Phish Tails: Live Retrospective December 4, 2001 - Virgin.com by Paul Semel Album Review - LIVEPHISH 01-06 As is the case with any band who tours a lot (or any band whose fans follow them around like puppies), Phish has long been considered a better live band than a studio one. And it's a perception that won't go away when you survey their numerous live albums. While Phish's self-released 1988 debut Junta was augmented with live tracks when it was re-released by Elektra four years later, their first real live album actually didn't come out until 1995, when the band culled together their favorite performances from their 1984 tour for the double-disc A Live One. But the album is more than just a Whitman's Sampler of shows from that jaunt, it also serves as a good survey of their career up to that point by pairing such familiar tunes as "Chalk Dust Torture" with such live-only favorites as "Wilson." The band followed A Live One with the even stronger Slip, Stitch, And Pass, which took a different approach by being from a single show in a small club (March 1, 1997; Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany) instead of being from multiple dates in arenas. And while it also mixed familiar and familiar-if-you've-seen-them-live-a-lot tunes, this single-disc collection also employed another familiar element of Phish's live shows, one missing from A Live One: unexpected covers. Opening with "Cities" by the Talking Heads, the album has them putting their stamp on ZZ Top's "Jesus Left Chicago" as well as the a cappella fave "Hello My Baby," which is best known from that cartoon about a talking frog. But it wasn't until the band released Hampton Comes Alive that the authentic Phish concert experience was truly available in a handy, take-home package. An exhaustive six-disc boxed set, Hampton features two 1998 shows in their entirety. As you'd expect, this gave fans a wealth of weird covers – most notably "The Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" and Will Smith's "Getting' Jiggy With It" – as well as a slew of old favorites and tunes you'd only know if your collection of Phish ticket stubs was larger than a small dog. If Hampton seems like overkill, then Live Phish is the overdose. Kicked off in September of 2001, Live Phish is an ongoing series of complete concert collections, released six at a time every six months until, well, someone smacks the guys and tells them to stop. But considering how good some of the albums in the initial installment are, it's doubtful any Phisheads will be bitch-slapping the boys anytime soon. The series begins in fine form with 01, 12.95 Broome County Arena, Bingham, New York, which, perhaps not coincidentally, is the shortest set in the bunch (it's 2 CDs long; the rest are 3). A spirited performance that boasts a number of old favorites and concert-only gems, the album features great versions of "Suzy Greenberg," "Split Open And Melt," and "NICU." Things, unfortunately, go sour on 02, 7.16.94, Sugarbush Summerstage, North Fayston, Vermont, which finds the guys playing such stellar tunes as "Run Like An Antelope" and "Stash," but with a serous lack of energy that makes them sound stifled and uninspired. The band sound better, but not at their best, on 03, 9.14.00, Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Darien Center, New York, which suffers from a bad setlist. While it does boast such solid songs as "Reba," it also boasts such less-than-terrific tracks as "Carni." What redeems this, though, are the lengthy improvs, especially the one titled "Darien Jam #2" that clocks in at an even twenty-five minutes, even though it feels as effortless as a three minute pop ditty. The same cannot be said for 04, 6.14.00 Drum Logos, Fukuoka, Japan, which finds the guys sounding bored and lifeless, even during such usually exciting tunes as "Gumbo." The album is further derailed by such uninspired, meandering tunes as "Carni" and "The Curtain," which kick off this collection with a resounding thud, making this the worst of the bunch. Thankfully, the first batch of Live Phish is more than redeemed by 05, 8.7.00, Alpine Valley Music Theater, East Troy, Wisconsin. A taut but loose performance, the album not only boasts excellent rendition of "Suzy Greenberg," and "Guyute," but it also features some great jams, including one from "Tweezer" into the James Gang's "Walk Away" that could convert any disbeliever into a Phishead. This conversion comes in handy on the final installment of the first batch — 06, 11.27.98, The Centrum, Worcester, Massachusetts — as it's a collection only a diehard Phishead could truly appreciate. While this show boasts a solid setlist, it's not always the most solid performances of said songs, and while the versions here of "Reba" and "Funky Bitch" are good, the same can't be said for "Meat" or "Mike's Song," making 06, like 03, only for fans who can't go without. Which, given Phish's rabid fanbase, is probably a lot of people. But if you don't want your musical life to be all Phish, all the time, picking just a couple of the aforementioned better live discs will more than suffice.