Phish’s a Live One

Twenty years after its release, Phish's double-CD collection A Live One has something rare and precious going for it: it still doesn't sound like anybody else. Oversized, perverse, requiring an unusual amount of listener background knowledge? Yes to all. Yet the collective improvisations it captures, unprecedentedly coherent yet freewheeling and open-ended, are unique in rock 'n' roll.This book considers the music and moment of Phish's ecstatically inventive 1995 live document, a mix of weirdo acid-psych, ambient moonscapes, vaudevillian Americana, and riotous arena-rock energy, all filtered through bandleader Trey Anastasio's screwball compositional sensibility and the band's idiosyncratic approach to spontaneous group creativity. It places Phish and their fandom in historical and cultural context, and picks apart the mechanics of their extended group jams. And it examines the mystery of how a quartet of nice boys from Burlington, VT could have been, all at once, one of America's biggest touring acts and one of its best-kept secrets.

This title will appeal to a much larger fan base than just general fans of 33 1/3 and music, exploring not just the recorded album but the concert and improvisational experience of jam band culture

Preparatory to Anything ElseYou Can Feel GoodQuiet RebelsThe Method, Part 1Average White BandFinally the Punks Are Taking AcidLong TimeCan't This Wait 'til I'm OldThe Method, Part 2Twenty Years LaterAll of the Places and People BelongAfterwordSelected SourcesNext Steps Deepest Gratitude

An in-depth study of Phish's live album A Live One and its cultural significance