PHISH

Speaking of Trey Anastasio, i have long heralded him as Rock 'N' Rolls most underrated Guitarist, and this album only adds to that belief. "Reba" and especially "The Oh Kee Pah Ceremony" are brilliant and sees him employ both the beautiful washes he is known for and some seriously nimble fingered Dixieland picking. The title track and "Bouncing Around The Room" are very harmonius and a testament to both Anastasios incredible feeling and the Bands compositional brilliance.

At the end of the day,any Phishhead will tell you that no studio album can do the band justice, and while that may be true i am not as dedicated as most of their fans. I simply like good music, and this is a Cozy, Jazzy, Folksy little record wich i rank as one of the best.

Being a Phish fan in the 1990s was an exciting undertaking. After its modest beginnings in the late 1980s, by the mid 1990s Phish had enjoyed a groundswell of support and an almost unthinkable level of popularity. All this resulted almost entirely from excitement over their live stage shows, where the band took this popularity as a license to experiment however far they wanted to go. And in the mid 1990s, they took it very far indeed.

Trey Anastasio (guitar, main singer, main composer), Jon Fishman (drums, occasional novelty vocal feature), Page McConnell (keyboards, almost always acoustic or analog), and Mike Gordon (bass, occasional lead vocals) were the central figures of the "jam band" scene - a term that I feel does disservice to the adventurousness of what they were doing. They didn't just "jam" - and furthermore, when they did "jam", it was hardly ever a laid-back solo fiesta, it was spontaneous group composition, complete with development and twists and turns. Another thing they did was perform interesting covers; and sometime in 1994, they got the brilliant idea to use Halloween as an opportunity to put on a "musical costume" and devote an entire set to covering a classic album. Nowadays, bands do this all the time; old bands will even come out of retirement to do a tour recreating that one classic album they had in them. But in 1994, I had never heard of such a thing before.

On Halloween 1994, they decided to cover the Beatles' White Album. While this was a bold and interesting idea in theory, in practice it became a pretty tedious exercise by the end of the set, especially since key pieces like "Revolution 9" were not playable onstage, yet they dutifully faked/forced their way through such moments. Learning from this experience, they made 1995's Halloween show a much more engaging one -- and covered The Who's Quadrophenia album.

The template for such Halloween shows was to perform three full sets, each over an hour long, and have the second set be the "musical costume" set. The first set on this night opened with the old obscurity "Icculus", a ridiculous (ha) mostly spoken number that I can't adequately describe here. This silliness out of the way, they dive right into one of their signature pieces, "The Divided Sky", an extended, complicated piece that I often recommend to prog fans. Following a series of shorter songs, the first set ends with three more extended pieces: "Guyute", a tightly composed multi-part piece about an evil pig; "Run Like an Antelope", my pick for "song I always hope they play" due to it's incredible intensity the band always generates without fail during the long tension/release improvisational section; and finally "Harpua", a silly story song about an epic battle between a dog and a cat, where the story changes a little each night to suit current events or any in-joke the band was enjoying at the time (very much like Zappa's "Yellow Snow" suite, come to think of it).

After a set break, the band tackles the "Quadrophenia" album. Wisely, they added a horn section for this segment of the show, and also gave a lot of the lead vocals to Page McConnell, whose higher voice suits the Who's vocal range much better than Trey's does. As the Who's most progressive rock album, it's a lot of fun to hear Phish reproduce the depth of the studio recording live on stage. "Drowned" went over so well, the band kept it in their set for occasional use in future shows. Jon Fishman's obligatory solo spot, however, nearly derails the whole thing, as he strains his way through "Love, Reign O'er Me". In a way, though, his struggle (as a singer, he's definitely the Ringo of the band) through the song makes it all the more poignant, as Roger Daltrey's rage-with-vulnerability is re-imagined as a vulnerable freak show act... sacrilege to fans maybe, but certainly compelling and kinda fun too.

