Undermind (album)

Undermind
Studio album by Phish
Released June 15, 2004 (U.S.)
Recorded May 2002, The Barn, Vermont, April 2003, Nantucket, Massachusetts, June 2004, Big Moe Recording, Chicago, Illinois, February 2004, The Barn, Vermont, March 2004, Cactus Unlimited, New York and Vermont
Genre Rock
Length 50:30
Label Elektra
Producer Tchad Blake
Phish chronology

The Victor Disc
(2002)		 Undermind
(2004)		 New Year's Eve 1995
(2005)
LivePhish.com Downloads series chronology
Live Phish Downloads: Round Room
(2009)		 Live Phish Downloads: Undermind
(2009)		 Live Phish Downloads: 03.06.09
(2009)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Rolling Stone (favorable)[2]

Undermind is the thirteenth studio album by the 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.

In February 2009, Undermind was made available as a download in FLAC and MP3 formats at LivePhish.com.

Track listing

  1. "Scents and Subtle Sounds (Intro)" (Anastasio, Herman, Marshall) – 1:37
  2. "Undermind" (Anastasio, Herman, Marshall) – 4:57
  3. "The Connection" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 2:22
  4. "A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 6:20
  5. "Army of One" (McConnell) – 5:01
  6. "Crowd Control" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 3:34
  7. "Maggie's Revenge" (Anastasio, Fishman, Gordon, McConnell) - 1:43
  8. "Nothing" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 4:06
  9. "Two Versions of Me" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 3:45
  10. "Access Me" (Gordon) – 2:38
  11. "Scents and Subtle Sounds" (Anastasio, Herman, Marshall) – 5:05
  12. "Tomorrow's Song" (Fishman) – 1:51
  13. "Secret Smile" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 6:31
  14. "Grind" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 0:59

Internet-only Bonus Track:

Personnel

Phish

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

  1. ↑ Theakston, Rob (2011). "Undermind - Phish | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  2. ↑ Kemp, Mark (2011). "Phish: Undermind : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". web.archive.org. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  3. ↑ Ward, Eric. Undermind Review. Glide Magazine. Online. Accessed: September 6, 2011.
  4. ↑ Kemp, Mark (2011). "Phish: Undermind : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". web.archive.org. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  5. ↑ Ward, Eric. Undermind Review. Glide Magazine. Online. Accessed: September 6, 2011.

External links