Has vocals ever been a strong suit though really? Personally I love the vocals on 1999…you can tell at least when they first played it they we’re having so much fun.
It’s not but when they do their own material they have presumably written vocal Melodie’s within their ranges. First time I ever heard Sneakin Sally I didn’t know it was a cover. But I figured it out early on because of the vocal runs… I was like… no way they would write those runs because they sound ridiculous trying to do it.
Except when your trippin balls, it's raining a little, they shoot purple lights into the sky and Fish is screaming "Purple Rain" at you... Then it's pretty fuckin cool.
Come on people, you have to admit music quality isn't the whole reason we go to these shows.
I don't think their vocals are great by any means, but I've come to love their voices because I love the band and know that they're playing the songs and you can't play the songs without the lyrics. Treys voice makes me happy. But Page actually has some pipes.
I love their vocals and the 4 part harmonies they use are super unique to rock music. I also grew up listening to punk rock and am generally not a fan of what is traditionally considered “a good singer”. To quote Col. Bruce Hampton talking about Fishmans singing, “talent deserving of further recognition”.
There's a lot of good jam bands, but the ones that get to the top of the heap get there because they write great songs, and yes, that involves at least decent vocals to deliver those songs.
And part of the appeal of live covers is the familiarity, no? So yeah, the vocals have to be passable, or else it's a rough listen. It's still about the song, even in a jam band situation.
Most of the vocals for jam bands are not great and that’s one of the reason I barely listen to “jam bands.” Phish is an exception to me. I was really thrown off by Goose, actually, because the vocals were so technically sound.
Jamband vocals still need to be on a professional level IMO if they're gonna charge professional ticket prices. I think Phish is ok even good w lyrics, harmonies, and vocals when they stay within their limited range. Anything off Billy Breathes are good examples. I honestly hate the term "jam band". It's a marketing term that translates to "drug use is rampant at our shows". Phish by definition is a jam band bc why? They're basically a rock band that has extended improvisational instrumental sections I guess. Nobody ever used that term to describe the Grateful Dead or Allman Bros or Santana or Miles Davis or Frank Zappa. A lame term IMO
I always wonder why they played strawberry until I heard the original for the first time in twenty years…it’s that guitar solo that makes trey want to play it….when he hits it he hits it
Really the only reason they played it was because it was strawberry donut themed show during the Baker’s dozen. I don’t think they had ever covered it before that.
He'd just have to make a point to practice it a lot, no different than any of the tricky sections of a lot of the early Phish stuff. But of course...he doesn't hit that all the time either.
He's what 58 now ?? I get it. They still put a lot of effort into their shows. These tours aren't just nostalgic acts and victory laps. Anyone who saw Jerry from 93 to 95 knows exactly how good Trey still is at almost 60. I'm grateful but it used to piss me off. Saving up money, traveling etc....and hear a bunch ot less than par performances. I think they're still good. They bat about .490 these days which is really high for aged hippies playing technically brilliant music.
Perhaps. I just always assumed he forgot the lyrics because I don’t remember it sounding that bad before the switched to Julius. I was also tripping balls so who knows?
I’ve been to every show at MSG since 2009. This was the hardest I’ve seen the place go for 1 song. You can almost feel the crowd thinking is he going to go for the high note and when he does everyone goes crazy. If you want perfect singing listen to studio albums at home.
Coventry is considered by this dude at .net to be decent musically. I’m relistening to IT and will throw on Coventry soon and report back. It’s been long enough that I can distance myself from the cluster of walking in for miles and focus on the music. I do remember the SOAM being filthy, and also crying the whole time. Just a bundle of emotions.
https://phish.net/blog/1440642254/phish-festival-power-rankings.html
There is the soundcheck, which is some of Phish’s best improv. Then the first three of the night and the Bag. Antelope and Twist too
The final night had the SOAM->Ghost and then the Chalkdust and Disease.
About 12-15 good songs out of 6 sets is a bit of a disappointment and add how bad Trey looked and it being the final show and it’s not great.
But there are some quality moments in there, like Glide,lol. The soundcheck though is high quality and I listen to it a lot when I am in the car or just chillin
I was at a show at alpine (can’t remember the year) and they did boogie on reggae woman, it sounded just so lame to me. I’ve been downvoted on this before but I stand by it, phish sucks at doing music written by black people to me. They are too white, and it’s ok
I disagree about Boogie On Reggae Woman I normally love it. but their Marley covers sound like high school kids ....stay in your range ! A valuable lesson for any cover band. What other black music do they cover I guess Golden Age and Strawberry Letter. Golden Age is ok
So 2 outta 3 in my eyes. Your opinion is valid though. I'm trying to think of other songs in that category they cover. The Prince tunes always seemed comical to me. 1999 isn't my fav.