Set three is mostly taken up by a lengthy (40 minute) rendition of concert staple "You Enjoy Myself" - this song is always played identically for the first 5 minutes (the composed part), and then goes into a long funk jam, often with visual aids (Mike and Trey on trampolines), ending with an a capella "vocal jam" that also varies from night to night. 40 minutes is a bit long for such a song (20 minutes seems to be ideal from my experience), but I'm sure it was a gas if you were there in the arena. Then, slowly bubbling out of the dying strains of the vocal jam, the band eases into a groovy version of ZZ Top's "Jesus Just Left Chicago" and the Beatles' "A Day in the Life" (which they handle quite well). The old Phish standard "Suzy Greenberg" sees the horn section return to the stage, with the horn players each taking solos. Finally, it wouldn't be a Who show without "My Generation", so this song puts an appropriate, if sloppy, cap on the marathon show.

Three stars is about right. A great Phish show, and I'm glad they released it on CD (I had long enjoyed my cassette copy), but really, this is not the place to get acquainted with Phish, nor is it a truly essential album for the average person reading this. If you're a confirmed fan of the band already familiar with some live recordings and albums, by all means bump this up to a four. And if you're a fanatic, well, you need this pronto.

From the opening moments of the title track, all the way through to the end, what I heard were quirky pop tunes set on their ear, with each musician using a very unique (to me at the time) approach to their respective instruments. In particular was Jon Fishman's drumming, which was in my mind the impetus for this madness. I had never heard such a great groove performed on cowbell and woodblock! Later on, his intro to Mound completely slayed me with his messing with the traditional blues beat. Even better still is how the whole band transitions from the intro to the body of the song. Another cool moment on an album full of them.

Unlike any other Phish album, I cannot find any track that I dislike, not even Lenghwise, since it's too short to be annoying. This was Phish's perfect storm of lightning in a bottle (and any other cliches you can think up). The only problem with perfection is it is very difficult to repeat. Unfortunately for Phish, every subsequent release has slid further and further from this high (pun intended).

Not to be confused with the bath loving Scotsman of Marillion fame, this is Phish, the renowned jam band from Vermont. And they are renowned, but mainly for their menagerie of live albums. In comparison their studio efforts are often looked upon as mere blueprints for potentially glorious architecture, and this sophomore release features many concert staples.

I am by no means a Phish fan, sure I enjoy their music and own a couple of their live releases, but I don't worship them like many of their die-hard followers. And so I am somewhat surprised at how much this album has grown on me over time! It's quirky, its loveable, and the lyrics are to literature what Dagmar Krause is to vocals. Don't expect that just because this is a studio recording it loses the groove of the live setting as there are plenty of intricate moments, as well as extended improvisation on the longer tracks.

The Verdict: A excellent starting point for any Phish collection.

Having regrouped in 2002 and released the hurriedly prepared 'Round room' album, Phish recommenced touring, although their activities were much less prolific than in their earlier days. Once again, this album would prove to be a closing chapter in the band's history, the members embarking on another hiatus after its release.

The lengthy jam founded tracks which dominated 'Round room' are absent this time, the tracks reverting to the tighter arrangements which are common to most of the band's studio (but not live!) albums. The track lengths range from a few brief link pieces to some more adventurous 6+ minute tracks. The opening "Scents and Subtle Sounds (Intro)" and the following title track feature the light pop rock and catchy melodies which the band thrive upon.

The first of the longer tracks is the Beatles-esque 'A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing', a pleasantly psychedelic song with spacey early Floyd guitar effects and retro echoed vocals. The Beatles feel continues on 'Army of one', a song which benefits from some fine organ playing supporting up front lead guitar. 'Nothing' probably offers the best summary of both the album and the band as a whole, being an enjoyable slice of light power pop with a strong melody. As with so many Phish songs, 'Nothing' is inoffensive, fun to listen to, and largely forgettable.

The final longer track is 'Secret smile', a rare song of genuine emotion from the band. The atmosphere of the piece is accentuated by some fine strings and a delicate vocal. This is probably not a song for the band's famed live shows, but on record it does stand apart from its peers.

Overall, a decent effort from Phish, worth hearing if only for 'Secret smile'.

Following the release of the "Farmhouse" album and "The Skillet disc" of left overs in 2000, Phish took their first extended break since their formation. Two years later, the band were back, initially as a live act. As was their normal practice, they indulged in lengthy rehearsal jams in the studio, this album being put together in just three days and consisting entirely of edits from those jams. Unlike previous albums, the band did not use the jams to inspire tighter compositions, they simply extracted what they thought were the best bits from the jams. The most obvious thing about this album is therefore the unusually long nature of some of the tracks, with three running to 10 minutes or more.

