wow... it seems that nobody cares that...

phish are here. dunno how prog they are but i thought they had an insanely big fanbase, they only have 1 or 2 ratings on a few of their albums, most are unrated. ive never heard anything by em, jus surprised they dont get more attention here. what do you all think?

Wonderful band that were very much the live band of the 90s with absolutly no prog output.  I have always wondered why they are in this database.  I just can't understand why we will debate the merits of Radiohead in the archives to no end but no one mentions why Phish got in the archives.

Phish - Rift, now heres a great 90's album!. Prog?
sure, its moving traditional jam bandsound into
psychedelic progressive folk. If it was Tull or the
Moodies in the 70's you would have no issues with
calling this album progressive rock. Instead your
mind has been altered by media strychnine and your
facilities are tattered with bat guano.

Proggers unite and fight against the media voodoo
skull shrinkers who wish to turn you into low IQ
newts!

jam = improvisation.

In that case, I see no reason why a fan of King Crimson or Zappa (for instance) would have any problem with the idea that Phish is here. Unless it's the style of improvisation? I've heard that Phish is more of a descendant of Allman/ Dead style jamming than of the jazz-inspired improv that graces (or ruins, depending on your opinion) so many prog albums. I can't totally agree- without bashing the talents of two bands that I enjoy and appreciate, I'd have to say that Phish is more obviously staffed with instrumental skill, and even displays more than a little jazz influence from time to time.

So Phish is a bunch of talented guys who improvise with skill...and the songs are often pretty darn good too. That abbreviated characterization could apply to any number of bands on this site. Why then are folks reluctant to have prog associated with them?

For my side, I don't care. The forces at the helm of Progarchives have done a fine job as far as I'm concerned. When their choices don't happen to coincide with mine, it can be an opportunity to expand my horizons. Not to mention a prod to forum conversation.

Gabrielesque lyrics?

The overhead view is of me in a maze
And you see what I'm hunting a few steps away
And I take a wrong turn and I'm on the wrong path
And the people all watching enjoy a good laugh
Embarrassed with failure, I try to reverse
The course that my tread had already traversed
So doing the trauma engulfing my dream
Invaded through what was an unguarded seam
The torrent of helplessness swept me away
To the cavern of shame and the hall of dismay
Inside me a voice was repeating this phrase:
"You've lost it, you'll never get out of this maze"
You'll never get out of this maze x7

---------------------
My friend, my friend he's got a knife
A statement from his former life
When he was easy but alone
Beside him was an empty throne
But what of silver silken blade
Affix his gaze, his features staid
Grasps the handle, clips the cable
One steps up, sits at his table
My friend, my friend, he's got a knife
My friend, my friend, he's got a wife

My friend, my friend, the clever ruse
Persuasion through his thoughts peruse
A hidden relic from his past
That wasn't there when he looked last
He feels it ticking like a bomb
Feeding fear, assaulting calm
Takes the object, starts the game
Moves closer to the flame
My friend, my friend, the clever ruse
My friend, my friend, he lights the fuse
My friend, my friend, he's got a knife
My friend, my friend, he's got a knife
My friend, my friend, he's got a knife
Myf
[maniacal giggles]




Edited by DallasBryan

dont do note by note analysis, just overall feeling.
Track by track is tough work on an old man. I would
have to focus and work burns out my memory cells. I
dont mind copying energetic others that I agree with!


Rift being the only album by them I like with a nod to
the previous one.

Edited by DallasBryan

I prefer Phish's  long improvisational live tracks. Silly lyrics, though. At least Zappa was funny.

Vibrationbaby wrote: I have a friend who used to drive me nuts with his greatful dead collection. Now he drives me nuts with his phish collection. These guys don`t really do anything that a good bar band can`t do. Idon`t know what all the excitement was about .

If Phish are here in the archives, then why not the Greatful Dead?

Phish is progressive in the purest sense of the word. Most of their early work smacks of Zappa and they were into PFM. I like what Dallas said. People are so confused by society that they already formulate in their head that any band belonging to the societal genre of jam bands simply cannot be a prog band. Ridiculous.

Some great Phish prog:

Gamehenge, Junta, and Lawn boy are all thematic storytelling albums. You Enjoy Myself is prog, case closed. Someone mentioned Rift. That's a prog album. The story of the Ghost is a concept album. Wow, the Siket disc - PROG!

 

Please people. Argue Styx, not Phish.

 

Gaston