Band
Trey Anastasio - Guitar
Mike Gordon - Bass
Page McConnell - Piano
Jon Fishman - Drums
Review
Many would say that Phish are one of the greatest bands ever, let alone one of the greatest jam bands ever. Though, I would not go that far in saying that, there is no doubt that they are simply astonishing. Combining loads of different influences into each record they put out is beyond believable. For what I have heard, they have combined such genres as bluegrass, blues, jazz, soul, latin, psychedelia, rock, skat, techno, and many more.
Some may compare Phish to the fabulous Grateful Dead. Though Phish do not particularly sound like The Grateful Dead, they do combine some of the same elements. Some elements being endless touring, catchy meaningful songs, great instrumental play, a wide variety of instruments, jamming for massive lenghts of time, and having several vocalists in the band. Both bands do inbody all of those elements, and though I think The Grateful Dead are superior to Phish, Phish does have two things that The Grateful Dead do not. Those two thing would be that Phish oftenly add humor to their songs, and combined far more influences than The Grateful Dead ever had.
The album Farmhouse is said to be fabulous by some people and trash to others. I have noticed that a lot of Phish fans say it is genious, and I've heard a lot of Phish fans say that it is garbage. I fall under the category of thinking that it is a great album, and I believe that many Phish fans think it is trash because when this album was released, Phish were practically in the mainstream, and many people loved this album who weren't huge Phish fans. And they]huge Phish fans didn't want their "Personal" band taken away from them, which never was, and never will be. Either way I believe this is an extrodinary album with a few weak spots, but what album doesn't have a few weak spots?
1. Farmhouse: This guitar led, highly emotional recording would be a highlight on this album, in my opinion of course. It has some extrodinary passionate guitar solos, that are extremely hard to describe. Other than every instrument playing amazingly, the vocals are fabulously done, both backing and lead. In my opinion this would be the second best on the album. It is just a great song. 5/5
2. Twist: "Twist" is a very odd song. It has a great groove to it, lead by the piano. The song annoys me to a slight degree, mostly because of the backing vocals. I just done like it when Trey screams. The solo usually seems very out of place, but it is a very weird song, so you should be expecting an odd solo. 3/5
3. Bug: Here is more of a slow dance number, but don't think when I say "Slow dance" I mean corney, because it is hardly that. "Bug" has some very catchy piano playing, by Page of course. About one minute into the song it changes up and gets a lot heavier, but soon enough it goes back to what it once was. It changes up from soft to heavy throughout the song, and still stays catchy. Good song. 4.5/5
4. Back on the Train: The opening to this song is very out of the ordinary for Phish, and most bands at that. After a few seconds it morphs into a blusey/bluegrassish catchy tune, with an interesting guitar solo. Basically, everything is done great, and sounds great, so add that up and you have a great song. 4/5
5. Heavy Things: I'd say that this is the best song on the album, and a great overall Phish song. It is extremely catchy and great instrumentally, and lyrically. The guitar playing and the drumming are done extrodinarily well. This is just a song I can't get enough of, and will listen to it endlessly. To top it all off, it has a great emotional guitar solo. Plus, Phish do it great live. 5/5
6. Gotta Jibboo: Now, I always try to look for the better parts of a song and not as much as the bad parts, but this is a strong exception. The song is catchy, but seems to be just an excuse to ramble skat throughout the song. Of course it is done great instrumentally, just like most Phish songs, but that just doesn't help the song in my opinion. Definatley not a song that I would recomend. 1/5
7. Dirt: Here is just a fabulous, emotional song, that I can't get enough of. The lyrics are just amazing, and are also sang great. It has some stringed instruments used in the song that just add so much. Another factor that stands apart from everything else, in a good way, would be the backing vocals. They are just done extrodinarely well. 5/5
8. Piper: One amazing thing about this song, is that you would swear it was live, but it isn't. I read from an interview with Trey, saying that they just added noices from the crowds that they playd for. I find it to be an okay song, not really anything specials, other than the tempo changes nicely, not much more to say. 3/5
9. Sleep: This is a pretty good song. I like the recording far more than the song. The acoustic guitar playing is done nicely, and the bass flows well. Other than that I'd say that the vocals are do great. As simple as that 3/5
10. The Inlaw Josie Wales: Here is an instrumental with a wide variety of instruments played. It is led by the acoustic guitar, which includes many chords and a lot of finger picking. There also seems to be some banjo and mandolin playing. It is all done fabulously, and it deserves a good rating. I usually like songs with some unusually used instruments in it. 4.5/5
11. Sand: This song seems to be heavily influenced by techno music. It oddly has no solos, by any instrument. It has some tremendous drum beats that lead nicely. The vocals are well done and seem to be tampered with by effects. Overall, it is really the only song that resembles a techno song that I like. It also resembles "Fly like an Eagle" by The Steve Miller Band. 4/5
12. First Tube: This bass driven instrumental is unlike any sing on this album, but it's stull great. It seems to be influenced by latin music, which is great by me. Throughout the instrumental the playing gets heavier and softer. The guitar playing does occasionaly get a bit annoying, but it's still a great song. 3.5/5
I would give this album a 3.9/5, because it is a pretty good album, but it
does include some weak spots.
