Phish - Farmhouse

Filled with pretty melodies, delicate strumming, and concise, focused, melodic tunes, Phish's eighth studio record marks a bit of a departure from the norm, but not as much of a departure as many might think. For one thing, 1996's Billy Breathes moved in a similar direction--to the delight of casual fans and the dismay of many Phish fanatics. For another, even at their most frenetic and far-reaching, the band has always shown a keen pop sensibility, even if it was merely a chance to catch their breath. Make no mistake: most of the songs on Farmhouse are wonderfully, irresistibly catchy, and often quite lovely. This was clearly singer and guitarist Trey Anastasio's baby from the get-go, and he fills the album with some of his most appealing compositions. And as usual, there's a diverse range of styles, from straight pop to country soul to easy funk to gentle balladry. That said, fans used to hearing these songs live will most likely be disappointed by Farmhouse. Too often, you find yourself waiting for the explosive jam that never happens, and when it does, as on "Piper," it seems oddly out of place. Ironically, the final song, the cunning instrumental "First Tube," reminds you what you've been missing all along--bite. In the long run, this is not the album that Phish will be remembered for, playing away from what makes them unique, but as you find your toes tapping and your mouth humming along, you realize that it's certainly an enjoyable listen and satisfying in its own way. --Marc Greilsamer Amazon.com

Great CD - People of all ages seem to love it!

Having been given this CD a few years ago by a neighbor, I had never heard of Phish. Years later, I still love it and it's still in my car CD changer. My 4- and 2-year olds also love it. It's definitely more kid friendly than some of my other CD's, such as Kid Rock or Ted Nugent, and it's not even the same type of music. Phish is more folksy....but it's great music. My 70-year old dad burned himself a CD as well. March 14, 2008

A warning:

Great album, worth listening to over and over. However if you're buying used/new, don't buy from gohastings. They list cds as LP records and made me very angry. January 8, 2008

Great phreaking CD

I am a big phan, I saw phish in phoenix every show since Ripht. Then I phell away phor a while, started listening to pholk music a lot. Pharmhouse brought me back to reality. Great guitar riphs, jams, you name it. Everything phish is about is in here. Buy it, you won't be disappointed even if it's your phirst phish CD.
January 20, 2007

Good overall...

Farmhouse - The title track, and one of the best on the record. I was wondering when it was going to be released. Originally, Phish played the song on the "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" show in 1996(or so). Great song, true to the original.

Twist - Another song which had been kicking around since the "Pre-Ghost" days. Unfortunately, there was some MAJOR retooling of the song. Listen to any of the concerts around 96/97 for a MUCH BETTER version of Twist. I'm not a fan of the changes.

Bug - Catchy, fun, it grows on you. I'd say it's the sleeper track of the album.

Back on the Train - Hmmm... I'm still not amused by the song. Very stiff, rigid, mechanical playing. I usually skip this one during playback. A horrible live tune.

Heavy Things - I'm not one of the "Bouncin' Bashers" aka "The Phish Gestapo". This is a GREAT track. Very cleaver lyrics with an awesome rhythm.

Gotta Jibboo - The song's much better live and without the digital loop. This song's mediocre on the album.

Dirt - Here's another song which started life in the 96/97 time-frame. Better live, but good here.

Piper - Here's the shortest Piper ever. Oh, and from now on, no Pipers may be any longer. The album version was the death sentence for a great song. It's not bad on the album, but once transcribed, no more did we see the twenty minute Pipers of old. Good song, but I wish they remembered what the album is for. (Framework >< Cage)

Sleep - The song after Driver, I mean, wait... Where's Driver? When Phish toured with this mini-acoustic set-up, they played Driver and Sleep. Sleep is a good song and this captures it well, but why is Driver only on the Jap version?

The Inlaw Josie Wales - Skip - Boring acoustic instrumentals are, well... boring! Give me "All Things Reconsidered" any day. I never once said, "Yes! Dude, they're playing The Inlaw Josie Wales, Holy S-!"

Sand - What? There's more? - That's not a comment about Sand, but after "Inlaw" I think I passed out. Sand has a good beat and takes things in a different direction. This IS Phish! Jazzy, with Rhythm and Blues, Sand should be right after Sleep without the disconnect.

First Tube - Bangin' from start to finish! This is possibly one of the best instrumentals ever! The drums and bass come in pumping with Trey doing a Middle-Eastern/Indian inspired progression on guitar. Page adds to the mysticism (keyboards are the counterpoint, with piano adding accents to the guitar work). The end feels like a victory celebration.

If you bought the import (Jap Version):

Driver - Shouldn't have been left off of the American version. Here's a great song, that's been done some justice.

Mist - aka "Mountains in the Mist" - Again, I'm not sure why it's only on the Jap version, but these two songs, if sequenced correctly, would actually make this album "Pre-Ghost" worthy.

Four stars for not having Driver or Mist on the American release. Good overall and very accessible for the first time listener. If you like this album or want another great album by Phish, then try "Billy Breathes", "Rift", "Undermind", or "Hoist". For the more adventurous listener take on "Lawn Boy", "Junta", "Round Room", "Picture of Nectar", or "The White Tape". The Siket Disc is an acquired taste, not for everyone.

If you want to hear better stuff then either purchase or trade for live material. Songs like "Vultures", "Simple", "Mike's Song", "I am Hydrogen", "Weekapaug Groove", "The Curtain", "Axilla I", and "Big Black Furry Creatures from Mars"(BBFCM) are only found as live tracks. October 6, 2006

Some very good songs; but overall weakest studio album

This is Phish's seventh or eighth studio album, depending on if you count Junta. It is 49 minutes long and has very good sound quality.

Like all Phish albums, this CD has some very good songs on it. I think this CD is at its best when the group is playing stripped down music and concentrating on the songs. I think Bug is the best thing on the CD. Also the combination of Sleep and the Inlaw Jesse Wales is very nice. All of these feature an acoustic sound and some very nice melodies. The other two good tracks are Back On The Train and Dirt.

But, the rest of the tracks I think are just a waste.

It starts out with the very tedious title track. Twist starts out good, but then looses it way. Heavy things is fairly mediocre song. It's not bad, I just wouldn't want to hear it again.

Gotta Jibboo starts out very good and I had a lot of hopes for it. But, the babytalk words really bring it down. And that repeated high pitched noise that sounds like a siren or an alarm clock gets really annoying. You hope somebody would hit the snooze button already. Piper could have been a very nice instrumental but it too is ruined by more high pitched noises.

Sand, where they try to sing as fast as they can is just studid. Most of the other tracks are just boring and tedious. The final instrumental, First Tube, is just stepping through the scales repeatedly. It might be interesting at 2 minutes, but at 6 minutes it just goes on for too long.

I would suggest get Undermind or Lawn Boy before this one. May 21, 2006

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