing). I had the Ric 4001 all through the 70's. I actually find a strong relationship between the Squire tone and Marcus Miller's tone... lot's of grind, lot's of high end, but plenty of bass to hold down the bottom.

That CD has actually stood the passing of time quite well IMO. It was nice to hear 'Lucky 7' again

K

matrok · #3 08-28-2006, 10:54 AM

Lucky7 +1000!!

Great tunes. I borrowed the disc from a friend recently, as all I have now is the vinyl. Was checking eBay for it last week and have yet to snag it. Didn't check Amazon as I thought it was out of print.

You wouldn't really hear the Squire in my playing, but he sure did influence my tone as well.

Dr. Cheese · #4 08-28-2006, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJung

Hey! I actually just purchased the CD from Amazon, kind of just to have in my 'classics' collection.

+1 on the Squire influence. He was a big influence on my tone (not so much on my playing). I had the Ric 4001 all through the 70's. I actually find a strong relationship between the Squire tone and Marcus Miller's tone... lot's of grind, lot's of high end, but plenty of bass to hold down the bottom.

That CD has actually stood the passing of time quite well IMO. It was nice to hear 'Lucky 7' again

K

K, I never thought about the similarity between Marcus and Chris, but your observation makes all the sense in the world. No wonder I like both of them so much!

Petary791 · #5 08-28-2006, 12:14 PM

A bit off topic, but does Chris Squire consider himself "The Fish" or something?

Dr. Cheese · #6 08-28-2006, 12:16 PM

Well he was born, March 4, 1948. That would make him a Pisces. Maybe that is where the fish thing comes from?

matrok · #7 08-28-2006, 12:21 PM

Have to dig around, but I recall reading somewhere that Wakeman gave him that nickname. Not sure why. Might have it in one of my old Yes tour programs.

KJung · #8 08-28-2006, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by matrok

Have to dig around, but I recall reading somewhere that Wakeman gave him that nickname. Not sure why. Might have it in one of my old Yes tour programs.

I vaguely remember the 'nickname thing' also, but can't remember the exact story.

Edit: From Wikipedia... not sure how accurate:

Chris Squire is commonly known by his nickname Fish, and the name is associated with many of his works (for example his solo record, and his solo piece Schindleria Praematurus (The Fish) from the 1972 Yes record, Fragile). The name has multiple origins. First, his astrological sign is Pisces, and he is apparently a believer in astrology. Second, in the early days of Yes career, he once accidentally flooded a hotel room in Oslo, Norway while taking a shower, and Bill Bruford gave him the nickname. He has also acquired this nickname because of the alleged amount of time he spends in the bath tub.

Lazylion · #9 08-28-2006, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJung

Chris Squire is commonly known by his nickname Fish... He has also acquired this nickname because of the alleged amount of time he spends in the bath tub.

Sometimes, at the hotel, it can be hard to fill the hours waiting for showtime...

A clean bass player is a happy bass player.

diptixon · #10 08-28-2006, 12:33 PM

I've got it on CD... I've always loved Yes and Squire, but for some reason I'm always a bit dissapointed when listening to this album - that goes for most all Yes member's other projects.... I think Yes was very much one of those "whole greater than the sum of the parts" bands - but then again so were Zeppelin and most other great bands...

Oysterman · #11 08-28-2006, 12:40 PM

I always thought the nick came from him drinking like a fish. I don't know where I got that from, though.

iamthebassman · #12 08-28-2006, 01:52 PM

A great album, I bought the LP on the 1st day of release. It was by far the best of the Yes solo albums of that year, John Anderson's was pretty good, Steve Howe's was marred(IMO) by his awful singing. White's and Moraz's were passable(IMO).
I have the CD and there's videos from it on youtube.

KJung · #13 08-28-2006, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamthebassman

A great album, I bought the LP on the 1st day of release. It was by far the best of the Yes solo albums of that year, John Anderson's was pretty good, Steve Howe's was marred(IMO) by his awful singing. White's and Moraz's were passable(IMO).
I have the CD and there's videos from it on youtube.

Patrick Moraz... 'The Story of 'i' with Jeff Berlin on bass. Now there is a recording that HAS NOT stood the test of time! To give him his props though, I feel Relayer as the best 'prog rock' album ever... prog/fusion 'fusion'

...amazing, and still sounds pretty good today IMO.

The Owl · #14 08-28-2006, 02:21 PM

Check out this footage on You Tube, with Chris, Bill Bruford, Patrick Moraz and a big orchestra:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjf_uahE_jY

Good Gawd, i LOVE his tone on here, a nice big fuzzy, thick yet well-defined ROAR!!

JimK · #15 08-28-2006, 05:12 PM

After many, many years...I finally picked up Fish Out Of Water a couple years back.
IIRC, it was fairly cheap ($14)even though it arrived with an Import sticker on it.

I think Brad Johnson's capsule review on it finally pushed me over the fence in picking it up.

Peter Squire · #16 08-28-2006, 05:47 PM

Chris has influenced me greatly over the years, along with Geddy - (love that prog style!) Must say I wasn't hugely fond of Fish Out Of Water, but it was better than Olias Of Sunhillow!!!

I actually think Alan White's Ramshackled was the best of the solo projects to come out in 74/75.

Funny, bands don't do that whole "let's all have a solo album" thing anymore....

Dr. Cheese · #17 08-30-2006, 09:13 AM

I was just listening to "Lucky Seven" before I got out of the car. Did Bill Bruford play drums on that song?

**Winston TK** · #18 08-30-2006, 06:52 PM

Chris' nickname "Fish" was originally coined by Bill Bruford. Back in the very early days when the band pretty much first formed, they lived together in the typical "band-house". Bill used to find Squire's aggravatingly long baths too much to take, and thus gave him the name.

In fact, Bruford had many complaints about Chris in the early days. (His contant tardiness, for one -- a complaint still levied against him even to this day by his bandmates from time to time.) Amazingly, despite the friction, Bruford and Squire still gelled as one of the primo rhythm sections in Rock and/or Roll.

(Another classic anecdote Bruford brought up in one of the Yes biographies was his absolute fury over the fact that Squire took an entire day just to tune his bass during the recording of either "Fragile" or "Close To The Edge". He obviously still respected Squire as a player, though. Interestingly, it is Bruford who appears on Chris' "Fish Out Of Water" album, even though Alan White had been with Yes for over two years at that point. They knew a good thing when they had it.)

Dr. Cheese · #19 08-31-2006, 10:04 AM

I'm glad to know it was Bruford. I thought for sure it sounded like him.

JimK · #20 08-31-2006, 05:16 PM

How about Squire's R&B chops on the Richie Havens' cover of "No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed"?