1.  Ghost
2.  Birds Of A Feather
3.  Meat
4.  Guyute
5.  Fikus
6.  Shafty
7.  Limb By Limb
8.  Frankie Says
9.  Brian And Robert
10. Water In the Sky
11. Roggae
12. Wading In a Velvet Sea
13. The Moma Dance
14. End of Session

OK, let me just start off by saying that I will be comparing this album
to live versions of the songs.  I know that doesn't really seem right,
because this an album, but they have proved that they CAN album jam 
(i.e. Reba, almost all of Junta) when they want to.  And, I do have all
the albums,as well as a collection of live tapes, so I think I know what
I'm talking about (kinda..those of you that know me may be rolling your
eyes now).  I'll be reviewing each song as I'm listening to it, so without
further adue, here we go:

Ghost- Intro is some wierd effects, along with the "squeels" that are 
present in 2001 and other funky live songs.  Vocals are more laid back, 
slower than live, as is the music.  Nice wah-wahing by Trey.  There are 
the "call and response" pause vocals.  OOh, great bass work by Mike in 
the instrumental break.  Cool sounding.  Now, the pause, silence.  Then,
the semi-explosion of the chorus, repeated over a Trey solo.  Starting to 
fade out...too short, but a good version anyway.  I do miss the Page solo,
though.

Birds- I like this song, and I have it on a couple tapes.  But I think 
it's gotten too much exposure.  Oh well, it's still good.  After the drum
start, vocals come in.  Oh, great sound at the chorus.  Harmonies benefit
from the studio balance and ability to over-lay tracks.  Very nice.  
Waiting for Trey's solo.  Here it comes, after the wah-wah bridge.  Two 
Trey lines, solo over chords.  Ah, the magic of the studio.  Wait!  The 
solo is over!  Nope, still goin..sorry.  Chorus over it.  Nice guitarwork.
Song eventually fades out.  Good version, very tight.

Meat- Haven't heard this one before.  I'm liking it so far...very funky.
Very cool!  the verses being sang over each other is great.  This is a 
very cool song!  Whoa!  Wierd, but awesome, scratchy thing on the bridge.
Acapella...very nice.  False ending into a funky fade out.  Best song yet!
Don't get me wrong the others aren't bad, just this one is great!

Guyute- Yeah!!!!  Love this tune.  Funny lyrics..love em.  Perfect whistling.
Good so far.  Hope the jig part is as good.  Love the Celtic-ish sound.
OK, here it comes...yes!  Trey's doing it!  Love it.  Mike's really prominent
so far on this album.  He's doing some nice fills inbetween Trey's jig stuff.
Heard more upbeat (faster) versions, but I like this one.  Nice lilting part
right before the Overdrive guitar part.  Good sound, very....overdriven?
Overdrive continues while Trey noodling is overlapped on top of it.  Building
to a peak.  Emerson-Lake-Palmer part  (triumphant chords by Page) is good.
last verse, Trey's in an echo thingy for the first part..then back to the riff
and normal vocal part.  Page finishes the song with a flourish!  Have heard 
better live versions, but not only is this a very good version, but it's nice 
to have a crystal clear copy of this tune.

Fikus- Song fades in..never heard this one either.  Very strange so far.
Just Mike and Fish, seems to me. Vocals come in, and boy man, 
(washufiztheydrivemetofirenzy) this is really really strange.  very trippy.  
Vocal layering on this one too.  Song is fading out...that was wierd, but 
strangly likeable.  I'd like to see what they'd do to this one live!

Shafty- Don't recognize the title, but I've read online that it's Oblivious
Fool.  I Like Fool, and this one seems slower, more an Oblivious Fool groove 
than the full song.  I like the lyrics on this one, too.  Neat effects on the
instruments really add to this song.  Chorus repeated as the boys funk away.
Like the rest of the album, Mike's driving this.  Fades out...

Limb By Limb- LOVE this song.  Opening is nice, and the call and respond
lyrics are very good.  Page has a neat effect on his part..megaphone?  Refrain
("Drop me off..." part) is good, then the "limb by limb by limb" vocals over
Trey verses.  Like it so far...not as well as live, though.  This is...I don't
know how to explain.  trey solo now.  Very nice, but he's done better.  Could 
have been taken to new heights had it been jammed out.  Oh well.  Solid version.

Frankie Says-  Title isn't familiar, but music is.  I know this one as Relax.
Very haunting melody, and I like it a lot.  Chorus is very well done, with 
excellent harmonies.  Now I'm hearing a new vocal part that I don't recognize 
from live versions...something like "I've lost my mind, I've lost my way"  This
is a pretty cool song...very creepy.  Not scary creepy, just strange creepy.

