(note: when I make these comparisons, I’m comparing the recording of an album to the recording of a show, not the recording to an album to an EXPERIENCE of a show, because everything sounds better when you’re actually there.)
Most people prefer Phish live. With the majority of jam-oriented songs, I prefer them live as well (unless the studio version is so radically different that they can’t be compared; see studio Divided Sky and Sand). Some songs, though, really seem to gain no energy or substance in a concert setting. I hope I’m not alone. Which songs? Discuss. My picks:
–FEE–
If I haven’t said this a million bajillion times before, Fee is what got me into Phish. The flawless nature of the song was part of this; Trey’s vocals were perfect (AND HE SANG ALL THE RIGHT WORDS WHICH IS APPARENTLY REALLY HARD TO DO), the added guitar, guiro and triangle really added to the atmosphere, and Page’s piano sounds real and huge. The performance of the verses through a telephone-like distortion also adds a bit to to the distant, “storyteller” persona of Trey. (Trey in storyteller mode is one of the greatest things ever.)
In a live setting, the words are often botched, and the little ambient jam we get at the end really doesn’t contribute to the song IMO.
–LLAMA–
Sticking this right on the front of A Picture Of Nectar makes for one of the greatest album openers ever. It moves FAST. True, live Llamas move a bit faster, but in the process they drop more, and the weight it gains in the extra jamming doesn’t seem to justify that. Here, every note is hit, every word is coherent, and Phish is moving at the highest possible speed without missing a detail. Also, the engineering of A Picture Of Nectar is just beautiful; Fish’s kick drum shines here, and the organic acoustics of the whole album really lends something to the music.
And that last “TABOOT” in a pitchshifted voice is just too cool.
–JULIUS–
Horns and choir. I have nothing else to add.
–BILLY BREATHES–
Probably the most underrated Phish song, easily one of the best soft ballads they ever did. The album version is rich with detail they can’t get live; it starts with the deep final bass note coming out of Bliss, and moves into a song that keeps slowly flowing upwards, with vocal harmonization, marimba rolls, and things it’s tough to do live. Then the midsection; a banjo kicks in, and a beautiful, distant instrument I’m pretty sure is a distorted horn section adds to the lonesome, blissful nature of the song. Then it comes down to piano, a beautiful Mike solo, and Trey capping off the song with two guitar tracks.
–HEAVY THINGS–
When I first heard this, long before I knew what Phish was, I thought it was Barenaked Ladies.
Don’t take that as a bad thing, I think they’re great. One of the things about them I love is how intricate and energetic their studio production gets, and that’s what I heard in this song. There’s something doing something interesting at any moment in the song; about three guitars making a much more intricate sound, but nobody else in the band is resting either. In a live setting, Fish seems to move a bit too fast, the band can’t keep up, and they just crunch along the rhythm.
–BASICALLY EVERY SONG ON UNDERMIND EXCEPT THE TITLE TRACK–
Undermind is one of my favorite Phish albums. It’s very song-oriented, which I think is good if you’re making a record and not putting on a concert. Also, the production is very nice; multiple layers of everything, and spot-on vocals (as opposed to Round Room: Live And Poorly Edited). Then again, it’s hard to judge, because they barely played anything from this one at all.