Undermind (album)
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
| Rolling Stone | (favorable)[2] |
Undermind is the tenth studio album by American rock band Phish, released on June 15, 2004, by Elektra Records. Undermind was Phish's last album before their breakup in fall 2004 (the band subsequently reformed in 2009).
The album's cover art appears to be a direct nod to Let It Be, the final studio album by The Beatles. In a review of Undermind, Glide Magazine suggests that the album's individual song contributions may also be intentionally "Beatles-esque".[3] While the bulk of the songs are by frontman Trey Anastasio and Phish lyricist Tom Marshall, keyboard player Page McConnell, bass guitarist Mike Gordon and drummer Jon Fishman all contributed one song each. "Maggie's Revenge" is the album's only instrumental.
One month before the album's release, Anastasio (and separately, McConnell) announced on Phish.com that the band would take an indefinitely long hiatus following a final summer tour. As such, a number of the songs were not performed live before the break up, though most have been played since the band's return in 2009. Undermind's songs remain among the least played originals in Phish's large catalog.
Many reviews praised "The Connection", calling it "the most commanding" and "most commercially accessible" song of Phish's recording career to date.[4][5] The song has not yet become a fixture in the band's live rotation, however.
Early copies of the album included a DVD with the 25 minute documentary Specimens of Beauty, a behind the scenes film on the making of Undermind, directed by Danny Clinch.
An extended improvisational studio jam recorded at the start of the Undermind sessions was later released as the Headphones Jam at LivePhish.com. Two excerpts from the Headphones Jam were used for the Undermind album: "Maggie's Revenge" and "Tiny" (an internet-only bonus track).[6]
In February 2009, Undermind was made available as a download in FLAC and MP3 formats at LivePhish.com.
Track listing
- "Scents and Subtle Sounds (Intro)" (Anastasio, Herman, Marshall) – 1:37
- "Undermind" (Anastasio, Herman, Marshall) – 4:57
- "The Connection" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 2:22
- "A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 6:20
- "Army of One" (McConnell) – 5:01
- "Crowd Control" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 3:34
- "Maggie's Revenge" (Anastasio, Fishman, Gordon, McConnell) - 1:43
- "Nothing" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 4:06
- "Two Versions of Me" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 3:45
- "Access Me" (Gordon) – 2:38
- "Scents and Subtle Sounds" (Anastasio, Herman, Marshall) – 5:05
- "Tomorrow's Song" (Fishman) – 1:51
- "Secret Smile" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 6:31
- "Grind" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 0:59
Internet-only Bonus Track:
- "Tiny" (Anastasio, Fishman, Gordon, McConnell) – 6:47
Personnel
- Trey Anastasio - guitars, vocals, engineer
- Page McConnell - keyboards, vocals
- Mike Gordon - bass guitar, vocals
- Jon Fishman - drums, vocals
Other musicians:
- "Secret Smile" Strings:
- Violin: Katherine Winterstein, Laura Markowitz, Signy Glendinning, Sofia Hersh, Ann Cooper, Kathy Andrew
- Viola: Roy Feldman, Pam Reit, Hilary Hatch
- Cello: John Dunlop, Dieuwke Davydov; arrangement: Maria Schneider
Production:
- Tchad Blake - producer, engineer, mixing, photography
- Peter J. Carini - assistant engineer
- Danny Clinch - photography
- Bryce Goggin - engineer
- JDK - design
- Claire Lewis - mixing assistant
- Bob Ludwig - mastering
- Bill Plummer - engineer
- Maria Schneider - arranger
- Jared Slomoff - engineer
- Chris Weal - assistant engineer
- Brian Brown - production assistant, technical assistance
- Kevin Brown - production assistant, technical assistance
- Kevin Shapiro - production assistant, technical assistance
- Pam Reit - production assistant, technical assistance
- Kevin Monty - production assistant, technical assistance
- Rob O'Dea - production assistant, technical assistance
- Paul Languedoc - production assistant, technical assistance
References
- ^ Theakston, Rob (2011). "Undermind - Phish | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
- ^ Kemp, Mark (2011). "Phish: Undermind : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on February 16, 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Ward, Eric. Undermind Review. Glide Magazine. Online. Accessed: September 6, 2011.
- ^ Kemp, Mark (2011). "Phish: Undermind : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on February 16, 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Ward, Eric. Undermind Review. Glide Magazine. Online. Accessed: September 6, 2011.
- ^ Phish: Headphones Jam LivePhish.com. Online. Accessed: September 12, 2011.