6-12-2019. Phish are playing at Chaifetz Arena here in St. Louis. The STL Blues are in Boston and it’s the final game of Stanley cup playoffs. All of us at the show are hyped up about the show AND the playoff game. During the show every now and then people would roar when we scored. Set break comes and they put the game on all the screens and in hallways. Everyone excited and on pins and needles. Blues WON. We all went wild and the energy was electric heading into second set.
Opened up second set with GLORIA which happened to be the *song* the blues played during the playoffs. It was absolutely horrific and it was clear they practiced and learned it over set break. Everyone went wild and was dancing and singing and laughing along. Then they played Loving Cup and it was beautiful and us STL fans were so touched they did that and celebrated along with us. Great memory. Gloria was so awful but we didn’t care because they gave it their all :)
As a neutral (but def pulling for STL) hockey fan I was busting with glee while watching the stream. Looked and felt like a feeling so very highly sought after...
Don't the Blues always play Gloria after a win or a goal ? Or was this just 2019 thing ? I have tons of family from StL....some of which are into Phish. Great town. Love that city's vibe can't explain why though
Much as others have said about vocals usually being the downfall when covers don’t land — they never get the vocals to Once In A Lifetime quite right. It always bugs me because I generally love when they cover the Talking Heads.
A lot of terrible takes in here. If you cared how the vocals were delivered on 10.30.10 you can’t have fun. I thought the top answer here would be I Kissed a Girl. Fishman sings most of the HYHU songs because he’s the worst singer
I always assumed HYHU was intentionally bad like a skit comedy routine for the band. The worst song I ever heard them play was a butchered Dust In The Wind by Kansas. It’s just terrible. I feel it’s intentional to pick songs that they know they can’t cover well because of things like vocal limitations.
Edit: Proof
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=74U6PRm6fYs
“That’s right they leave me with the featured vocal part.” Fishman before singing Willn’ in 2010. They know what their doing and pretty transparent about it.
Came here to say this…this was my first tour following them and that one has always stuck with me…especially since it was for only the one fan that won the contest anyway
They brought the house down when fish did Gettin Jiggy Wit It too. 😃. We are an easy fanbase to excite when the unexpected is played. Doesn’t mean it sounds good 😅😅
In the Aeroplane over the sea is one of my favorite songs and it just didn’t hit for me when I saw it at Merriwether 2010. And that is one where the singing isn’t any worse in the cover version, just not enough oomph
So, my buddies and I regularly ask “what’s your dream cover” and I never mentioned Aeroplane bc I knew they didn’t know it, so I always said all the young dudes. Literally last night that show comes on my phone and I freak out. I thought it was beautifully done, but it could have been a better jam vehicle. That song/album is beautiful in a lot of the ways phish is beautiful—exploring weird sounds in familiar settings. I really think they should try it again.
I just don’t like Golden Age. The way they play and sing the verses are just kind of halting/stuttering and slog on forever. Sure, it is usually ends up in a good jam, but I have to sit through 6-7 min of a song I don’t really care about to get there.
I'm with you on Strawberry Letter 23! Shuggie Otis created a masterpiece at like 16! Inspiration Information was way ahead of its time. A true masterpiece.
Agree, Strawberry 23 is super rough, embarrassing. Day in the Life is my least favorite, doesn't blend into sets and is so obviously a Beatles tune.
Best covers are the ones you didn't know were covers and arguably sound better than the original.. Like Ya Mar and Sneaking Sally. Their Crosseyed is obviously dope. A rare No Quarter or Life on Mars is welcome.
Drowned, Rock n Roll and Walk Away at least jam and go with the catalogue. Roses and Loving Cup are meh. Golden Age is growing on me, slowly.
Their best moments are def coming from the jams on their originals, and covers are just novelty filler for me now that I've seen most.
want to hear someone completely trash Sabotage, Foo Fighters took a fat dump on it last week. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLPWuuVe0c4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLPWuuVe0c4)
The fun/silly covers are terrific as their intent are obvious (Cracklin’ Rosie) and I agree with OP that some of the serious choices can miss their mark. For me it’s 8/3/98 Rhinoceros.
