Phish
Round Room
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Phish
Round Room
Elektra, 2002
RiYL: Ween, The Grays, Sonic Youth's Washing Machine |
Phish's is a tale of two groups: on one hand, the group is the biggest jam band in the land, able to sell out arenas by the dozen and draw tens of thousands of fans to obscure locations for 2-day festivals featuring 3- and 4-hour Phish sets all weekend long. On the other hand, it's a flawed studio band that's never gone platinum, with fans and critics alike lamenting the group's seeming inability to translate the mix of technical virtuosity and effortless fluidity that marks the live Phish experience into studio albums with new songs.
For my money, the perfect Phish album won't be achieved until the group works up 20 great songs, plays them out on a summer tour until each is honed to the satisfaction of both band and crowd (the former poring over soundboard recordings, the latter diligently trading tapes of each show), and then picks the best/favorite 12, plays them in order at the final show of the tour, and records and releases that document as the "new album". The group is clearly at its best in a live setting, where it is able to feed off stimuli and play to each song's needs in real time, like a point guard reading the defense and passing the ball to whomever has the best open shot. Such a plan would apply the band's strengths to conquer its weakness.
The good news is that Round Room is as close as Phish has come yet to that dream scenario. The "almost" comes into play because, as the band admitted to Jon Pareles in an interview for the New York Times, their original plan for the album was to do almost exactly that -- practice the new songs furiously, play them live at their reunion show (New Year's Eve 2002 @ New York's Madison Square Garden), mix it overnight, and release the album online the next morning. But being an improvisational band, most of Phish's ideas tend to mutate, and the group started getting very attached to its original demos, recorded in four days in guitarist Trey Anastasio's Barn studio this Fall. So that's what we're getting.
But luckily for us, said demos are easy to get attached to: they have coalesced into one of Phish's best albums. Whereas in the past, a Phish studio set might have either had songs with long, jam-like sections written in (that could be expanded and toyed with in concert), or concise pop songs (which also opened up at gigs to allow long periods of spontaneous interplay), Round Room's tunes each exhibit a loose, improvisational feel that reflects Phish's primary strength, its members' ability to play off one another's musical contributions in real-time. In other words: they are jamming out on the album, and it plays more like a Phish show than any of their past studio efforts.
Opener "Pebbles And Marbles" starts things off the right way. It's a 10-minute-plus classic Phish jam, whose stately intro gives way to a jangly minor-key verse/chorus/verse segment, and then explodes into a long jam section in which each band member shines. While the Phish loyal should rejoice at the sound of such an organic jam session in the studio (first track, no less), those who herald the group's "mature" period as a positive turn should also take note: while the band still has a sense of humor, it is now paying much more attention to the overall strength of the songs, based especially on the fact that the lyrics have weight and fit each song's mood.
Second track "Anything But Me" is a great example of that -- a Phish song that doesn't rely on musical bombast, but on tender delivery and heartfelt emotion. It's comparable to "Billy Breathes" or a few other tracks from the album of that name, but is a bit more well-developed. "You've become an island / in the hazy world surrounding me," Trey sings, "offering a vast reward each time I safely cross the sea / All too often i become lost in the fog and haze / clinging still against my will to promises of clearer days." A touching note, and well-put.
Elsewhere, the album has a lot of shuffling rhythms and tinkling pianos, making the group sound like a lounge or bar band on cuts like the cutesy, Mike Gordon-penned title track and the somber "Friday," whose cryptic -- but not meaningless -- lyrics seem to be about the end of a relationship. "Mexican Cousin" is a Tonight's The Night-ish lurching tribute to tequila, which aptly becomes more charming the more time you spend with it. Not the most impressive thing the group has ever done, but it's still eons above "Gotta Jibboo."
While notable aspects of Round Room reflect each band member's contributions, it is Anastasio's guitar which has always been the group's most potent voice, and the instrument continues to be a wellspring of expression on Round Room. Even when Trey himself is wailing hoarsely, drunk and out-of-tune on "Mexican Cousin," his guitar part is dominating and emotional in a blues sense, basically elevating the track from a potential throwaway to a memorable tune. Similarly, some seven minutes into the fantastic multi-part adventure "Walls Of The Cave," a few tasty Trey licks propel the song into a new realm.
But it is the collaborative nature of Round Room that is the most impressive aspect. The group exhibits a remarkable symbiosis on each the 12 tracks that makes the album a welcome comeback salvo. Phish is a unique band, and that's heartily reinforced by the fact that they can come together after two years spent in four different mindsets, and so quickly re-mesh that they were able to create such a powerful work over the course of a few weeks.
TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.