13TH STAR

This is probably the best solo album he's ever done. Somehow the former Marillion front man has returned to form after a few years of mediocrity in making records, and a fair bit of personal trauma.

Right from the opening of Circle line, with the rhythmic keyboards and drums, you know this album is going to be something special. Something which Fish has struggled to do in his last few albums is maintain a high water mark throughout his albums. There is no filler on here, every song has a purpose and he never sounds repetitive. There is a good mix of songs as well. Square Go and Manchmal are really heavy, the latter being one of those songs that grab you on first hearing and you need to hear again and again. Manchmal(German for sometimes), is most definately the best song on the album.

There are also, quieter more philosphical songs on here too. Zoe 25 and Arc of the Curve purvey they quality of the louder songs and keep the emotion just as much as than the louder numbers. Arc of the curve is an especially beautiful song. Dark star is a rather haunting song which has slighter sinister overtones, at least thats the emotion the music purveys to me.

I still cannot believe that Fish has managed to make an album such as this after so many years. Many Fish fans thought Field of Crows was him returning to his peak. It looks as though he was simply in the middle of an upward curve and this is the trough. This blows it out of the water in quality and emotion and maintains absolute perfection. You do get the impression hes angry on this record but perhaps this helps him make better records.

Album of the Year so far, and I'm not exaggurating. Don't believe me, buy it and be amazed.