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An Emotional Fish (album)

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An Emotional Fish
Studio album by
An Emotional Fish
Released1990
GenreRock
LabelEast West/Atlantic
ProducerTim Palmer
An Emotional Fish chronology
An Emotional Fish
(1990) 		Celebration Live
(1991)

An Emotional Fish is the debut album by the Irish band An Emotional Fish, released in 1990.[1][2] It peaked at No. 40 on the UK Albums Chart.[3] The first single was "Celebrate", which was followed by "Grey Matter".[4] The band supported the album with UK and North American tours that included playing the CMJ Music Marathon.[5][6][7]

Production

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Produced by Tim Palmer, the album was recorded in Dublin.[8][9] The band chose Palmer because they admired his ability to capture a "live" sound.[8] Many of the tracks feature a reverbed guitar effect.[10] Most of the songs were written by frontman Gerard Whelan, who steered away from traditional Irish music influences.[11] "Brick It Up" is about the problems that arise in social conversations.[12]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
Calgary HeraldB+[14]
The Daily Illini[10]
Dayton Daily News[15]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[16]
The Ottawa Citizen[17]

The Ottawa Citizen noted that "when it succeeds, An Emotional Fish is a band of superb collage artists... They paste everyone else's best ideas together to make a pretty picture."[17] The Calgary Herald opined that "Whelan has a moody touch, like Jim Morrison or the early Lou Reed".[14] The Boston Globe praised "Celebrate", calling it "one of the best singles of the season."[18] The Toronto Star labeled the music "tough, guitar-based rock".[19]

The Washington Post considered the album "mainstream rock with an occasional country aroma".[9] The Gazette praised the "earthiness grounding all the guitar atmospherics."[20] The Los Angeles Times said that "Whelan is an intriguing front man blessed with an elastic voice".[21] Trouser Press concluded that "a lot of An Emotional Fish is the sketchbook of untalented amateurs attempting to jot down the work of a master".[22]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleLength
1."Celebrate" 
2."Grey Matter" 
3."Blue" 
4."Lace Virginia" 
5."Julian" 
6."All I Am" 
7."Change" 
8."Colours" 
9."That Demon Jive" 
10."Brick It Up" 
11."Move On" 

References

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  1. ^ Smith, Mat (18 August 1990). "Albums: Prawn to Be Wild". Melody Maker. Vol. 66, no. 33. p. 38.
  2. ^ McDonnell, Evelyn (15 November 1990). "New Faces". Rolling Stone. No. 591. p. 48.
  3. ^ "An Emotional Fish". Official Charts. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  4. ^ Young, Kristen (8 April 1991). "An Emotional Fish makes big splash in S.L.". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. B3.
  5. ^ Dessau, Bruce (13 August 1990). "The Fish make a big splash". The Guardian. p. 31.
  6. ^ "And Irish pop group...". Toronto Star. 11 October 1990. p. E1.
  7. ^ "Where the College Music Concerts Are Being Held". The New York Times. 26 October 1990. p. C24.
  8. ^ a b Gates, Nick (17 May 1990). "Fresh approach and clean sound". Evening Chronicle. p. 16.
  9. ^ a b Jenkins, Mark (2 November 1990). "College Radio Stars Take British Route". The Washington Post. p. N18.
  10. ^ a b Hanssen, Todd (9 November 1990). "An Emotional Fish An Emotional Fish". Directory. The Daily Illini. p. 7.
  11. ^ DeVault, Russ (29 March 1991). "Fish are lured from Britain as tradition is cast to the seas". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. D4.
  12. ^ Randall, Neil (27 December 1990). "Sounds". Waterloo Region Record. p. C9.
  13. ^ "An Emotional Fish Review by JT Griffith". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  14. ^ a b Obee, Dave (11 October 1990). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. E3.
  15. ^ Larsen, Dave (23 November 1990). "Recordings on Review". Go!. Dayton Daily News. p. 19.
  16. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.
  17. ^ a b Erskine, Evelyn (5 October 1990). "An Emotional Fish An Emotional Fish". The Ottawa Citizen. p. C6.
  18. ^ Sullivan, Jim (1 November 1990). "Emotional Fish Makes Waves with 'Celebrate'". Living. The Boston Globe. p. 90.
  19. ^ Dafoe, Chris (2 November 1990). "Emotional Fish hit Horseshoe". Toronto Star. p. D14.
  20. ^ Lepage, Mark (3 November 1990). "An Emotional Fish An Emotional Fish". The Gazette. p. D12.
  21. ^ Rosenbluth, Jean (10 November 1990). "An Emotional Fish Flounders in L.A. Debut at Club Lingerie". Los Angeles Times. p. F6.
  22. ^ Robbins, Ira. "An Emotional Fish". Trouser Press. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
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