A Picture Of Nectar April 1992 - Nude as the News by Ben French Album Review - Picture of Nectar Rating: 8.0 Phish made a signifigant transition professionally with A Picture Of Nectar, the group's third album, as they began to understand the difference between a studio recording and a live performance. By reigning in their jammy tendencies significantly and further exploring the rock end of their sound, the band produced a group of eclectic songs that are thoughtfully crafted. Radio friendly this album is not. But Nectar is the Vermont band's first work to have more than one track you would even remotely want to call "catchy." The highlights of this album -- songs like "Llama," "Guelah Papyrus," and even the Latin-tinged instrumental "Landlady" -- are short and to the point, they provide the foundation for the record. Only two songs, the fantastic "Stash" and the somewhat longish "Tweezer," would really press the patience of an everyday listener more than "Stairway To Heaven." Seven of the album's 16 tracks clock in under three minutes. Unfortunately, the shortest songs are the worst on the album. Between the obviously pointless ("Catapult," "Manteca") and the downright retarded ("Glide"), the band loses its focus. This is a group of extremely talented musicians that likes to stretch things out a bit and explore the boundaries of instrumental rock. And that's... okay. "Tweezer," the longest track on Nectar, is also the album's most compelling. Contrary to the multi-part rock operas of Phish's first two recordings, Junta and Lawn Boy, "Tweezer" is a straight-up modal jam, which sounds a lot more funky and gets your head nodding. More important than the funk flavor on this record is its added rock punch, almost completely missing on prior efforts. "Chalkdust Torture," a straight-up tribute to classic rock acts like the Who, is a strong candidate for the album's best track. Not only does guitarist Trey Anastasio structure a song beautifully in the classic rock tradition, but he also broadens the scope of the formula with his invariably singular guitar style. As always, Anstasio is the clear leader of the outfit. But each band member puts forth a solid effort on the album, including the hard-to-notice piano player Page McConnell. Though the jazz style of "Eliza" might be out of place on this album, it still sounds very sharp. This is essentially Phish's first "major label" effort -- in spirit, anyhow. And therefore it features many of the band's best studio songs. A worthy pick-up for the lighthearted Phish fan and an oft-forgotten favorite of the die-hard fans, A Picture Of Nectar may be the band's most enjoyable studio-recorded material.