Current Events: Phish for non-phans, a reunion playlist

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The Story of the Ghost (1998)
One of the band’s three finest studio recordings (along with Billy Breathes and Hoist), Ghost boiled down Phish’s late-’90s Talking Heads-esque/wah-wah-heavy “funk” period to its essence, while also including some of the band's most palatable songwriting (exemplified by songs like "Wading in the Velvet Sea," "Roggae" and "Brian and Robert").

Newbies: “Birds of a Feather” “Wading in the Velvet Sea,” “Roggae,” "Brian and Robert"
Heads: “Guyute,” “Limb by Limb”

Billy Breathes (1996)
A mix of concise, grunge-tinged pop rockers and hushed acoustic ballads that brought the band some of its first play on mainstream rock radio.

Newbies: “Free,” “Waste,” “Character Zero”
Heads: “Prince Caspian,” “Taste”

Hoist (1994)
Just as Phish was breaking beyond cult status, it released this accessible album of soulful rockers that became an important point of transition from its earlier, more erratic studio sound to the relatively conventional approach the band would use on future records—i.e. they focused on more traditional song structures as opposed to genre-splicing virtuosic workouts and multi-part epics.

Newbies: “Julius,” “Sample in a Jar,” “If I Could (feat. Alison Krauss),” “Lifeboy”
Heads: “Scent of a Mule,” “Demand”

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Live Review: The Avett Brothers @ Georgia Theatre, 10/3/08

5 Comments

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By Jay Sweet on October 7, 2008

Well done Mister LaBate, well done; however I would like to counter balance your musings with two simple additions:

1) Tom Marshall was for the times a remarkable wizard of wit and irony. Simply put his mind does not operate on normal wave lengths and that is what ultimately fueled the band's "absurdist sense of humor and unflagging refusal to take itself seriously". To date I have never met anyone else with such an uncanny ability to capture the weird world of the seemingly mundane with such original vision; he's like Seinfeld on acid.

2) While Undermind was clearly uninspired, there is an absolute hidden gem lurking in there. Page's "Army of One" is arguably one of the best songs ever recorded by the band.

By Steve LaBate on October 7, 2008

Perhaps you're right—I might've been a little harsh on Marshall - it's true that he contributed a lot to the sense of humor. There is no set of lyrics more wonderfully ridiculous than "Run Like an Antelope." And, back in the day, I always loved seeing the "deeper-meaning contingent" at Phish shows arguing furiously about just what, exactly, Trey meant when he sang lines like, "Your hands and feet are mangoes, you're gonna be a genius anyway." Sure thing, Scooby... why don't you and Butterfly ponder that a little longer, bra. Who knows? There might be a dissertation in it. May I suggest... mango references : Phish : : Campbell's soup cans : Andy Warhol.

By Maya on October 8, 2008

Once upon a time, I was a phan too... I didn't know they were getting back together for a reunion. Should be interesting. I believe that Story of the Ghost was the last of their great albums. It all went downhill after that, unfortunately.

By john on October 8, 2008

Decent article for the uninitiated, but I almost stopped reading after I read, the lyrics penned by collaborator Tom Marshall mostly sucked. The author obviously has no appreciation for finely-tuned jibberish.

By Jeff on October 13, 2008

Good angle for an article on the Phish reunion. But. Couldn't disagree more with most of the album assessments, though. To be fair, my perspective is that of a person who started as a Phish fan in high school when Lawn Boy came out. So I've been there through most of it.

Judged as studio albums Junta, Lawn Boy and Picture of Nectar are no great treat to listen to. Almost all songs there are best in the wild. Rift is a decent listen, but the songs are still better live. Hoist is a mediocre album, and the songs are OK live. Billy Breathes: getting better in the studio, songs still better live. Farmhouse? First really good studio album, very listenable over and over, though poppy as pointed out in this article.

Story of the Ghost - Phish perfection. A great studio album and tremendous live.

But the blow off of the last two albums is a mistake. The band wasn't around long enough to develop those songs live, but I think the studio qualities of those two albums are actually very good. They are very present and even a bit gritty in that you can hear everything without a bunch of studio polish. Basically, I guess they are almost live in the studio, which may be why they sound so good.

Anyway, just another opinion. Everyone has one. I just hope I have a ticket to Hampton to go with my opinion. :)