To call these jams though is in reality stretching it a bit. There are defined compositions here, both musically and lyrically. The opening "Pebbles and marbles", which runs to over 11½ minutes, is a mix of jazzy noodling and lyrical pop. It certainly builds nicely, with some appealing piano and lead guitar. The track is rather out of character for a Phish studio album, finding more in common with their famed live performances. As such, it leans much more towards prog than the bulk of the band's studio output.

Thereafter, things tend to resort to more orthodox Phish, the following "Anything but me" for example being a pleasant if utterly harmless soft ballad. The album is a mix of toe-tapping pop and those softer ballads, "Friday" almost being a continuation of "Anything but me". It does feature some nice lead guitar backed by organ though.

The next piece of interest really is "Seven below", an 8+ minute loose jam which drifts along nicely if rather inoffensively. "46 days" is one of the better tracks, and was one of the first from the album to be performed live. In terms of the music, the song is basic American rock, with nods to bands such as the Allman brothers and something of a retro feel. On the downside, "Mock song" may have resulted in a decent Phish song had it been developed, but as it stands it is a real low point on the album.

The album closes with a couple more tracks running to 10 minutes +, and a three minute interlude between them. The two long tracks appear to be successions of shorter ideas for songs, linked by extended jams. As such, they come across as a bit disjointed at times, the simpler pop melodies being at odds with the track lengths.

With an overall running time of over 70 minutes,prog fans may expect this to be the holy grail of Phish albums. To that extent, this is a bit of a let down, being a hurriedly put together set of rehearsals and work in progress jams. On the other hand, the music is generally enjoyable and from time to time it is even impressive.

This 1998 follow up to the acclaimed "Billy breathes" saw Phish indulging themselves even deeper in the studio jams from which their album tracks would emerge. In this instance, not only did the sessions lead to this album, but also to "The Skillet disc" released a year later. The process this time involved the band listening to playbacks of the lengthy jam sessions, and composing songs based on parts which appealed to them.

The opening "Ghost" reminded me of the 70's bands Hot Chocolate and 10cc, with a soft funky beat and dual lead vocals combining to create a highly commercial piece of pop. "Birds of a feather" continues the 10cc style, the added brass intermingling with lead guitar and repeated vocal harmonies in an ever increasing cacophony of sound. Things take an unfortunate but marked dip with "Meat", a Steely Dan like jazz funk number.

The longest track on the album by far is the 8½ minute "Guyute". The track sets out as a light pop orientated piece before bizarrely breaking into a Fairport Convention like guitar led jig. From there it mutates again into a retro style guitar thrash, somewhere between "Orange blossom special" and "Sabre dance". While certainly the most interesting track on the album, for me it only works up to a point, perhaps because it falls into the old 10cc trap of clever for clever's sake.

Unfortunately, there are just too many of the understated soft pop outings here for my tastes, "Fikus", and "Limb by limb" being further examples. "Frankie says" is presumably some sort of tribute to "Frankie Goes to Hollywood", the word "Relax" being prevalent in this song. The link is purely lyrical though, the song being far more downbeat than the target of the homage. "Brian and Robert" is a strange title for more of the same.

"Water in the sky" moves into distinctly country rock territories, but it does at least lift the pace and offer something with a bit of spirit for a couple of minutes. "Roggae" is presumably a clever amalgamation of rock and reggae or something like that. In the end though, it simply returns us to the bland pop.

"Wading in the velvet sea" has a pleasant soft refrain, but the over-repeating of the title is unnecessary. "The momma dance" is a further indulgence in repetitive light funk, the album closing with the brief "End of session".

In all, a disappointing Phish album, which appears to indicate that the band have had all the vitality sucked out of them. This is nothing more than a collection of bland songs with primarily funky foundations. The only exception of note is "Guyute", but even this is below par.

The rather unnerving fish-eye image on the front cover of this album and the unappealing title may cause the casual music fan to pass this 1996 release by. Among the (Phish) informed though, this album is highly regarded. (With apologies to Mike Gordon of the band, whose face it is on the cover. It is the way he is photographed which is the issue! On the other hand, this is the first time any member of Phish has appeared on a front of an album.)

