Phuck yeah.

curious to hear this

Also petrified.

yes, not if you've learned to expect the worst

Why don't you three just give me a review. Farmhouse was the last record of their's I bothered to listen to.

I'll probably dl this tonight. Color me interested.

stay tuned for a play-by-play review this afternoon from work, with headphones of course (not for effect, but to hide).

no

"Backwards Down the Number Line"
- Very upbeat beginning to the record. The prototypical Phish 3.0 song/sound. Vapid lyrics, though nothing so horrible as to grab the attention, fortunately just obscure enough to not have some literal attachment to Trey's drug problem or something. Crisp recording/production, clean vocals, nice layering, curtailed jamming.

"Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan"
- And here are the overly direct lyrics. Already raising the question, within the song, when is the next time they're breaking up? Definitely nothing you haven't heard in the instrumental before. Sounds like Character Zero slightly slower. I guess this counts as Dark Trey.

"Joy"
- First time I've heard this song. And here are the awkward lyrics about beauty and happiness. Nice little thing on the acoustic guitar. A ballad with a bit of bombast. I prefer "Driver". This is schlock, and would've sounded better if Trey was singing with his high-voice, get me?

"Sugar Shack"
- Gordon song. The G is soft. Spiky funk song, like a cactus. The chorus may prove to be the best part of this album. Trey's wha sounds horrible. Solo is nice though, and Page's kind off-kilter keys are nice. Thank god for Mike Gordon and how weird he is.

"Ocelot"
- A medium sized cat that has a tawny yellow coat marked with black splotches, and ranges from S. Texas through S. America. It makes for a decent song.

"Kill Devil Falls"
- I like this song 'cause the jam out of it at Bonnaroo was arguably the best I heard them in years. Group this with "Backwards..." as just another blues-funk-inflected rock song.

"Light"
- For a moment this is sonically interested, but it devolves into that typical coasting Phish with flighty vocals. It's pretty blissed out and nice. If this counts as a latter day "Taste" I guess I'll take it. The whole instrumental sounds like a "Hood" jam. The best is the part where they repeat "purify my soul"...

"I Been Around"
- Obligatory Page song. Though can't say we're used to having too many Page songs on record... Trey's a dick on this cut. Dicks should keep their mouths shut. Throwaway autobiographical bullshit this.

"Twenty Years Later"
- Wonder what this one could be about.

Alright, it's a cleanly recorded/written/produced/executed rock record. I'm happy that this is a rebirth for them and that they're so joyous about it, but it's so boring how easily they settle into the middle of the road in every aspect of this album, and the glee about it is insufferable - what the hell was I on before? That said, it's their most cohesive record ever. They're good songs that are not unwelcome additions to the live set, especially if they're the ones that actually lead to more vital jams. Problem is that their structure is inherently commonplace, so maybe they'll drag the live show into the middle of the road too. Certainly from what I saw and heard this summer, they're playing it safer onstage. Necessarily so, because they were a mess before they broke up, but even then some of the risks paid off.

I don't know. Someone else review it. This is beyond me. They're a nostalgia act to me. I'm thankful for that nostalgia, always will be, but I got no bones about skipping a show within even three hours of me now, but I will still go see them with friends and have a good time. I don't foresee myself being in a mood to return to this album very often. Joy is not part of my vocabulary.

jesus christ why am i downloading this

Yeah, I'll agree with jsh on this one. Its not terrible, but I can't see myself listening to it again. Its fairly rote material. Sounds like jam band album 101. I guess you can give them a fair amount of leeway though, since they at least wrote some major chapters in that book.

If they play "Ocelot" live, it will be the "go get beer" song.

What this album will accomplish for them, is probably some decent reviews in some high-profile rags that will get people like my dad into them.

Does that mean it's written by Vince Welnick?

I will never hear a note of this band as long as I live.

As far as albums go, do you think it will be regarded as their "best"? It could easily be argued.

By the way:

http://sharefreemusic.com/Phish%20Tunes.html

Lots of full shows and full tours from the 90s!! A lot of incredible shit in there I haven't listened to in years.

Technically speaking, I think you can definitely argue that, however I think albums like Junta and Lawn Boy will be viewed as their best with fans because of the advent of crowd favorites on those records.



Cool. Archive.org has stopped carrying downloadable Dead and Phish shows for the most part.

Really? I've downloaded a fair bit of Dead lately.