Fish - Internal Exile

While Fish left Marillion and continued where he’d left off with the classic concept set, Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors, subsequent outings mixed elements of genius with an eclecticism that held them back from that level of achievement. Internal Exile’s opening Shadowplay is a typically inspired, poetic rumination boasting Highland-fresh guitars and keys, while the joyous Credo strides through the glen into the electro-acoustic Just Good Friends. Lucky also conjures up visions of Fish’s musical yesteryears, while Tongues contains trademark vocal ticks, and the fiddling, traditionalist title track demands arm-clasping jigging. What the whole lacks in seamlessness is compensated for by bonuses including a fine demo and the verve of Carnival Man.