Jazz Odyssey

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Phish has announced the official release of their show from Madison Square Garden on December 31, 1995. I’m very stoked about this….12/31/95 has been at the top of my wish list for official release.

12/31/95 was one of several crucial peaks that Phish hit over their years, and many (probably myself included) consider this particular peak a notch above the rest. Don’t get me wrong…their other peaks were certainly worthy of nothing but gushing praise (plenty of August 93, Nov 94 Fall 97 & the Island Tour for example) but 12/31/95 rode the perfect plane between flawlessly executed composed sections nailed with dead-on precision, and reckless experimental abandon that explored moments of trancendence that were questioning and profound at the same time. “Tentative” was an adjective absent from Phish’s vernacular in December 1995. Their playing revealed a sense of urgency (not to be confused with hurried which has a different qualitative energy) and deftness of touch that changed into something slightly looser after this show.

So more than just being a totally over-the-top performance, I believe this show has historical significance and it marks both a completion and a beginning for the band. There have been ok-sounding audience recordings made from the taper’s section in circulation, and a couple of the tracks also circulate in FM quality having been broadcast on Kevin Shapiro’s “From the Archives” shows that were played during past festivals. That said, many of the audience recordings December 95 tend to be somewhat boomy and lacking in crisp detail. This is due to Phish sound czar Paul Languedoc working with a new sound system better capable of providing the sonic assault needed in the size of the arenas the band was now playing in. This unintentionally put a bit too much emphasis on Trey’s vocals, made Mike’s bass sound muddy and indistinct and left the quieter playing of Trey and Page lost in the mix. So much of the magic that is Phish is in the nuances….there are nimble bass lines and subtle electric piano fills that even the best audience recordings fail to capture. If this show is given the full multi-track treatment with a killer mix, it will truly be heard for the first time in all its glory.