885 GAAT - Phish, Rift

Phish - people either love them, or love to hate them; there seems to be little leeway in-between. “Phans” are often overzealous, and often fall prey to certain stereotypes. Their music is sometimes ugly, sometimes melodic, silly, extremely diverse (reggae, hard rock, bluegrass, jazz, barbershop quartet, funk, blues, progressive, folk, alternative, country, etc.), and often focusing on extended improvisation. They are often compared to Grateful Dead (which is a better description of the String Cheese Incident) for lack of a better comparison. For those in the know, Frank Zappa and many of his musical endeavors rates as a better comparison.

Hands down they are one of the most remarkable bands that I have ever witness play live. Their sound was innovative, unlike anything I’ve ever heard to date, and ripe with raw energy. Although their musical accomplishments are many, they have gone under the mainstream media radar for quite a few years. I should know, as I’ve been to a few of their concerts.

Here is the dilemma- they have won credit as a live act, but fell incredibly short on studio recordings. Many of their albums attempted to capture their diverse playing style at the expense of loosing the energy present in their live performances. The result is a mish-mosh of song selection that lacks any form of cohesion. It is no wonder that their popularity spread via word of mouth, or that the general public just doesn’t get what it was all about. Don’t get me wrong, there are gems among their studio attempts. Poll phans for their favorite album, and you will be likely to get mixed results about what people viewed as their best work.

Consider Rift, a tightly knit album based on the concept of a rift separating a relationship. They say not to judge a book by its cover, but the cover art to this CD weaves all the songs and lyrics together into one image. The songs are just as diverse as other albums, but there is flow from one song to the next. All four members share the spotlight in terms of songwriting, singing, and performance, all playing to their specific personality and strengths. Composed instrumentals and solos are nicely balanced within the structure of the song. There is definetly a dramatic arc that spans from start to finish. Consider the powerful punch in the first few notes of the title song "Rift" through to the heartfelt "Silent in the Morning". This is an album worthy of the title greatest album. Not only do these songs work in the studio, but were among some of the most beloved in live performances as well.



A review of my top 10 albums to date:

Violent Femmes, Violent Femmes
The Beatles, Abbey Road
The Smiths, Hatful of Hollow
Radiohead, OK Computer
Phish, Rift