Undermind (album)

Last updated
Undermind
UnderPhish.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 15, 2004
RecordedMay 2002, The Barn (Vermont), April 2003, Nantucket, Massachusetts, June 2003, Big Moe Recording, Chicago, Illinois, February 2004, The Barn (Vermont), March 2004, Cactus Unlimited, New York and Vermont
Genre Rock
Length50:30
Label Elektra
Producer Tchad Blake
Phish chronology
The Victor Disc
(2002)
Undermind
(2004)
New Year's Eve 1995
(2005)
Singles from Undermind
  1. "The Connection"
    Released: 2004
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Rolling Stone (favorable) [2]

Undermind is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Phish, released on June 15, 2004 by Elektra Records. The album was the group's last release before they disbanded in August 2004. It is also their final studio release for Elektra Records (or a major record label for that matter); When the band reunited in 2009, their subsequent albums would be released through their own JEMP Records label which had launched in December 2005 for live releases.

Contents

Contents

The album's cover art appears to be a direct nod to Let It Be , the final studio album by The Beatles. In a review of Undermind, Glide Magazine suggests that the album's individual song contributions may also be intentionally "Beatles-esque". [3] While the bulk of the songs are by frontman Trey Anastasio and Phish lyricist Tom Marshall, keyboard player Page McConnell, bass guitarist Mike Gordon and drummer Jon Fishman all contributed one song each. "Maggie's Revenge" is the album's only instrumental.

The introductory passage of "Scents and Subtle Sounds", which opens the album, is taken from a demo recorded by Phish frontman Trey Anastasio and the band's primary lyricist Tom Marshall. The track marks Marshall's first vocal contribution to a Phish album. [4] In concert, this intro is regularly performed as the first verse of the main "Scents and Subtle Sounds". [4]

Early copies of the album included a DVD with the 25 minute documentary Specimens of Beauty , a behind-the-scenes film on the making of Undermind, directed by Danny Clinch.

An extended improvisational studio jam recorded at the start of the Undermind sessions was later released as the Headphones Jam at LivePhish.com. Two excerpts from the Headphones Jam were used for the Undermind album: "Maggie's Revenge" and "Tiny" (an internet-only bonus track). [5]

Reception and legacy

Many reviews praised "The Connection", calling it "the most commanding" and "most commercially accessible" song of Phish's recording career to date. [2] [6] The song never became a regular fixture in the band's live rotation, and has only been performed five times as of 2019.

One month before the album's release, Anastasio (and separately, McConnell) announced on Phish.com that the band would split following their summer tour. As such, a number of the songs were not performed live before the break up, though most have been played since the band's return in 2009, with "Scents and Subtle Sounds", the title track and "A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing" ultimately entering the band's setlist rotation. Undermind's songs remain among the least played originals in Phish's large catalog.

In February 2009, Undermind was made available as a download in FLAC and MP3 formats at LivePhish.com.

Track listing

Undermind
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Scents and Subtle Sounds (Intro)"Anastasio1:37
2."Undermind"
  • Anastasio
  • Marshall
  • Herman
Anastasio4:57
3."The Connection"
  • Anastasio
  • Marshall
Anastasio2:22
4."A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing"
  • Anastasio
  • Marshall
Anastasio6:20
5."Army of One" Page McConnell McConnell5:01
6."Crowd Control"
  • Anastasio
  • Marshall
Anastasio3:34
7."Maggie's Revenge"
instrumental1:43
8."Nothing"
  • Anastasio
  • Marshall
  • Anastasio
  • Gordon
  • McConnell
4:06
9."Two Versions of Me"
  • Anastasio
  • Marshall
Anastasio3:45
10."Access Me"GordonGordon2:38
11."Scents and Subtle Sounds"
  • Anastasio
  • Marshall
  • Herman
Anastasio5:05
12."Tomorrow's Song"Fishman
  • Anastasio
  • Fishman
  • Gordon
  • McConnell
1:51
13."Secret Smile"
  • Anastasio
  • Marshall
  • Anastasio
  • McConnell
6:31
14."Grind"
  • Anastasio
  • Marshall
  • Anastasio
  • Fishman
  • Gordon
  • McConnell
0:59
Total length:50:30

Personnel

Phish

Other musicians:

String section on "Secret Smile"

Production:

Related Research Articles

<i>Billy Breathes</i> 1996 studio album by Phish

Billy Breathes is the sixth studio album by American rock band Phish, released by Elektra Records on October 15, 1996. The album was credited with connecting the band, known for its jam band concerts and devoted cult following, with a more mainstream audience. The first single, "Free", was the band's most successful song on two Billboard rock charts, peaking at #11 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart and at #24 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Chart. The album itself became the band's highest-charting album on the Billboard 200, where it peaked at number seven.

<i>The Story of the Ghost</i> 1998 studio album by Phish

The Story of the Ghost is the seventh studio album by American rock band Phish, released by Elektra Records on October 27, 1998. The album features an emphasis on the jazz-funk influenced "cow-funk" style, which the group had been experimenting with in concert throughout 1997 and 1998. The album's first single was "Birds of a Feather", which was a Top 20 hit on Billboard magazine's Adult Alternative Songs chart. The album's cover was painted by visual artist George Condo.

