Either catch them in concert (as many times as you can, of course) and/or stick to the live albums Any fan of the Vermont jam band will tell you as much, and although there is a lot of truth to the aforesaid how-to-best-enjoy-Phish method, Trey Anastasio and gang are also more than adept at crafting worthy material in the studio. Big Boat is the group’s 13th studio effort, and it represents an accessible, fun brand of psych & prog rock that combine the always-touring outfit’s knack for instrumental grooves and improvisation with focused, pop-oriented songwriting. Bob Ezrin gets producer credit (he worked on 2014’s Fuego) also, and here are the highlights: “Breath And Burning,” “Walking Up Dead,” “Braze On,” “Miss You,” and “No Men In No Man’s Land.” This is the limited-edition clear vinyl 2LP version of the album.

• limited edition
• clear vinyl pressing
• music label: Jemp Records 2016

reviewed by kanim 11/2016

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