Phish - Hoist

One of their less memorable discs

Not terrible, but for Phish's standards this is pretty low on the totem pole. We all saw how catchy, more typical song structures crept into their seemingly never-ending complexities over the years, but not until Hoist has the fire been dimmed to such a point that the inertia sounds palpable. Hoist is the bitter comedown to APoN's masterful assimilations. July 20, 2008

Good not great

Not a bad Phish studio album, but I can think of live versions of every one of these songs that I like better. Still, it brings back lots of memories from that time (early nineties). Clever songwriting, strong musicianship, but lacks the live dynamic. December 11, 2007

Don't Let Overcritical Reviewers Deter You From this Album!

What you need to know about this album is that it is very entertaining and jam packed with lots of different sounding, very original songs. This isn't your run of the mill rock or pop album where everything sounds the same. Trey and friends really keep you guessing from start to finish throughout Hoist. I believe this was one of the first Phish albums I ever owned right along with Story of the Ghost. I feel the same way I do about it now as I did all those years ago. Phish provide me with an outlet for fun within my music choices. The highlights from this album include "Demand" which is one of their trademark jam songs. The guitar and instrumental pieces in this song are amazing. "Dog-Faced Boy", and "If I Could" slow down the pace of the album and provide very intricate and emotional lyrics. And of course there are the all around fun, pop-rock inspired songs which would include "Sample in a Jar" and "Down with Disease". While this album may be a little different and a lot less jammy than the rest of Phish's collection I think it provides solid, worthwhile entertainment to all who will possess it. Life should be part silly, get a hold of some of that silliness with Phish's Hoist. November 30, 2007

The only Phish I like

Have you ever heard that Phish song and it's like, "yeah, this is nice" Then you here their funky 26 minute instrumental grooves and think "I can't take much more of this" Then this cd is the Phish cd you should get.
I know thats what most people like about them. But I think their short rockin' mellow songs are the best with vocals. Take Juanta for example some great shorter songs, but others are marathon length which I lose my interest in. In fact I don't like any other Phish cd for that reason. But I love this one.
So if the shorter ones are the ones you like then get this. Solid from the start to begining. One of my top ten favorites of all time.

>>>>----Zen-----> November 25, 2007

Phish goes mainstream! And that's not a bad thing.

This was the album that put Phish on the map commercially. Their fanbase had been growing steadily over the past decade over their last six albums and concert tours, but this was the one that made mainstream audiences take notice.

Singles like Sample in a Jar and Down with Disease (which had an MTV music video) got considerable airplay at the time, something that was rare with Phish.

Not a year after this album was released, Jerry Garcia died and the Grateful Dead retired. It's no surprise Phish, whose fanbase was becoming just as dedicated to the band as the Dead's fanbase was, inherited a lot of Grateful Dead fans. So it was during the tour for this album that Phish became the biggest live act in the world.

This was, in no small part, due to the accessability of this album as well as their reputation as an incredible live act. This album still maintains the lighthearted fun and humour of the previous albums, with less of the over the top weirdness and prog rock leanings. Still, songs like Demand and Scent of a Mule sound like they could have come out on any of their earlier albums.

While this album is great, it's not one of their best. It's a little uneven in certain parts, and not quite as musically impressive as some of their earlier albums. Still worth getting, of course. November 9, 2007

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