<i>Live Phish Volume 2</i> 2001 live album by Phish

Live Phish Vol. 2 was recorded live on July 16, 1994, and was released on September 18, 2001, as part of the Live Phish Series. The show was performed on the side of a ski slope at the Sugarbush Resort in the town of North Fayston, located in Phish's home state of Vermont. It was the final concert of the band's highly successful 1994 summer tour. Earlier in the year, the band had released its highest selling album to date (Hoist) and the size of the Phish audience had expanded greatly by the summer. The Sugarbush concert, which included overnight camping on the ski slope under the stars, was slated as the grand finale of the tour.

<i>Live Phish Volume 10</i> 2002 live album by Phish

Live Phish Vol. 10 was recorded live at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Columbus, Ohio on June 22, 1994. Some Phish hobbyists advance that the concert ranks among the five best the band has ever played, although the weight of reliable authority holds otherwise.

<i>Live Phish Volume 11</i> 2002 live album by Phish

Live Phish Vol. 11 is a live album by American rock band Phish, which was recorded live at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado on November 17, 1997.

<i>Live Phish Volume 12</i> 2002 live album by Phish

Live Phish Vol. 12 is a live album by American rock band Phish, which was recorded live at the Deer Creek Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana, on August 13, 1996.

<i>Live Phish Volume 18</i> 2003 live album by Phish

Live Phish Vol. 18 is an album by Phish. It was recorded live at the Bomb Factory in Dallas, Texas on May 7, 1994.

<i>Live Phish 04.03.98</i> 2005 live album by Phish

Live Phish 04.03.98 is a live album by American rock group Phish, which was recorded live at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, on April 3, 1998, which serves as the second night of the band's four-night "Island Tour",

<i>Live Phish 04.04.98</i> 2005 live album by Phish (Live Series)

Live Phish 04.04.98 is a live album by American rock group Phish, which was recorded live at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island, on April 4, 1998, which serves as the third night of the four-night "Island Tour",

<i>Live Phish Downloads: Headphones Jam</i> 2007 live album by Phish

Headphones Jam is an in-studio improvisational jam session by the American rock band Phish, recorded during sessions for the band's 2004 album Undermind.

<i>The Clifford Ball</i> (video) 2009 film

The Clifford Ball is a seven-DVD box set released on March 3, 2009 by the rock band Phish. It was performed on August 16 and August 17, 1996 at Plattsburgh Air Force Base in Plattsburgh, NY, chronicling the first of ten Phish festivals. The collection received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package in 2009.

<i>Joy</i> (Phish album) Album by Phish

Joy is the twelfth studio album by the American rock band Phish, released on September 8, 2009, on the band's own label, JEMP Records.

<i>Live Phish 12.01.95</i> 2007 live album by Phish

Live Phish 12.01.95 is a live album by the American rock band Phish. The album was originally released in MP3, FLAC and CD formats on March 20, 2007, and features the band's performance from December 1, 1995 at the Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania in its entirety.

<i>Ventura</i> (Phish album) 2013 live album by Phish

Ventura is a live album by the rock band Phish. It contains two complete concerts on six CDs. It was recorded on July 30, 1997, and July 20, 1998, at the Ventura County Fairgrounds in Ventura, California. Packaged as a box set, it was released by JEMP Records on June 18, 2013.

<i>Fuego</i> (Phish album) 2014 studio album by Phish

Fuego is the thirteenth studio album by the American rock band Phish, released on June 24, 2014 on the band's own JEMP Records label.

<i>Niagara Falls</i> (Phish album) 2013 live album by Phish

Niagara Falls is a three-CD live album by the rock band Phish. It contains the complete concert recorded on December 7, 1995, at the Niagara Falls Convention Center in Niagara Falls, New York. It was released by JEMP Records on November 12, 2013.

<i>Big Boat</i> 2016 studio album by Phish

Big Boat is the fourteenth studio album by the American rock band Phish, released on October 7, 2016 on the band's own JEMP Records label. The album was produced by Bob Ezrin and recorded at The Barn, guitarist Trey Anastasio's studio in Burlington, Vermont.

<i>St. Louis 93</i> 2017 live album by Phish

St. Louis '93 is a six-disc live album by the rock band Phish. It includes two complete concerts, recorded on April 14, 1993 and August 16, 1993.

<i>Sigma Oasis</i> 2020 studio album by Phish

Sigma Oasis is the fifteenth studio album by the American rock band Phish, released on the band's JEMP Records label on April 2, 2020. The album was recorded at their studio The Barn and was produced by the band and Vance Powell.

The Baker's Dozen was a series of thirteen concerts performed by Vermont-based jam band Phish between July 21 and August 6, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. Each night featured a completely unique setlist with no songs repeated throughout the event, with the band playing 237 songs in total. The full set of shows was released as a box set entitled The Complete Baker's Dozen, alongside a three-disc live album of highlights, The Baker's Dozen: Live at Madison Square Garden.

References

  1. Theakston, Rob (2011). "Undermind – Phish | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  2. 1 2 Kemp, Mark (2011). "Phish: Undermind : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on February 16, 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  3. Ward, Eric. Undermind Review Archived 2012-04-02 at the Wayback Machine . Glide Magazine. Online. Accessed: September 6, 2011.
  4. 1 2 "Scents and Subtle Sounds History - Phish.net". phish.net. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  5. Phish: Headphones Jam Archived 2013-09-09 at the Wayback Machine LivePhish.com. Online. Accessed: September 12, 2011.
  6. Ward, Eric. Undermind Review. Glide Magazine. Online. Accessed: September 6, 2011.