Artist : Fish

Album : Weltschmerz

Release Date : 25-09-2020

Added : 18-11-2020

For all those who love progressive rock, 'Derek William Dick' alias 'Fish', is an essential artist of the last 40 years and definitely associated with 'Marillion' and this last album was announced by 'Fish' himself as the last studio recording. So, after 'A Feast of Consequences' which already dates from 2013, this last musical journey in the company of the singer with 4 albums with 'Marillion' and 11 solo albums takes us for almost an hour and a half in his universe which is, this time, for me, more melancholy with a title in German which literally means 'Pain of the World' and which shows from the first title to the last title all the feelings of this artist who speaks to us about our world with all his problems and which is perhaps one of the reasons for this anticipated musical retirement.

Of the 10 compositions, 3 were already on the EP 'A Parley With Angels' released in 2018 and which also contained 4 other titles in concert. And from the start, it is with a poignant 'Grace of God' that 'Fish' welcomes us with a text on the end of life which is musically cut in two with a first part filled with emotion, reminding me of certain melodic lines by 'RPWL' then a second half part more tormented acoustics with more contemporary sounds, then 'Man With a Stick' (already present on 'A Parley With Angels'), with its swaying rhythm is more direct and easier to tame and reminds me of the atmosphere that certain titles of 'Phil Collins' gave off in the 80s. With 'Walking on Eggshells', we return to an imaginative progressive with a succession of different parts containing remarkable arrangements with for example this final with strings and the participation of 'Doris Brendel' in the vocals, then, 'The Party's Over' is certainly the lightest track with its folk influences, recalling that the Scotsman has always been influenced by this style but who speaks of his farewell to music and which suddenly shows a mixed face between the joy of starting a new life and the sadness of having to leave his musical life. Follows 'Rose of Damascus' of more than 15 minutes which takes us into a quiet and soft atmosphere which takes off little by little and invites us with very contemporary string sounds to a long sung part in which alternate intense parts and others calmer with the climax of the strings unleashed in a sort of sound storm and the title ends with a soft part close to 'RPWL' in slight crescendo, then, we reach an emotional peak with 'Garden of Remembrance' in which 'Fish' talks about Alzheimer's disease and, on this title, the video (see above) brings an even greater intensity and we find ourselves shedding a few tears (as indeed 'Fish' himself in the video) so the intensity is immense. 'C Song (The Trondheim Waltz)', which follows, is there to recover from our emotions to return to a more classic, popist semi-acoustic track and 'Little Man What Now?' is the second long development, taken from the last EP, in a nonchalant atmosphere in which the sung part unfolds slowly while keeping a great vocal tension and in which the brass brings a felted side to the beginning and participates in the remarkable final flight that can recall the atmospheres of 'Pink Floyd' to fall back into a very beautiful instrumental decrescendo, then, 'Waverley Steps (End of the Line)', still taken from the last EP, is typical of the sought after and imaginative progressive of 'Fish' conveying all kinds of feelings with magnificent alternations of intensity and rhythm with still remarkable interventions of the brass bringing an additional force, and the album ends with the eponymous title of the album, 'Weltschmerz' with a 'Fish' wanting to leave an image as a person committed with his words as the only weapon against this world in which he no longer recognizes himself, I quote his words: "I gorged myself on knowledge that I feasted on the digital flow, I discerned through my wisdom that not everything can be believed, I came to the conclusion that we have all been deceived and that our freedoms and our democracy are not what they seem" or these other words "I’ve formed the opinion that things can’t stay as they are, my anger and my fury trapped like a wasp in a jar, It’s never too late to make a brave new start, when the revolution is called I will play my part".

In summary, 'Fish' bows out in the most beautiful way possible with an album that is strong both musically and in terms of the themes covered and this beautiful testimony shows once again that music also plays a role important and indispensable revealer of our world in these troubled times. Progressive rock, more than ever, must continue with artists of the caliber of 'Fish' to play this role that it has always done since its birth in the 60s...

Line Up / Musicians

Fish - Derek William Dick (Vocal), Steve Vantsis (Bass, Keybords), Robin Boult (Guitar), Dave Stewart (Drums), Foss Paterson (Keybords), Mikey Owers (Cor) + Guests : Steven Wilson (Guitar), Craig Blundell (Drums), David Jackson (Saxophone), John Mitchell (Guitar), Liam Homes (Keybords), Doris Brendel (Choirs), Scottish Chambers Orchestra (Cordes)