AR: A Live One

Phish - A Live One (1994/5)

Ah, the danger of reviewing Phish albums: I'm a full-fledged fanboy, so you're not going to believe anything I say positive about their albums, and the temptation is to go into even more-boring-than-the-song-by-song-accounts minute-by-minute accounts of the particular jams incorporated here. Fair enough; you don't want to hear it, and I don't particularly want to write it, given that anyone with a similar level of interest is likely already well into the most popular albums like this one anyways. So I'll try to keep things concise and general audience level unlike, say, a thirty minute exploratory "Tweezer." As though that sort of thing would ever find its way onto a major label release! Right? Oh, who am I kidding, this great disc is going to get the full track by track treatment. You should have guessed that.

ALO is a compilation of performances from 1994; it was released in '95 and is a pretty healthy mix of signature tunes, previously unreleased but concert staple tunes, some quite poppy numbers, and one left field oddity. Most importantly, it was their first official live release, giving the uninformed (which very much would have included me in 1995) a taste of what all the noise was about. Phish knew the double LP was en route and had purchased all kinds fo digital, fancy-pants recording equipment in order to tape all of their 1994 performances. A complex process involving band member journals and phish.net voting polls went into selecting the final list such that the end product was a mix of band and fan favorites. That process itself worked wonders, as the lack of a singular mind led to the inclusion of some invigorated live versions, some fan favorites finally put to collectible official wax, and some waaaaay out there experimentation of which the band was so fond.

"Bouncing Around the Room" is a lively take on the lead candidate for Phish's poppiest song* - it had already been released on the studio Lawn Boy and is not an improv vehicle in any sense, so it was sort of a strange lead track choice. In the interest of being representative, though, a solid choice - sort of shows Phish's more reined in side, showcases a single-worthy wispy love/dream song of sorts, and reveals that they can nail those harmonies and intricate guitar loops live, too. The second track, "Stash," had also been previously studio-released on Picture of Nectar, but in nothing like the monstrous form here. It's a minor key calypso jazz jam number with bizarre lyrics and just a sick, sick lead guitar melody. The jam winds spaceward, and if you ever want a quick lesson in "tension and release" musical improv dynamics, ALO's "Stash" is a great place to look. An all-time version of an already great song clocks in at about thirteen minutes, but the whole thing simmers and destroys the studio version.

* - The other candidates would be 2000's "Heavy Things," 1993's "Sparkle" and 1994's "Down With Disease" (which, believe it or not, had a video made), though the latter is so explosive and dynamic in concert that it's not truly in the running. 1994's "Sample in a Jar" is probably another one. "Bouncing," though, in particular, never features improv and has a tendency to induce groans from a noticeable part of the audience. I happen to find it to be pop gem-ish, but that's just me.

"Gumbo" is a goofy sort of previously unreleased New Orleans funk number featuring a tale of a gun-slinging parrot. It's backed on ALO by the Giant Country Horns to fantastic effect. At 5:15, it's another contained poppier number; the vocals are memorable and it's butt-bumping beat makes for great dancing. "Montana" is the oddball here - it's a fairly freeform ambient jam that is actually lifted from a Tweezer improv, but functions nicely as a stand-alone piece. It functions even more nicely as the de facto intro to Phish's signature "You Enjoy Myself," a multi-part fugue-based tune that in concert gets all kinds of space exploratory treatment, bass solos, a segment called "nirvana" and some one-of-a-kind vocal scat jamming. The ALO version is 21 minutes long (!), giving all the sections, composed and otherwise, ample room to breathe (the vocal jam segment alone is some six minutes). It had been previously released in much tighter form on Junta, but the ALO version gives a much better idea of the possibilities of the song. Not to mention hearing those passages nailed live is just breath-taking - this is one of my favorite versions of "YEM," fwiw.

"Chalk Dust Torture" shows up as a repeat of a release from A Picture of Nectar, and thank Hashem it did - the APoN version is sparse and a little routine, whereas this one brings the crazy Led Zep on speed energy the song normally features. All kinds of concert goodness in this straight-forward rocker - a big riff, an anthemic chorus of "Can't I live while I'm young?," and a devastating guitar solo. This song often evokes "Fireworks!" comments, and this version is one of the best at that - indulgent, '70s guitar god rock, good for all of its 6:49. Things slow down a bit for the dramatic (and previously unreleased), reggae-inflected "Slave to the Traffic Light," a soaring, epic piece. It's a fan favorite with limited lyrics, lots of volume dynamics, some emotional keywork from Page and a long outro that the band uses to ramp up to a blissful peak. Great to finally have this in official release form; Phish nails all eleven minutes.

Disc 2 opens with "Wilson," a borderline metal rocker from their Gamehendge narrative. Ba-dum, ba-dum ... "Wilson!" goes the audience-participated opening, and in similar fashion to "CT," Phish proceeds to tear things up. "W" is a fairly simple song (it's one of the few I can play (at least the rhythm guitar part)), and Trey et al. use it to, yes, rock faces off. This is a standard version in that pyrotechnic antics are standard 'round these parts; again, previously unreleased, so great to have etc.