While born from the usual jams in which the band specialise, especially in the live arena, "Billy breathes" is an unusually tight Phish album, and it is without doubt this aspect which led to it becoming one of their best known releases. The opening "Free" is simultaneously light and heavy, up front piano combining with feedback on the lead guitar and an anthemic refrain of the title to form one of the band's most appealing and accessible numbers.

While the first couple of tracks are pretty powerful, overall, there is a slightly softer feel to this album, with a bit more emphasis on acoustic instruments. This is particularity so on tracks such as the delightful "Waste", one of the band's most sensitive performances.

As usual with Phish, there is not much here which is prog or even prog related really. The closest we get is probably the brief instrumental "Cars trucks buses", which features some nice Booker T. style organ playing and a slightly jazzy riff. One thing which does stand out here is the vocal harmonies, with tracks such as "Theme from the bottom" boasting some fine Crosby Stills and Nash type vocal arrangements. This track, which is the longest on the album also has an impressive instrumental break.

In all, an album which sees Phish presenting what is probably their most cohesive album. The diversity (or eclecticism if you prefer) which can make other Phish albums hard to digest is largely kept in check here, in favour of a succession of pleasantly accessible pop flavoured songs.

By the turn of the century, Phish appeared to be running out of steam. Although on the face of it this is an album of new material, a number of the songs here had been in the live set for up to three years, and others had been performed by Trey Anastasio in a solo capacity. During the year, Phish announced that the band would be put on ice for the foreseeable future following the planned tour for later in 2000. Ironically, this album contains the band's biggest hit single thus far (in the USA at least), "Heavy Things" enjoying considerable airplay and chart success.

The album opens in a surprisingly laid back style, the title track being a lazy slice of southern rock with a catchy hook and some fine (if brief) feedback on the lead guitar. As a whole, the album which follows has the expected eclectic mix of styles, but the common denominator is a solid reliance on pop tenets. On the down side, this means that many of the songs are over before they really get a chance to get started, and certainly well before they have been brought to the fulfilment they warrant. On the plus side, the emphasis on strong melodies and tight performances results in some highly enjoyable music.

The closing track, "First tube" is a fine 6+ minute Allman Brothers ("Jessica") like guitar instrumental.

Overall, an album which will not detain the committed prog fan for long, but for those who simply like to emerge themselves in good music, "Farmhouse" offers a decent diversion.

Phish have been around since about 1983, this 1992 release being their fifth studio album. In some ways though, this is considered to be their first album proper the previous four being a trio of self releases and one further album on a minor record label.

Consisting of some 16 tracks ranging from under half a minute to nearly nine minutes, diversity appears to be the order of the day here, both in terms of styles and quality. While the entire band contribute to the songwriting, it is Trey Anastasio who is by far the major writer.

In terms of the music, the songs tend to be built upon the lush organ playing of Page McConnell. Song structures are generally pretty straightforward with strong pop leanings, the aforementioned overall diversity being the main source of any prog sensibilities. Some here will inevitably baulk at tracks such as the country/bluegrass "Poor heart" written by Mike Gordon, and it does indeed seem rather out of place on an otherwise rock album.

The 7 minute "Stash" on the other hand is something of a cornucopia, ranging from a smooth Latin style, to clever Dickie 10cc patter. The track contains some nice Santana like lead guitar work too. An undoubted highlight of the album for me is the lead guitar instrumental "The landlady", where the comparison with Carlos Santana is even more appropriate. The only complaint about the track is its brevity.

The other track which purports to have prog credentials is "Tweezer", which runs to almost 9 minutes, and also enjoys a further 2 minutes of reprise to close the album. Unfortunately, the lyrics on the track are the most trite on the album, rhyming tweezer (is there such a word in the singular anyway?) with freezer and Uncle Ebeneezer. Admittedly, this is clearly intentional and meant to be humorous, but before long it simply becomes irritating. On the plus side, the track does feature some fine, rock orientated guitar.

"The mango song" offers further hints of 10cc, the mild calypso basis of the song supporting a pleasantly inoffensive long pop song.

Overall, an interesting album which contains something for everyone. That though is also its weakness, as the overall result is rather unfocused. On the plus side, this is a well performed and recorded album, which demonstrates that there is considerable talent within.