''Kettle of Fish (88-98)'' is the title of a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

Fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

released in 1998, providing a retrospective on his solo career plus two new songs. Unlike the previous best-of ''

Yin and Yang Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary an ...

'' (1995), this is a single disc and does not include any

Marillion Marillion are a British neo-prog band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the mo ...

material. ''Kettle of Fish'' was Fish's first release under a new contract with

Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is a Dutch–American record label focused on Heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock music. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. Formerly seen as ...

, who signed Fish after the financially catastrophic ''

Sunsets on Empire ''Sunsets on Empire'' is the fifth studio album by Fish (fourth of original material) since he left Marillion in 1988. It was released in 1997 and was mostly written together with Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree, who co-composed six out of ten t ...

'' album and tour of 1997 had forced him to dissolve his own label Dick Brothers Record Company. (The Dick Bros. logo still appears on the back, but this appears to be strictly symbolic.) Roadrunner also re-released Fish's entire backcatalogue; ''Kettle of Fish'' was intended to draw attention to these titles, which explains the publication of another "best-of" compilation with just one studio album between this and the last one. The album was accompanied by an eponymous collection of video clips with slightly different tracks (see below). In Europe, the limited first edition of the album included a bonus

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains computer data storage, data computers can read, but not write or erase. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold b ...

with three videos and additional material.

Tracks

The album contains thirteen tracks, most of which have been singles, in non-chronological order. There are three songs each from the first two solo albums, ''

Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors ''Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors'' is the debut solo album by Scottish neo-prog singer Fish, released in 1990. Fish had departed Marillion in 1988. Although the recordings for this album finished as early as June 1989, EMI Records decided to ...

'' (1990) and '' Internal Exile'' (1991); "Just Good Friends" from ''Internal Exile'' appears in its 1995 re-recorded version featuring Sam Brown. The other two solo albums – '' Suits'' (1994) and ''

'' (1997) - are represented by two songs each. The 1993 studio album with cover versions, ''

Songs from the Mirror ''Songs from the Mirror'' is the third solo album by Scottish singer-songwriter Fish, released in 1993 as his final album for Polydor. It does not contain any original material; instead it is a cover album featuring Fish's versions of songs by ar ...

'', is not represented. Also not included are the singles " The Company" (1990) and " Change of Heart" (1997), which had only been released in Germany and the UK, respectively. Instead, two songs that were planned as singles but never released, are included – "Lucky" (1991) and "Goldfish and Clowns" (1997). All tracks appear in their original album versions, except for "Goldfish and Clowns" and "Lady Let It Lie", of which the single edits are used. Additionally, the album contains two new tracks. Both are products of Fish's participation in a songwriters retreat organised by

Miles Copeland III Miles Axe Copeland III (born May 2, 1944) is an American music and entertainment executive and former manager of The Police. Copeland later managed Sting's musical and acting career. In 1979, Copeland founded the I.R.S. Records label, producing ...

at his castle Marouatte in France (incidentally the same place where

had recorded ''

Brave Brave(s) or The Brave(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Brave, an adjective for one who possesses courage * Braves (Native Americans), a Euro-American stereotype for Native American warriors Film and television * ''Brave'' (1994 film), a concept ...

'') in the spring of 1998. "Mr. Buttons" was co-written with

Maia Sharp Maia Sharp is an American singer and songwriter. In addition to her solo career, she has written songs for and collaborated with several country and pop musicians including Cher, Trisha Yearwood, Terri Clark, Bonnie Raitt, Edwin McCain, and Art G ...

and Andy Gardiner; "Chasing Miss Pretty", a pure pop song, with

Chris Braide Christopher Braide is an English songwriter, record producer and singer, based in Malibu, Los Angeles. First signed as a solo artist by David A. Stewart in the UK and Craig Kallman at Atlantic Records in the US, Braide relocated to Los Ange ...

and American guitarist Dave Bassett. (Another three songs from these sessions would end up on the forthcoming album ''

Raingods with Zippos ''Raingods with Zippos'' is a 1999 progressive rock album by ex-Marillion vocalist Fish (singer), Fish. It was released on the Roadrunner record label, more well-known for its heavy metal music, heavy metal releases. ''Raingods with Zippos'' is of ...

''.) "Chasing Miss Pretty" was planned as a single, but never materialised.

Cover art

The cover is, by Fish's standards, simplistic; it shows a goldfish in an undersized, kettle-shaped aquarium on a black background. The illustration was created by web designer Mo Warden, who also runs his official site. Regular Fish album designer

Mark Wilkinson Mark Wilkinson (born 3 October 1952) is an English illustrator. He is best known for the detailed surrealistic cover art he created for a number of British bands. Wilkinson's breakthrough came through his association with the neo-prog band Mar ...

is credited for "sleeve design", although it is not clear what for; it could be in reference to the thumbnail-sized covers of the singles that are included in the lyrics booklet.