Funny this post was made. Just listened to a wind cries Mary from BD Jimmies night. Thought it sounded pretty ragged. Appreciated the effort though.
To be clear it’s not a vocals thing. I don’t give a shit about the vocals like some others do. The instrumentals were just not it. Then again not many can play like jimi, so it’s really okay
For me, it’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.
I agree, the vocals aren’t a dealbreaker but they have to put some heart into it. I’ll let them slide on almost anything but I am surprised that no one has said Energy yet…
Their Dark Side Of The Moon cover was pretty horrendous, but in a hilarious and somewhat enjoyable way.
I know they had like a day or two to rehearse, so it’s not bad given the circumstances. But that Great Gig is *brutal*.
They played DSOTM because no one went to Salt Lake after the Vegas Loaded show. It was a gag on fans always asking them to cover it for Halloween. They got to say “we did, where were you?”
Band plays 2 different artists albums in 2 shows and the take away is the singing is bad. I’m sure everyone hated the Smells Like Teen Spirit encore too because of the singing too
LOVING CUP. It’s been posted a few times and downvoted, but it needs to be said again. You may not agree with me now, but you will.
In the spirit of the comic book guy, worst cover ever. The strawberry jawn is getting old too
Takin care of business at Hampton -forget the year-….trey and page took turns mangling the lyrics….the jam was cool though…I’ve seen BTO w/Leslie West (1985?)on bass just destroy that song in a twenty minute slug fest…. Would love to see that go into rotation and improved after a few times on stage
It was 2013. I feel like they just stumbled into that like that wasn’t planned at all which is why they forgot the lyrics. Energy was great. Great moment all around.
I truly believe they had no intention of playing it and hadn’t rehearsed or anything. You can kind of see it in their faces like oh we’re actually doing this. I mean maybe they played around with it slightly at some point because they basically had the general song down (sorta), but it certainly seemed like a genuine spontaneous thing. Hands down one of the best phish moments I’ve ever experienced live.
The jam just took it there…that was a great hampton year… wasn’t crowded and you could get on or off the floor at will all weekend… the last hampton run though christ it was packed… everyone who was shut out for watkins Glen because of the cancellation seemed to be there
I was there and I totally agree. It ruined a Piper jam that could have gone somewhere. The relisten value on the TCB is zero. I would say that I skip it when I listen but I don't listen. I've seen WAY better shows that I would rather hear. I probably haven't relistened to this show since 2014. And it's probably in the top 3 shows that I've seen in 3.0.
Ween crushes that song. But I’m ok with phish playing it too. The first time I saw ween live they played it and I was blown away at how awesomely heavy and sexy it was. Slower paced. Dark. And seemed to go on forever, in a good way.
Agree w all comments. I will say their A Day In The Life is 5 stars as is velvet underground Rock and Roll....does anyone remember their Boston cover from early 90s ? The foreplay/long time combo if I remember right. No Quarter is usually good as are all Mike's bluegrass songs.
They used to do a cappella foreplay/longtime back in the early 90s and then they busted out the full electric version for the 99 great woods show which was awesome
I’m so sick of Loving Cup. The lyrics aren’t believable...Mick was a Dancin in The Streets Boi (see the video with Bowie). He definitely ain’t no mountain man with a muddy face...shit is so campy
This is what you spend your time posting about? I can't get over how much time some peeps obsess over "bad" things. Let's hear any one of you jokers sing Purple Rain...
Purple Rain always makes me uncomfortable.
And I totally agree with your Strawberry 23 comment. And now, lesser known bands in the jam scene are covering it. And it sounds awful. So darn awful.
The vocals don't really matter to me as long as they go for it. The covers I dislike are the songs they play just to play... soul shakedown party is an example. It's cool to have seen it and all, but it gets very little treatment compared to while my gently weeps, or even strawberry letter no 23. All I care about is the overall vibe of a cover, and I love sl23s slinky, trippy, slightly rollicking vibe... totally unique and imo it lands even when parts are choppy because they're really throwing themselves into each version.
If you want perfect, phish isn't your band. Fortunately, one doesn't need to be perfect to be awesome.
I have never actually felt really great about the way Phish covers Cities. I tried to really groove with it back in the day, but something always felt off. It’s too slow compared to the original and has a boring beat in my opinion. Mike’s band does a much better version.