And then there's "Tweezer." A blink of Phish's popular riff-rock, funky-groove improv vehicle is on APoN, but the versions of "Tweezer" fans talk about often get the EPIC tag and while on in free-jazz improv land for half hour chunks. (Beck had the misfortune of witnessing a 45 minute Tweezerful second set on 6.22.95 in Canandaigua, NY, and I don't think she has forgiven the band in any tangible way since). This is one of those Tweezer-beasts, and you have been warned. I *heart* them big time, because if you can find that proper state of attention, the band is doing fascinating stuff with musical interplay, changing tempos, melodies, keys, you name it. It's what phans know as "Type II Jamming" which essentially means getting telepathic and abandoning all standard music rules. Experimental, to say the least, and understandably not everyone's cup of tea. ALO's "Tweezer" comes in at a just a shade under 31 minutes, features all kinds of dissonance, and alternately earns severe praise from admirers and asinine comments from Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly record reviewers (I'll let you google those two yourself). And it has some outright goofery in there, too, lest you take the whole ordeal too seriously. Litmus test - do you have Miles Davis in your record collection? Okay, but do you have Ornette Coleman? Not to say that Phish is on his out-there level, but you should probably be able to tolerate that before cracking open a drink to hang with this track.

The album leaves orbit to return to the circular full band mid-tempo calm down of "Simple." It's a triumphant celebration of life type tune, usually sandwiched in the middle of a Mike's Groove (see here), but here it's syrupy smile induction stands alone. This is its official-release debut, and it's a tight five minutes of relief from the previous track. Another o-fd, "Harry Hood," follows, and it is a whole lot reggae-influenced grandiose goodness, too. It and "Slave" are pretty tightly coupled in my mind, and another of the great selling points of ALO is that both tunes find their release to the world here. "HH" is a multi-part composition that is all about beaming smiles - one of the best showcasers of the wide range of all of the members of Phish's talents, and this is one of the all-time versions. I've said that before, yeah? Well, yeah. Litmus Test II - if this one doesn't fill you with chills and warm glowing warming glows at the same time, you will pretty much never get into this band. It's a fifteen minute ride, with every part in its place.

The double disc closes with "The Squirming Coil," another song that had already been released on Lawn Boy but one that once again gets the live workout. The big attraction is Page's awe-inspiring solo to close - it's about a five minute outro, with the other members slowly dropping out and eventually completely leaving stage as he brings the show to a sublime halt. It's gorgeous. But the rest of the song features song cool driving vocal passages and one of Trey's "serene solos" - a few Phish songs ("Lizards," "Divided Sky" would be other examples) have these slowed down guitar passages that just sing and maximize the effect of his sustain. The live take is certainly warranted, here, as while the studio cut is good, this is yet another special cut.

And that's A Live One - not just a stellar intro to the band and a wide variety of their playing styles / stellar instrumental chops, but one that contains hardcore fan-attracting rarities and some best versions of Phish standards, many released for the first time. And so I run into the problem at the beginning of the review - this is easily the best traditional live album from Phish, and it's possibly the best live album of the 1990s. But I don't trust myself to rate it - I prefer the full show releases, and so I really don't go running for this LP very often. But when I listen to it, it's across the board awesome! Pinnacle stuff! But I know I also just like Phish a whole lot and have killed any critical mind I have toward them. So... hmmmph. I suppose in the absence of full shows, this would definitely be among the Phish albums I take, so I would toss it in the Desert Island suitcase. But that suitcase shouldn't be the type of thing that requires this much of a weighed decision! Ugh! What to do?

I'm perplexed. Clearly the only answer is to give it some kind of dual rating. Wait, I've got it. I will give it the Schroedinger's Cat esteemed place in my DI suitcase. I won't know whether it's really there until I look. This would, of course, require me to actually travel to a desert island, so I'm comfortable just leaving ALO in this evaluative state of quantum flux. Problem solved! Regardless, for all of your non-phan-addled minds and purposes, the take home message is that this is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED and will definitely help you figure out if Phish is the one thing that's been missing from your life. It was for me! This was one of the first official albums of theirs I got after attending that Liz concert on 9.25.99, and there is no doubt that the two hours of smoking music herein changed my brainstate forever. Dig into it, and some late night, instead of watching that Friends rerun for the fifth time, use thirty minutes to check out a "Tweezer," why don'cha?"

Status: Recommended (Desert Schroedinger's)
Nyet's Faves: "Chalkdust Torture" and "Harry Hood"*

* - Sometimes the faves selections are affected by external factors. In this case, "YEM" is already one of my favorites from Junta, and "Stash" is already the favorite from APoN. I'm loath to call a 31 minute formless "Tweezer" jam a favorite no matter how cool it is; that's not really the purpose of favorites. So the choices here are qualified, but they're both still excellent cuts from this album.