Video version

In December 1998, a video compilation with the same title was released, which has a different running order and a different selection of eleven tracks. It contains the promotional videos for ten Fish singles released to that point. Again, the singles "The Company" and "Change of Heart", for which no videos were made, are missing, as are the four new/non-single tracks found the album version. Instead, there are videos for two songs not on the album: Fish's version of the 1972

Argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

hit "Hold Your Head Up", which had been the A-side of the only single from the 1993 cover album ''

''. The second non-album video is of Tony Banks's single "Shortcut to Somewhere" (1986) from his album ''

Soundtracks A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured ...

'', which featured Fish on lead vocals. This had been Fish's first ever recording outside Marillion.

Track listing

CD

Note: "Dick" is Fish's surname. # "Big Wedge" – 05:19 (Dick/

Simmonds Simmonds as a surname may refer to: * Ann Simmonds, English pentathlete * Anne Simmonds, New Zealand biochemist * Ellie Simmonds (born 1994), British Paralympic swimmer * Henry Simmonds, Canada sailor at the 1932 Olympics * Kaleb Simmonds, Canadi ...

) — from ''

'', 1990 # "Just Good Friends" (with Sam Brown) – 05:48 (Dick/Usher/Boult/Simmonds) — originally from '' Internal Exile'', 1991, this version from '' Yin'', 1995 # "Brother 52" – 06:06 (Dick/ Wilson) — from ''

'', 1997 # "Chasing Miss Pretty" – 4.53 (Dick/ Braide/Bassett) — new track # "Credo" – 06:41 (Dick/Simmonds/Boult/ Usher) — from ''Internal Exile'', 1991 # "A Gentleman's Excuse Me" – 04:19 (Dick/Simmonds) — from ''Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors'', 1990 # "Goldfish and Clowns" – 06:38 (Dick/Wilson) — from ''Sunsets on Empire'', 1997 # "Lady Let It Lie" – 04:12 (Dick/ Paton/Cassidy) — edited version taken from '' Suits'', 1994 # "Lucky" (1995 Re-recording) – 04:58 (Dick/Boult/Simmonds) — originally from ''Internal Exile'', 1991, this version from ''

Yang Yang may refer to: * Yang, in yin and yang, one half of the two symbolic polarities in Chinese philosophy * Korean yang, former unit of currency of Korea from 1892 to 1902 * YANG, a data modeling language for the NETCONF network configuration p ...

'', 1995 # "State Of Mind" – 04:46 (Dick/Simmonds/ Lindes) — from ''Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors'', 1990 # "Mr. Buttons" – 4.36 (Dick/Gardiner/Sharp) — new track # "Fortunes Of War" – 07:54 (Dick/Cassidy/Boult) — from ''Suits'', 1994 # "Internal Exile" – 04:41 (Dick/Boult/Simmonds) — from ''Internal Exile'', 1991 Total Time 70:51

DVD

Albums and credits as above except where noted. # "State Of Mind" - directed by Michael Geoghegan # "Big Wedge" - directed by Michael Geoghegan # "A Gentleman's Excuse Me" - directed by Julian Doyle 1990 # "Internal Exile" - directed by Brian Ward, produced by Iain Brown 1991 # "Credo" - directed by Tony Van Den Ende, produced by Kathy Hood 1991 # "Hold Your Head Up" (

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

), from ''

'' (1992/1993) - directed by David Barnard, produced by Perry Asincomo 1992 # "Lady Let It Lie" - directed by Dave Miller, produced by Ed Booth 1994 # "Fortunes Of War" - directed by Hamish Barbour, produced by Ed Booth 1994 # "Just Good Friends" (with Sam Brown) - directed by Hamish Barbour 1995 # "Brother 52" - directed by Steve Flack 1997, produced by Jane Rigby and Jim Leishman, with the co-operation of the students of Dundee University's

Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design (DJCAD) is part of the University of Dundee in Dundee, Scotland. It is ranked as one of the top schools of art and design in the United Kingdom. History Attempts were made to establish an art sch ...

# "Shortcut to Somewhere" (with Tony Banks) (Dick, Banks), from the soundtrack of Quicksilver, featured on the Tony Banks album ''

'' The videos for "Fortunes of War", "Brother 52" and "Just Good Friends" were also on a CD-ROM included with the first 30,000 copies of the audio version. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kettle Of Fish Fish (singer) albums 1998 compilation albums Albums produced by Chris Kimsey Albums produced by Jon Kelly