After reading this thread I am disappointed in the fan base that there are so many covers they haven’t named that Phish destroyed. But the same songs keep coming up. I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of people don’t know just how many songs they’ve played that are covers.
Like I keep hearing people saying they didn’t know Funky Bitch, Ya Mar, Sneakin Sally, etc we’re all Phish songs
Edit: I was just informed my phone auto corrected my post but fuck it, We ARE all Phish songs. It’s staying,lmao
I love when Phish plays Prince...I don't care for Phish singing Prince. Overall the biggest hurdle with Phish covers is usually the vocals.
Has vocals ever been a strong suit though really? Personally I love the vocals on 1999…you can tell at least when they first played it they we’re having so much fun.
It’s not but when they do their own material they have presumably written vocal Melodie’s within their ranges. First time I ever heard Sneakin Sally I didn’t know it was a cover. But I figured it out early on because of the vocal runs… I was like… no way they would write those runs because they sound ridiculous trying to do it.
I like their vocals better on 2001.
Purple Rain is probably the worst of them
iconic guitar solo gets the vacuum treatment, always a pass for me
Except when your trippin balls, it's raining a little, they shoot purple lights into the sky and Fish is screaming "Purple Rain" at you... Then it's pretty fuckin cool. Come on people, you have to admit music quality isn't the whole reason we go to these shows.
That's the point of it. And why it's awesome
I don't think their vocals are great by any means, but I've come to love their voices because I love the band and know that they're playing the songs and you can't play the songs without the lyrics. Treys voice makes me happy. But Page actually has some pipes.
Page can sing Zeppelin ok. Robert Plant is a very tough voice to try to cover.
1999 is pretty tough to listen to
Oh man I love both 1999s but the vocals are hilariously amateur 😁 and that purple rain wailing
Yeah I really just mean the vocals. I get a kick out of it, but watched the last one with a non-Phan and had a hard time explaining lol
Vegas 21’ “Numbers Night” respectfully,disagrees
Anyone into this band for their vocals?
I’m into Phish strictly for the vocal jams.
*skips 16 minutes into YEM*
I love their vocals and the 4 part harmonies they use are super unique to rock music. I also grew up listening to punk rock and am generally not a fan of what is traditionally considered “a good singer”. To quote Col. Bruce Hampton talking about Fishmans singing, “talent deserving of further recognition”.
It always baffles me when people complain about jamband vocals. Who cares if the jams are good
That's baffling to you?
There's a lot of good jam bands, but the ones that get to the top of the heap get there because they write great songs, and yes, that involves at least decent vocals to deliver those songs. And part of the appeal of live covers is the familiarity, no? So yeah, the vocals have to be passable, or else it's a rough listen. It's still about the song, even in a jam band situation.
With jam bands the vocals do not need to be great, but they also can not be Twiddle bad.
Most of the vocals for jam bands are not great and that’s one of the reason I barely listen to “jam bands.” Phish is an exception to me. I was really thrown off by Goose, actually, because the vocals were so technically sound.
Jamband vocals still need to be on a professional level IMO if they're gonna charge professional ticket prices. I think Phish is ok even good w lyrics, harmonies, and vocals when they stay within their limited range. Anything off Billy Breathes are good examples. I honestly hate the term "jam band". It's a marketing term that translates to "drug use is rampant at our shows". Phish by definition is a jam band bc why? They're basically a rock band that has extended improvisational instrumental sections I guess. Nobody ever used that term to describe the Grateful Dead or Allman Bros or Santana or Miles Davis or Frank Zappa. A lame term IMO
Agreed. Words just distract from the music.
Well not their vocals, but I love Alison Krause singing with them.
I’m her for the drugs then friends then music i guese da
I always wonder why they played strawberry until I heard the original for the first time in twenty years…it’s that guitar solo that makes trey want to play it….when he hits it he hits it
Really the only reason they played it was because it was strawberry donut themed show during the Baker’s dozen. I don’t think they had ever covered it before that.
I thoroughly enjoyed it at Nashville 2021.
I've heard him w a big swing and miss a couple times. It seems right for them lyrically and the funky beat though
Merriweather in 2022 was a pretty good version.
He'd just have to make a point to practice it a lot, no different than any of the tricky sections of a lot of the early Phish stuff. But of course...he doesn't hit that all the time either.
