Phish - Slip, Stitch & Pass

For those who eschew the swinging teenage elbows of an actual Phish concert, this 1997 Hamburg date offers a comprehensive account of the quartet's breadth. Talking Heads' "Cities" is a perfect match for their brand of quirky funk. ZZ Top's "Jesus Just Left Chicago" receives a gritty 13-minute reading with ample room for Page McConnell's blues-heavy piano. Guitarist Trey Anastasio alternates between quiet, emotive passages and searing power licks. There's also an a cappella version of the ragtime chestnut "Hello My Baby." Their patented blend of nonsensical lyrics and intense jams is represented by "Weigh" ("I'd like to cut your head off, so I can weigh it... Five pounds? Six pounds?") and by unrecorded fan favorites including "Mike's Song" and "Weekapaug Groove." --Marc Greilsamer Amazon.com essential recording

Phish shows why they are a great improvisational and cover band

If there has been a band that has had the most success of being an "underground" band, it would have to be Phish. Phish has long had the reputation of being a band with an "open audio taping" policy and as a result they built up a great following - especially as a live act. . In fairness to the quartet, this is a band that produces some of the most innovative music anywhere on the music scene. Phish's reputation both as a studio band and a live act really took off in the mid 1990s. Phish's 1997 release "Slip Stitch and Pass" shows power of Phish in a live, intimate setting and does not disappoint.

Phish is commonly called a "jam" band. In the live setting for many of their songs, Phish seems to follow a very simple formula. The songs have simple lyrics - most of the lyrics toward the beginning of the song. Many of their songs are then extended with some beautiful and intricate instrumental pieces - "or jam" pieces. These pieces can be long If you want to know why Phish isn't played on conventional radio - this is the reason. It's a shame because conventional radio's loss becomes the fans gain. Many of the songs on "Slip Stitch and Pass" follow this format.

"Slip Stitch and pass" is the second live album by Phish. The first one was 1994's "A Live One". I look as "A Live One" as a good introduction to Phish as it really showcases Phish's jams in top form. "A Live One" was a double CD set with only 12 songs, but contained 131 minutes of music. However it was in the mid 1990s where Phish would not only cement themselves as a jam band, but they also would establish themselves as a premier improvisational band. In fact, they might just be one of the greatest improvisational bands of all time. They put a mix of Folk, Rock, Jazz, and Country into their music. In other words, improvisational music allows them to do whatever they want. In their live performances, Phish is most famous for "doing whatever they want". Albums in the mid 1990s such as "Hoist" and "Billy Breathes" showcases how Phish would improvise in the studio. "Slip Stitch and Pass" does a great job at showcasing the live improvisational skills of Phish.

The mid 1990s saw Phish emerge as one of the great cover bands in a live setting. By covering other songs would be a natural extension of the improvisational skills of Phish. "Slip Stitch and Pass" contains three cover songs.

It's hard to tell whether "Slip Stitch and Pass" is actually a full Phish concert or not. For the most part, the songs do flow nicely from one to another and give the actual feeling of being at a Phish concert. The setting is a small venue in Hamburg, Germany - and the recording does give you an intimate setting for Phish's live music.

Here is a look at the nine tracks:

"Cities": This is a cover song of a Talking Heads song. Here we see Phish put their own unique spin on the song. Phish puts more of a humorous spin on the song. Some may find the song irritating, but I found this to be "classic Phish". I found the instrumentation of the band to be top notch. Overall, a great cover.

"Wolfman's Brother": This is a live version to this track originally found on "Hoist". There is a nice extended jam of this song. This song has a funk type of feel and much of this is due to the great synchronization between Page McConnell's keyboards and Trey Anastasio's guitar.

"Jesus Just Left Chicago": This is a cover of a ZZ Top song. Like ZZ Top, Phish puts a blues spin on this song, but also builds this into an extended jam. This song really showcases the intimate setting of the concert. About 6+ minutes into the song listen to someone in the crowd shout, "Trey, you Rock!"

"Weigh": This is a song from the "Rift" album. It has a humorous spin. The live setting amplifies the humor in this song. This song also benefits from the strong synchronization of Anastasio's guitar and McConnell's keyboards.

"Mike's Song": This is a live version of an old Phish song and is the first song of the "Mike's Groove" trilogy. Being "Mike's Song", this is bassist's Mike Gordon's baby. This is a terrific 13+ minute jam and while the whole band ultimately shines here, it is Gordon's bass setting the pace.

