Songs from the Mirror
| Songs From The Mirror | ||||
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| Studio album by Fish | ||||
| Released | 18 January 1993 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Label | Polydor | |||
| Producer | James Cassidy | |||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
Artwork on 1998 Roadrunner Records release
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| Singles from Songs From The Mirror | ||||
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| Allmusic |   |
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 artists who inspired him before his career started. It reached 46 on the UK Albums Chart.
The album was influenced by David Bowie's 1973 covers project, Pin Ups. Fish included a version of his favourite Bowie song, "Five Years". He also recorded versions of songs by The Moody Blues, Alex Harvey, Pink Floyd, The Kinks, Argent, Sandy Denny, Genesis and T Rex. The songs all date from a period between 1970 and 1976 and reflect Fish's taste in music when he was 12 to 18 years old. The title is a reference to the time when he would impersonate his teenage idols in front of a mirror.
Polydor initially rejected the idea of a cover album, but eventually accepted it as the second album Fish was obliged to deliver under their contract. As of April 2016, Songs from the Mirror is Fish's last ever output on a major record company; however, he did record for Roadrunner Records in the late 90s, an indie label with major distribution later sold to a conglomorate.
The core line-up on this album is the same as on the 1992 tour. Since the recording of Internal Exile, keyboardist Mickey Simmonds had been replaced with Foster Paterson, while drummer Kevin Wilkinson had taken over from session player Ethan Johns. The spots for guitars (Robin Boult, Frank Usher) and bass (David Paton) had remained unchanged. Other than that and backing vocals, only two tracks ("Solo" and "Jeepster") feature an additional guest musician, Ben Molleson on violin and tin whistle. Fish tried to get David Bowie to play the saxophone solo on "Five Years", but he didn't manage to get hold of Bowie, and the saxophone solo was skipped. The album was mixed and produced by James Cassidy, who Fish had met while recording guest vocals for Jeff Wayne's musical Spartacus. Cassidy would also produce and co-write Fish's next album Suits (1994).
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