Maze (Phish) (LP 3480 - 3481)

Phish  Rift (CD, Elektra Records, 1993) ****  

Phish  Live Phish Vol 1. (12.14.95) (CD, Elektra Records, 1993) ***  

Genre: Rock, Alt rock, Prog rock

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Maze (Rift)

Gear costume: Frankenstein (Live Vol 1) 

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: Never heard of Phish? They are a band from Vermont, who've been around since 1983.  They consist of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, and keyboardist Page McConnell. They all have vocal abilities!  

I used to own a bunch of their albums but scaled it back to these two. Rift, a concept album, was their 4th studio album. Being Phish, the concept idea is pretty down to earth: it tells the experience of a man dreaming about the rift in his relationship with his girlfriend. Nice - that explains the snoring between some tracks then.

I like the album - plenty of hooks, and fun! The boys have a sense of humour.

The Live album collects the early stuff together nicely. They are a bit like the Grateful Dead of their generation, so I had to hang onto at least one live album. This is their first album in an archive series and it's great. As AllMusic says - it's a peak in their geeky period.

Where do they all belong? I lost track of the band many years ago. Good to be reminded of their brilliance.