Brian and Robert-  don't know this one...I think I have it on a tape, but don't
know if I've listened to it.  OK, this song starts out witha  vocal track over
some Page organwork.I hope that this'll be big-time vocal tracks.  I love their 
vocals as much as the jams.  Is this the beach Boys we're listening to?  
that's not bad, this song is great so far.  lead vocals are coming in, and the 
melody is nice.  From what I've gathered so far (1st and 2nd verses) I think this
song is about couch potatoes.  Very funny.  I like this one a lot.  Not sure how 
good it would be live, though. They can't hear themselves and each other enough.
fades out...Liked this song.

Water- ok, this is a song I've been disappointed in this year.  I have it on several
tapes.  I have it on a couple 97s and a 98.  the 97s are soo much better, IMO.
The originals are straight ahead country-style slow bluegrass.  This new version is 
like all the 98s, more stacatto. Fluffy (not Fluffhead, though) piano part and I
don't like it as much.  it's not bad, but if you can score a copy of Brad's House,
you might just agree w/ me (ok, I guess it was inevitable...I'll do B+P for anyone 
wanting Bradstock...great show.  I'll be happy to spread the wealth).

Roggae-  I heard this one first at Vernon Downs 8/12/98, and after listening to the 
tapes again, I have high hopes for this one.  OK, the intro fades in (another recurring
theme on this album: songs that fade both in and out) and the vocals start.  Fish starts 
off, then each member switches off between lines.  Nice effect.  Mike's doin some excellent
steel pedalin' (ah Jerry....) Adds some thing to this song, I think.  Crashing chords from
Trey now.  More Steel pedal guitar.  Vocals still there as song fades out.  Very nice,
not jammed out version.  Vernon's jam was nice, but I like this one, too.

Wading-  I love this song.  I have it on several tapes, including Bradstock, and think it
is quite possibly the most beautiful Phish song.  Roggae kinda goes into it, but not really.
Starts off with the high-vocals over majestic Page piano, and they are perfect.  Page's voice 
begins at the 1:19 mark, and are just wonderful.  Trey's harmonies are equally good.  Now the 
instrumental break, which is very nice, if not short.  Then the vocals are back, over a Trey 
solo.  trey's solo is exquisite, just perfect.  Rivals the Hood solo for most beautiful I think.
Fades out slowly.  One of the album's best tubes so far.  As good, I think as live, if a little 
shorter (I'm sure I'll hear a lot of crap for THAT remark, huh?).

Moma Dance- Yeah!!  Funkin Grooves to the extreme!  Vocals come in quicker than my 7-20-98 version, 
and are very good.  "Moment Ends" repitition is placed over some wah-wahing funk guitar by Trey. Very
cool.  Great funk.  I don't think the funk needs to be jammed out (it's nice when it is, don't get me 
wrong, I love the funk jams).  This song proves that phunk can be short.  Now the Ghost chorus is used
in the song's end, wrapping up the album perfectly.  Excellent closer..wait, there's another song.
IMO, this would have been a great way to end it, but we'll see what End Of Session is.

Session- Page organ intro...Mike, Fish and Trey come in eventually.  Vocals come in as a high tenor
Page (I think) then Trey, the Page (you get the idea).  Pretty harmony on what seems to be the last lyrics
on the album.  Yup, song just fades out.  Hmmmm...seemed to me to be an afterthought.  Like Her Majesty
on thye Beatles' Abbey Road (one of THE greatest albums of all time), but I don't think it is quite as good.
Majesty is just so silly it's perfect.  Oh well, end of session is probably just that:  the end of a jam session.

Final Thoughts:

Overall:  I liked the album.  But it's different from anything the boys have ever done.  It started, I think,
w/ Billy Breathes.  They've made great leaps in studio work.  Although it's not really a jam album, that's what 
shows are for?  Granted, I love jammed out album songs, too, but this album proves Phish can do great work w/o 
jamming.

Highlights:  Meat, Guyute, Brian and Robert, and Wading in a Velvet Sea, Moma Dance

Disappointments: Limb x Limb (a bit), Water IN the Sky, End of Session (was it necessary?)
                 And, WHERE IS PAGE???  he was in the shadows, at least musically, on this album.  Too bad, I love
                 his piano solos.

Feel free to disagree!!!  Send me mail @ 
kester@baldcom.net

Thanks for reading!