Phish: Junta December 1993 - Accesscable.com by Staff Album Review - Junta "A child of the twentieth century, a dried up Goliath and a weasel named Fee" Many of the songs on this album were written during a time when guitarist Trey Anastasio was listening only to classical music. Although nothing on Junta actually sounds literally classical, the influence in his compositional style is more apparent here than on any other Phish album. The almost seven minute "Foam," for instance, had the guitar, piano, bass and drum parts entirely written out on score paper. It's clear from how tightly they play "Foam" and other compositions that Phish had already put in many years of intensive practice and honing prior their debut. But for all their instrumental virtuosity, the complex pieces can sometimes come off as cold and detached. Ironically, that arises from just how perfectly they are played. Sometimes, too, he's so concerned with scale-running that Anastasio forgets to write decent lyrics -- "Dinner and a Movie" comes off as particularly strained. But all that is probably missing the point. It remains fun music, and at this relatively early point in their career Phish had not yet backed off of jamming in the studio as they have in recent years. That's mostly a good thing. "Divided Sky" may be largely pre-written, but its also a gorgeous piece of music. This take is softer and more restrained than the searing heights it would reach later in a live context. The epic tale "Esther" is an underrated masterpiece. Like half the album, it hovers near ten minutes in length. The longest track is "Union Federal," the first of the three live tracks added for the Elektra re-release, to justify placing the original cassette-long recording on two CDs. It's listed only as, "Recorded Live," but it was actually taped from one of the band's Oh Kee Pa ceremonies. The ceremony consists of drinking a hot chocolate mixture enhanced with vanilla, maple syrup, and a half-ounce of marijuana, then jamming for a solid eight hours. The results are much as you'd expect. That twenty-five minutes is striking, for a number of reasons. Significantly, Mike Gordon is groovily prominent, and Anastasio sometimes limits his guitar work to simple sustained drones. It makes for hypnotic, messy listening, far removed from the precision of the studio tracks. The other live pieces are from a night at Nectar's, the bar that was Phish's homebase for many years. Despite being hopelessly sloppy these songs are entertainingly silly, and worth hearing. Rating: ****½