Sunsets on Empire

Sunsets on Empire Artist: Fish
Label: Lightyear
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Format: Enhanced
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 085365419728
EAN: 0085365419728
ASIN: B000003TQK


Release Date: 1997-07-15

Sunsets on Empire


Related Categories:

Britain Britain
Categories | British Isles | Europe | International | Styles | Music
General General
Categories | Rock | Styles | Music
Progressive Rock Progressive Rock
Categories | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music
Pop Rock Pop Rock
Categories | Pop | Styles | Music
Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) Album-Oriented Rock (AOR)
Categories | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Tracks:

  1. The Perception Of Johnny Punter
  2. Goldfish & Clowns
  3. Change Of Heart
  4. What Colour Is God?
  5. Tara
  6. Jungle Ride
  7. Worm In A Bottle
  8. Brother 52
  9. Sunsets On Empire
  10. Say It With Flowers

Similar Items:

  1. Raingods with Zippos
  2. Yang
  3. Internal Exile
  4. Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors
  5. Field of Crows

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Fish - Joins Up With Stephen Wilson For One Of His Strongest Albums.......2007-02-28

After the lackluster "Internal Exile" and it's follow-up "Suits" (which many fans consider Fish's weakest album), things seemed to be on a downhill slide for the former Marillion vocalist. For the "Sunsets" album Fish made the brilliant move of bringing in Porcupine Tree's Stephen Wilson as co-writer, guitarist, and producer and the result is Fish's best album since "Vigil" and possibly the best solo album of his career. Wilson has the golden touch and his influence is felt all over this disc. This is a much more modern sounding album than it's predecessors and is overall a bit more guitar heavy as well. The songs are not nearly as prog oriented as his Marillion or early solo stuff, but the change in style really works for Fish this time around. The highlights of the album tend to be the songs co-written by Fish and Wilson. "The Perception Of Johnny Punter" with it's spoken word middle passage is a simple yet very effective opening track. Fish uses spoken word on several tracks on this disc, and he has the perfect voice to pull it off. "Perception" is downright creepy with the protagonist "Johnny Punter" telling of how he views (and will take down) those who live "on the hill". "Goldfish And Clowns" and "What Color Is God?" are two more strong Fish / Wilson tracks. "Worm In A Bottle" again uses spoken word and contains some really outstanding Fish lyrics. "Brother 52" was the single and a video for the song is included on the disc. It is another great track. The title track "Sunsets On Empire" is yet another strong Fish / Wilson collaboration. The rest of the album is all decent stuff too. Wilson seems to be able to bring out the best in Fish and contributes some killer (albeit infrequent) guitar solos here and there as well. This was to be Fish's big comeback in America. He did his one and only full US tour in support of this disc, and really made the promotional rounds in support of it. Unfortunately, if I remember correctly, the record company went under right after this was released so the rug was pretty much pulled out from under him. With the exception of a very short mini-tour in conjunction with John Wesley's wedding a few years ago, Fish has not been back to the U.S. since. This really is the album that should have put him back on the map here, but unfortunately the music "biz" left Fish out to dry. If you are at all a fan of Fish or Stephen Wilson this is a good one to pick up.

2 out of 5 stars Poor Attempt to Evolve as an Artist.......2005-07-19

I absolutely adore the first four Marillion LP's, and after wearing those albums out, a good friend recommended I check out SUNSETS ON EMPIRE. I've owned it for many years, but I've probably only listeneded to it around thirty times. I find that it is an attempt by Fish to meet the needs of a more modern listener, and I find that the track-by-track quality fades from start to finish much like a few post-70's Rush albums.

I find the three most digestible tracks to be 'The Perception of Johnny Punter,' 'Goldfish & Clowns,' and 'What Colour is God?' This record pretty much goes stale after those tracks. Fish attempted to evolve...some could say to make his music more 'commercial' but I believe the music could have evolved instrumentally while leaving the vocals alone. This barely even sounds like the guy. There's also a pool of 12 musicians that contribute to these tracks, which means different members probably recorded their parts and then 'mailed them in.' This takes away from the human factor in the recording.

If you enjoy Fish-era Marillion, then this is not a good place to start despite it's reputation. I would recommend something a little more emotional and intense like VIGIL IN A WILDERNESS OF MIRRORS.

5 out of 5 stars A great antidote to the so-called Hogarth-marillion.......2004-09-21

As "Marillion" fades from it's glory days when Fish was king, there is still great music coming from their former lead singer. This album is especially good because it is balanced and has lots of strong songs, both heavy and quiter. The lead off track bursts from the speakers, and sounds great at high volume. Worm in a Bottle and Brother 52 are two other very cool/heavy songs. Other songs vary from medium to quiet, but all are great.

Buy this album!

5 out of 5 stars Fish's Most Powerful Album To Date.......2002-04-10

With Sunsets On Empire, former Marillion front-man Fish makes his most powerful musical statement to date. Proving that he's not merely a Peter Gabriel clone (something he was continually accused of during his stint with Marillion) or a solo artist content with past successes, Fish produces a hard, gritty album that's unlike anything he's released to date.

Highlights include the riff-heavy "Perception of Johnny Punter," the defiant "What Colour Is God," "Brother 52" about the life and death of a Marillion fan, and my personal favorite "Goldfish and Clowns." Fish's lyrics are meaningful and hard-hitting and his backing band is incredibly tight.

I had the good fortune to see Fish live as his tour supporting this album swung through the Washington DC area and I was astounded - I'd been listening to Marillion and Fish for several years but I became even more of a fan after seeing the man in person.

Sunsets on Empire is a must-own for everyone. Its not just for Marillion fans, Fish fans or progressive rock junkies. There's something for everyone here.

4 out of 5 stars

Music Album:

  1. In Without Knocking ~ Long Tall Texans
  2. Best of the Best: Definitive Collection ~ The Hooters
  3. Man in the Moon ~ Nektar
  4. Best of Status Quo ~ Status Quo
  5. Shake My Hand ~ Tom Gillam
  6. In Search of Angels ~ Runrig
  7. 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of the 70's ~ Various Artists
  8. Hard to Forget ~ The Scabs
  9. No Rest for the Wicked ~ New Model Army
  10. Psychedelic Ubik ~ Sterling Roswell

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

Gon' Be Jus' Fine ~ Chris Ardoin & Double Clutchin'

WSJZ 96.9: Smooth Jazz, Vol. 1 ~ Various Artists

Travel By Stars ~ Will Faeber

Silhouettes ~ Joel Futterman

Members, Don't Git Weary ~ Max Roach

Kimi Ni Aitakute ~ Gackt

King of the Stage ~ Ras Iley

Rezidential School Blues

Canciones Para Divertir A Los Ninos

Serie Perolas ~ Teodoro & Sampaio