"Lawn Boy": This is the title track from the 1990 album and fills the role that "I Am Hydrogen" typically fills as the second song of the "Mike's Groove" trilogy. I always felt this song had a supper club feel. The intimate setting (and response of the crowd) really gives the supper club feeling. It is crooning - Phish style.

"Weekapaug Groove": This is the last song of the "Mike's Groove" trilogy. This is just a flat out great jam. Great instrumentation and once again Phish at the best.

"Hello My Baby": Here we have Phish doing a cover of this barbershop quartet song. The a cappella version showcases Phish's humor and improvisational skills as well as showcases the intimate crowd.

"Taste": This is the contribution from "Billy Breathes". On this collection, they do what they didn't do on "Billy Breathes" - they add the extended jam to it. Once again, fine instrumentation by the entire band.

Overall this is a fine live collection. It has a good mix of older and more current Phish (by 1997's standards). If you started out with "A Live One", this is the next logical step to extended your live collection (and there is no repetition between the two live albums). Of course, nothing takes the place of a straight out performance of a full Phish show, but this should still suffice. September 14, 2007

Not the best

I just got this CD, and maybe I'll hear some incredible things after a few more listens, but so far it doesn't seem like their best work. Maybe it's just me, but the vocals sound alittle off --something seems different to me -- as compared to their other live stuff. The song selection is decent, especially Wolfman's Brother and Mike's Song, but it could better. Hampton Comes Alive and A Live One are deffinetly stronger albums with better songs. January 7, 2006

listen to it man

song by song overview because it sounds lame to tell someone hey this sucks or i love this
cities - funny, groovy and has a cool wah rythym to it good song to chill to and 'get some thinking done'
wolfman - awesome version of the song possibly the best because unlike hoist its a little more flowing and when it goes 'broth-er' with the guitar riff after it, i get goose bumps
jesus/chicago - and after a long slow paced jam with distintive bass and wah guitar we find our selves at a beat-slow slow-beat blues cover of jesus left chicago with a sweet solo in the midst of it
weigh - an alright song not my favorite but,give it credit for being mike's highlight on the album, not to much improv here but it does give a nice interlude to mikes' song and this song is really, i guess you could say, overall, phishy
mike's song - wow best part of the cd maybe, take mike's song and add a out of control sweet tension build up,' the end theme ', 'careful with that axe screams' and finish with a factory jam until we get to a 'and he walked down the hall'(morrison) to the next ...
lawn boy - good song with some nice page vocals and a smoothe bass riff by mike, also some nice feed back
weekapog groove - cool main riff with more 'the end' referencing, it's a groove, a monster groove, so don't think to hard just appreciate it all at once as a whole flowing enima, can you dig?
hello my baby - it's cute and funny but also quiet and that ticks me off just a wee bit, i have to turn up my stereo to hear the individual words, this track closes the album in a sense and prepares the listeners for a climax on taste
taste - great closer, if it weren't for this song i wouldn't probably be writing this review and screaming to all to buy it and listen your ears off and don't be to quick to judge

overall awesome, only four stars because of hello my baby is quiet and weigh is not the greatest song inmy opinion, but hey who am i, if you like phish and want to know what live phish is all about or just like jam bands or just like music get it and embrace it
'express yourself but listen to others' - fishman April 12, 2004

Give it up for the covers...

Phish is an amazing band, no question. This release is one I keep coming back to for "Taste," the final track on the disc, and the two covers, "Cities" and "Jesus Left Chicago". The latter is one of my favorite tracks on any album, period. It shows Phish tackling a genre they usually don't approach so directly- the blues- with a style and grace that almost convinces me they are a blues-rock band masquerading as a prog-funk outfit. I am amazed that Trey can nail that sound so well, when he seems to practice it so rarely. It speaks volumes for the versatility of Trey and the band as a whole. The rest- good- but "A Live One" is better overall as it is "edgier" and sounds more fresh. Still, you can't go wrong here. January 21, 2004

It's good but prehaps a bit overated.

I have been a phish head for about 3 years now, and I finally bought this one used a few weeks ago. My two friends told me it was their favorite Phish cd. I love Phish's live stuff, don't get me wrong, but while this is a nice one to have, it doesn't feel like the best live Phish I'd ever heard. Honestly, it seems a little weak, and I can't figure out why. I really like Mikes groove, and it is a good Mike's groove but it feels like it needs more. I just can't put a finger on it. This is a good CD to have and I do listen to it offten but I never am quite satisfied with it. It just needs more. It feels like the band was playing well but didn't have a ton of energy. October 19, 2002

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