Amongst progressive rock fans, opinions on the band Phish seem to range from "definitely prog" to "lame Grateful Dead rip-off band". To be honest, there's a little bit of truth to both sides. The band definitely hangs around the outer fringes of the prog world, while not labeling themselves as a progressive rock group. The Dead-like aspect of the band can be seen in their legion of loyal (and often stoned) fans who follow them from show to show, and can be heard in their lengthy instrumental jams and occasional country-rock songs.Phish have built a reputation as a live band, and having been to a few of their concerts I can confirm that they are fun events. So it's odd that, up until now, I've much preferred their studio albums to the two live discs they had out. Hampton Comes Alive changes that - this one brings out all the talent and fun of a Phish concert without getting into too many of the long, wankish jams (i.e. there's no half-hour long version of "Tweezer" on this one). Much to my enjoyment, the somewhat overrated guitar playing of Anastasio is kept in check, while McConnell's vastly underrated piano and keyboard skills shine through.
The fact that the band could play an entire weekend without repeating any songs (and then release the whole thing warts and all) should impress prog fans. Musically, this set shows many different influences. The band's prog roots are evident in lengthy, fairly complex songs with long instrumental breaks like "Rift", "Split Open and Melt", "Harry Hood", "Divided Sky", "Foam", "The Mango Song", and particularly one of my favorite recent Phish songs, "Guyute". The Dead influence can be heard on countrified rockers like "Possum" and "Nellie Kane" (the latter song is a dead ringer for the Grateful ones).
But there are all sorts of other musical styles too. Some of the slower ballad-type tracks like "Train Song" and "Driver" remind me of early Pink Floyd when they were in a mellow mood. They also know how to get a funky groove going in tracks like "Boogie On Reggae Woman" and "Weekapaug Groove". Harder rock rears its head in songs like "Axilla I" and sections of "Rift" and "Guyute".
The band really wears their influences on their sleeves by including a boatload of cover songs. These range from the opening "Rock and Roll Part Two" and "Quinn the Eskimo" to the Beatles' "Cry Baby Cry", Hendrix's "Bold as Love" and the Beasty Boys' "Sabotage". Showing a wry sense of humor, the band also covers Will Smith's "Gettin' Jiggy With It" and closes the whole boxed set with a version of "Tubthumping".
In addition to the covers and previously unreleased songs included, this six disc set also acts as sort of a live retrospective of the band's career so far. 10 of the bands' 11 albums have at least two tracks included on Hampton Comes Alive, with the only exception being Hoist (the closest this live set gets to that album is an alternate version of "Axilla II"). If you've ever been curious about Phish, this might be a good place to start. Of course, a six disc set is a big investment for a band you're not familiar with - try to borrow it from a friend or see if you can get lucky and find it cheap on-line (I picked it up from buy.com for $35, using a coupon).
I should mention the packaging - the six discs come in a magnetically sealed box that opens two ways. One flap holds the three discs from the first show, the other holds the second show. The cardboard slipcases and liner note booklets make up "jigsaw puzzles" that can be arranged to form pictures of the Hampton Coliseum and the band on stage. The only disappointment is the lack of notes - all that's included are track titles and lengths and song authorship info.
In the end, even though the band isn't "prog proper", I think they might appeal to a lot of prog fans. The Hampton set has been dominating my CD player for the past couple weeks, stealing time away from other, more "progressive" discs that I've gotten recently.
review by Bob Eichler — undated —
