scottieking Posted December 10, 2002 Report Share Posted December 10, 2002 Shanghaied by the sick guy stuck at home with little better to do... Round Room comes out today and I'm thinking I'm too sick to go out and buy it but it also got me thinkin What's your favorite Phish STUDIO album and why? It's tough, I know but if I had to narrow it down I think I'm going to end up taking..... Hoist? yes, Hoist. And here's why... When it comes to the studio album, each has it's merit. Ghost is funky and deep, Billy Breathes wonderfully eclectic, Junta the one that started it all (I could go on) but when it comes to an album experience, Hoist stands out to me because the songs on Hoist rarely get a better treatment live than they do on this album (Down with Disease excluded maybe) It may be a little over the top and produced but it is in that I return to the album as I cannot get that Phish sound on any bootleg. Double that with the fact that it was the soundtrack to one of the greatest summer's of my life and it wins. Speaking of DWD, I'm off to the couch again. Your turn.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.Huxtable Posted December 10, 2002 Report Share Posted December 10, 2002 Billy Breathes sure makes me feel good. Beautiful songs, nice stories and heck, the picture of Mike on the front makes me giggle. Nuff said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcO Posted December 10, 2002 Report Share Posted December 10, 2002 The Siket Disc is my favorite studio Phish CD because it best represents what the band is all about without mucking it up with over-ambitious production approaches. I am a HUGE Phish fan but I'll never fool myself into thinking their songs are always really great. Some of them are but a lot of them aren't (although I think Trey is getting much better at writing good *songs* - see: "Drifting"). In fact, to my mind, the strongest Phish-related disc song-wise is definitely Trey's solo album. The Siket Disc is what it is, which is the only Phish studio CD I really ever bother to put on unless I'm looking to reference something. Press play and let it flow. No cringing. No asking "why?". No convoluted lyrical turns. Nothing clever for the sake of being clever. Just Phish doing what they were put here to do.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradm Posted December 10, 2002 Report Share Posted December 10, 2002 My favourite is Rift, with Hoist a close second. The first Phish song I ever heard was "Rift" (the opener to 7/5/94), and the first album I bought was Rift (soon after that show), and it comes across as a true album (i.e., with a cohesive theme/story) rather than a collection of (good) songs. Aloha, Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted December 10, 2002 Report Share Posted December 10, 2002 Farmhouse is their best album and my favourite. I think that it is their most consisently written, produced and performed release to date. Billy Breathes is 2nd best. BB and Farmhouse are comparable albums - I just don't think BB is as consistent. Sure it has more memorable anthems, but it has a few misses too ( in my opinion ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.Huxtable Posted December 10, 2002 Report Share Posted December 10, 2002 Oh yeah Farmhouse is an incredible CD. It's way up there for me for sure. Good call Jaimoe. I was just listening to Rift yesterday and would likely call it one of my least favorites. I am not sure exactly why it doesn't appeal to me. I find it's rather boring and not very fun. Perhaps the songs are a bit pretentious and over produced? I dunno. I still think a bad Phish album is better than most other albums out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phunky Cauldron Posted December 10, 2002 Report Share Posted December 10, 2002 Does Slip, Stitch and Pass count, or does my choice have to be strictly non-live content? If it counts, chalk one up for it cause it's unbelievable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcO Posted December 10, 2002 Report Share Posted December 10, 2002 ^^^ quote:Originally posted by scottieking: What's your favorite Phish STUDIO album and why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Musicface Posted December 10, 2002 Report Share Posted December 10, 2002 I'm with Brad on Rift - I've always loved thematic albums, rather than just collections of songs - The Wall, Abbey Road, Close To The Edge, Travelers & Theives, Born To Run, Lamb Lies Down On Broadway are all amoung my very favorite albums for the same reason. Plus "Rift" was my first Phish song too, heard it on CFNY back in the day before they became The Edge. I also had "Maze" and "Weight" on one of my favorite mixed tapes ever, so I've always had a soft-spot for those songs. Billy and Farmhouse both tie for a close second, great albums as well. Phish is definitely underrated as a studio band IMHO. Peace, Mr. M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vermontdave Posted December 11, 2002 Report Share Posted December 11, 2002 Mine would have to be Junta, not for the songs as much for the memories of the first year or so of getting into this funky band from Burlington. They certainly have come along way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamilton Posted December 11, 2002 Report Share Posted December 11, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Mr. Musicface: I'm with Brad on Rift - I've always loved thematic albums, rather than just collections of songs - The Wall , Abbey Road , Close To The Edge , Travelers & Theives , Born To Run , Lamb Lies Down On Broadway The various likes and dislikes of this board are a big part of what makes it so interesting. It's funny, but these are exactly the albums that I dislike - except for the first half of Abbey Road, which doesn't fall into the "thematic" category anyway. Concept albums drive me absolutely batty, so you've probably also figured out by now that I can't stand Quadrophenia, Tommy, Rush's 2112 trilogy, Thick As A Brick, In The Court of the Crimson King or anything by Yes, ELP, or early Genesis. I'll also go on record as saying that I hope that I am never, ever at a Phish show where they perform Gamehendge. But hey, different strokes for different folks, right? As for the original question, I think my vote will also have to go to The Siket Disc. I find that all of the other albums, as well as Trey's solo album, are far too produced. Someone needs to get Trey away from the production room ... Brian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shainhouse Posted December 11, 2002 Report Share Posted December 11, 2002 Junta just raw, pure, unadulterated Phish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brels Posted December 11, 2002 Report Share Posted December 11, 2002 My choice is Story of the Ghost - the funky stuff is great (Mama Dance particularly) and the slower tunes are all solid.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimmerman pt3 Posted December 11, 2002 Report Share Posted December 11, 2002 can't say I really dig Phish for their studio output, yet there are some versions captured in the studio that sound brilliant (Esther, Demand, Horn, Fee, Billy Breathes). But if there's ONE album that blows me away to this day, it's the WHITE ALBUM. Now that's RAW, and the music speaks for itself. The guys are just having so much fun, and they're experimenting with sound and samples that I only wish they'd still play around with more (listen to N2O, it's utterly a trip to the brain the way it starts at the Dentist's chair and slides into the most beautiful Trey acoustic composition). And that's the other thing too>> the acoustic tunes on here can't be beat! AND SO TO BED, AFTERMATH! This album's the goods, 'nuff said... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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