Fish Out of Water (Chris Squire album)

In August 1975, the progressive rock band Yes ended their tour in support of Relayer (1974) and agreed to take time off for each member to record a solo album. When Squire started work on his, he contacted Andrew Pryce Jackman, a childhood friend and keyboardist/composer, who assisted with the album's conception and orchestration.[1] Over the course of their collaboration, Jackman also contributed significantly to the writing. Squire offered to give him co-writing credits, but Jackman declined.[1]

Fish Out of Water was recorded in the spring and summer of 1975 in two studios: New Pipers, Chris Squire's home studio in Surrey, and Morgan Studios in London.[3] The title refers to his nickname "Fish", and being "...Out of Water" due to making music without Yes for the first time.

The introduction to "Hold Out Your Hand" features a passage played on the pipe organ at St Paul's Cathedral by cathedral organist Barry Rose, who had known Squire and Jackman during their boyhoods. The organ continues throughout the song, creating a rather original sound and reflecting Squire and Jackman's experiences together as church choristers. The title of "Lucky Seven" refers to the song being in a 7/8 time signature.[1] A melodic passage from Yes' song "Close to the Edge" appears in the finale of "Safe (Canon Song)". The closing passage on "Safe" was played on the 4-string bass section of a double-neck guitar, using only the pickups of the 6-string guitar section.[1]

In a 2004 interview, Squire said that he wished to produce a 5.1 surround sound mix of the album using the master tapes, but declared the recordings had disappeared from Atlantic's archives.[8] On 28 February 2006, it was reissued in the US by Wounded Bird Records.[9] This was followed in August 2007 by a two-disc "Deluxe Expanded Edition" released on Squire's own label, Stone Ghost Records, (distributed by Castle/Sanctuary Records). The set included bonus material: a single edit of "Lucky Seven", the promotional film for "Hold Out Your Hand" and "You by My Side", track-by-track commentary, and a 40-minute interview with Squire conducted in November 2006.[10][5][11]

Following the album's release, Squire never recorded a follow-up although said he was frequently asked about such a project.[12] He had hoped to reunite with Jackman and work on one together, but such plans ended following Jackman's death in 2003.[13] In 2012, he reasoned much of the album's appeal and the strength of its music was down to his collaboration with Jackman. Though Squire had started to prepare pieces for more solo albums, he consistently found himself utilizing this material for band projects, including those with Billy Sherwood and Steve Hackett.[12][2]

In 2018, a 7-disc deluxe edition was released, containing all of the previously available material plus new 5.1 and stereo mixes.[14] In 2020, a one-disc blu-ray edition was released.[15]