Description
Steve Hillage – Fish Rising – Compact Disc
Steve Hillage – Fish Rising, released in 1975, is a dazzling solo debut from the British guitarist and cosmic explorer Steve Hillage, best known at the time for his work with the psychedelic-progressive collective Gong. Recorded just as Hillage was leaving Gong following the You album, Fish Rising serves as both a spiritual continuation of Gong’s “Radio Gnome Invisible” trilogy and a bold declaration of Hillage’s own artistic identity. It’s an album steeped in psychedelic mysticism, Canterbury-style whimsy, space rock propulsion, and virtuosic guitar playing—easily one of the crown jewels of 1970s British progressive rock.
Fish Rising is rich with interlocking textures, extended instrumental passages, and a glowing sense of cosmic joy. The album features an impressive lineup of collaborators, including several Gong members like:
Mike Howlett on bass,
Pierre Moerlen on drums and percussion,
Tim Blake on synthesizers, and
Didier Malherbe on sax and flute.
Also notable is the presence of Dave Stewart (of Hatfield and the North and later National Health) on keyboards, adding a crisp, jazz-inflected dimension to the mix.
The album opens with the multi-part epic “Solar Musick Suite,” an 16-minute journey that immediately sets the tone: spiritual in theme, complex in structure, and bursting with shimmering guitar lines, layered synths, and kaleidoscopic shifts in rhythm and mood. Hillage’s guitar work is both technically dazzling and emotionally expressive, drenched in sustain, delay, and phaser effects that create an unmistakable sonic signature—fluid, soaring, and radiant.
Tracks like “Fish” and “The Salmon Song” blend metaphysical themes with playful, aquatic imagery, echoing Gong’s penchant for surreal mythology, but grounding it in a more personal and focused context. “The Salmon Song” in particular is a standout, evolving from intricate vocal harmonies into driving instrumental sections that showcase Hillage’s fusion of prog virtuosity and psych-rock groove.
The album concludes with “Aftaglid,” another expansive suite that shifts between celestial ambience and heavier, guitar-driven passages. Throughout the record, there’s a sense of both structured composition and joyful improvisation, characteristic of the Canterbury scene’s blend of jazz-rock intellect and hippie idealism.
Fish Rising is filled with spiritual references, nature imagery, and cosmic metaphors, reflecting Hillage’s interest in Eastern philosophy, ecology, and inner consciousness. It’s earnest without being preachy, cosmic without losing its musical footing.
In many ways, Fish Rising is the perfect bridge between Gong’s anarchic psychedelia and Hillage’s later solo work, which would move further into ambient, new age, and electronic territory (especially in collaboration with Miquette Giraudy and later System 7). But here, he captures a perfect moment of visionary rock energy, supported by a stellar band, and fueled by a deep love of melody, mysticism, and musical exploration.
If you’re a fan of early Gong, Canterbury prog, or guitar-centric space rock like early Hawkwind or Pink Floyd at their most expansive, Fish Rising is an essential, euphoric listen.
Brand new, never played and still sealed in the factory plastic
Track Listing
Solar Musick Suite (16:55)
Sun Song (I Love Its Holy Mystery)
Canterbury Sunrise
Hiram Afterglid Meets The Dervish
Sun Song (Reprise)
Fish
Meditation Of The Snake
The Salmon Song (8:45)
Salmon Pool
Solomon’s Atlantis Salmon
Swimming With The Salmon
King Of The Fishes
Aftaglid (14:46)
Sun Moon Surfing
The Great Wave And The Boat Of Hermes
The Silver Ladder
Astral Meadows
The Lafta Yoga Song
Glidding
The Golden Vibe / Outglid
