Phish baits fans with outstanding final studio album

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jun 18, 2004

Jam band

Phish, "Undermind" (Elektra/Asylum)

Phish-ologists will be working overtime to decode "Undermind," the latest -- and supposedly, last -- studio album by the Vermont jam band. Phish is calling it quits after its summer tour, prompting fans to check this album for clues as to what might have happened.

The main observation, though, is that Phish is going out on a strong note -- contrary to assumptions that the new CD, which hits stores Tuesday, might be a tired, anticlimactic flop. The irony is that Phish's previous studio disc, "Round Room," released when the group returned from hiatus two years ago, was the more tired album. But the new disc suggests that plenty of gas is left in Phish's tank, which makes it even harder to accept the goodbye plans.

The lyrics are suitably cosmic -- most of them penned by longtime Phish collaborator Tom Marshall -- but the music is far more consistent and punchy than on the group's last outing.

Phish's classic-rock influences also seep through in the Byrdsy, dreamily psychedelic "The Connection" and "Nothing" (with a flowing intro reminiscent of the Grateful Dead's "Touch of Grey"). Phish plays it loose throughout the record -- and there's a lot of impressive sonic coloring by producer/engineer Tchad Blake, a rock eccentric who has worked with Tom Waits and Soul Coughing, among others, and is known for his use of low-fi distortion and vintage compressors.

Anastasio is in fine voice, and the band is outstanding instrumentally. When Anastasio recently wrote online that "We all love and respect Phish and the Phish audience far too much to stand by and allow it to drag on beyond the point of vibrancy and health," he was apparently not talking about this CD. Fortunately, "Undermind" has a vitality that makes it stand up to Phish's best work. There's even a doo-wop song, "Grind," which is the perfect, surprise capper to the album. No way does this seem like the work of a band ready to hang it up.

-- By Steve Morse,

Boston Globe

Reggae

Various artists, "Roots of

Dub Funk 2" (Tanty Records) 1/2

This CD features 14 outstanding cuts of the drum- and bass- dominated reggae style known as dub. Dub, the art of remixing records to create new material, developed out of two roots: the first a particular beat attributed to Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace and the second the mixing experiments of King Tubby.

From the 1970s and 1980s, when dub was associated with names like Sly and Robbie, Lee "Scratch" Perry and Joe Gibbs, the style has been about exploration and re-composition, using a battery of studio effects to reinvent each tune that was subjected to the dub treatment.

The producers of "Roots of Dub Funk 2" are taking the approach of the legends of dub and extending it with modern technology and sensibilities. Although these producers are from all over the world and are forging their individual sounds, they are firmly entrenched in the Jamaican roots of the sound. "Roots of Dub Funk 2" avoids the monotony that many collections of dub have fallen into. Each track is an interesting sonic landscape different from the rest.

-- Pete Flowers, contributor

href="mailto:href="mailto:peteflowersmusic@aol.com "peteflowersmusic@aol.com ">peteflowersmusic@aol.com

Rock

Sonic Youth, "Sonic Nurse" (Geffen Records)

Sonic Youth's albums make a lousy first impression. The songs often sound awkward, mainly because they drone on aimlessly. But don't file them away just yet. There is a reason that the band has been around for more than 20 years -- they know what they're doing. And their 14th album, "Sonic Nurse," proves that the band has not run out of things to say.

"Sonic Nurse" is not an ambitious album, but it succeeds. The album was billed as, "Nothing Sonic Youth has ever done before," and that is technically true, but it is built from pieces of the band's previous works -- the noise of "Daydream Nation," the pop-song structures of "Goo" and the laid-back experimentalism of "Murray Street." In fact, the album would sound very similar to 2002's "Murray Street" if it weren't for the fact that bassist Kim Gordon makes her presence felt here.

"Sonic Nurse" sounds like nothing and everything the band has recorded.

So while its latest effort is unlikely to widen Sonic Youth's popularity, it is certainly an album that will keep the fanbase satisfied. And although "Sonic Nurse" may not knock you over the first time you listen to it, give it a second, or even a third chance -- that is when the music really comes through.

-- Will Stevens,

contributor

Tex-Mex

Various artists, "Accordion Conjunto Champs" (Arhoolie Records) 1/ 2

El Cerrito-based Arhoolie Records has dug into its extensive collection of Tex-Mex music to produce this collection of accordion conjunto music.

"Accordion Conjunto Champs," edited by Chris Strachwitz, with the assistance of local Mexican music legend Dr. Loco and accordion guru Gilberto Reyes Jr., focuses on the accordion's role in Tejano- conjunto music. The song forms are quite varied, with almost German- sounding polkas rubbing shoulders with tropical cumbias.

The musicians range from the traditional, such as conjunto pioneer Narciso Martnez to the jazzy accordion wizardry of Esteban "Steve" Jordan. One particularly pleasing number is Fred Zimmerle's previously unreleased "Al Cortar Una Gardenia," a ranchera Zimmerle recorded with the Conjunto Trio San Antonio. The notes for this CD are good, but personnel information is spotty, most likely because several tracks are taken from old 78 rpm records from the days when this information was not well noted.