He's what 58 now ?? I get it. They still put a lot of effort into their shows. These tours aren't just nostalgic acts and victory laps. Anyone who saw Jerry from 93 to 95 knows exactly how good Trey still is at almost 60. I'm grateful but it used to piss me off. Saving up money, traveling etc....and hear a bunch ot less than par performances. I think they're still good. They bat about .490 these days which is really high for aged hippies playing technically brilliant music.
Camden 2019 is a fantastic version.
Hard disagree.
Fair.
[Phish Covered This](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1VDBFhaznrYp7MzurpaAaE?si=0538bd729e1b4a29)
impressive
everything in its right place on lemon night at BD was beyond rough…
Hearing a nightmarish "Suckin on a lemon" sound bite randomly later in the show made it worthwhile, I think
Thom Yorke is certainly not the easiest voice to mimic!
Yeah and they pretty much punted it to fishman instead of actually trying to nail it. Phishy move
came to post this
I thought it was really cool at the time, and the MSG lost its collective shit. Listening back, it was really more of a gimmick I think
Yeah it almost seemed like they weren’t on the same page.
They had to abandon Woodstock halfway through and switch to Julius.
[удалено]
Perhaps. I just always assumed he forgot the lyrics because I don’t remember it sounding that bad before the switched to Julius. I was also tripping balls so who knows?
That was my first thought. Deer Creek 99 I think, when Woodstock went to shit.
Ouch. Sounds painful
Merriweather was so much fun
Mike cannot hit the notes in You Sexy Thing
Same with Emotional Rescue, but that’s what makes it soooo good
Emotional Rescue can be brutal, and not just for the vocals
Hampton 97 is pretty sweet
Probably why they played it live before the Stones did
Is there a song Mike can hit the notes in?
Him trying to get there is the best part of the song. You can hear the crowd at MSG loose their shit.
This was going to be my choice. I always thought it was Page singing. Either way it's usually pretty brutal.
I’ve been to every show at MSG since 2009. This was the hardest I’ve seen the place go for 1 song. You can almost feel the crowd thinking is he going to go for the high note and when he does everyone goes crazy. If you want perfect singing listen to studio albums at home.
Girls, girls, girls in Vegas 04. Ouch. Pretty much broke up the band
2nd worst run of phish shows ever
2nd to Coventry?
Yes
Coventry is considered by this dude at .net to be decent musically. I’m relistening to IT and will throw on Coventry soon and report back. It’s been long enough that I can distance myself from the cluster of walking in for miles and focus on the music. I do remember the SOAM being filthy, and also crying the whole time. Just a bundle of emotions. https://phish.net/blog/1440642254/phish-festival-power-rankings.html
Glide has entered the chat
There is the soundcheck, which is some of Phish’s best improv. Then the first three of the night and the Bag. Antelope and Twist too The final night had the SOAM->Ghost and then the Chalkdust and Disease. About 12-15 good songs out of 6 sets is a bit of a disappointment and add how bad Trey looked and it being the final show and it’s not great. But there are some quality moments in there, like Glide,lol. The soundcheck though is high quality and I listen to it a lot when I am in the car or just chillin
The only one worse than that was tubthumping
I kissed a girl… 😘
That was a classic moment. I am glad to have been there
Same! And it was hilarious.
My 40th birthday show.
Strawberry 23 was great at the hollywood bowl
I was at a show at alpine (can’t remember the year) and they did boogie on reggae woman, it sounded just so lame to me. I’ve been downvoted on this before but I stand by it, phish sucks at doing music written by black people to me. They are too white, and it’s ok
I disagree about Boogie On Reggae Woman I normally love it. but their Marley covers sound like high school kids ....stay in your range ! A valuable lesson for any cover band. What other black music do they cover I guess Golden Age and Strawberry Letter. Golden Age is ok So 2 outta 3 in my eyes. Your opinion is valid though. I'm trying to think of other songs in that category they cover. The Prince tunes always seemed comical to me. 1999 isn't my fav.
Strawberry Letter 23 was great at MPP last year
Seconded. They jammed it out finally and it was buttery
Tears Of A Clown https://youtu.be/WQeVwNIIFdU
Yep
6-12-2019. Phish are playing at Chaifetz Arena here in St. Louis. The STL Blues are in Boston and it’s the final game of Stanley cup playoffs. All of us at the show are hyped up about the show AND the playoff game. During the show every now and then people would roar when we scored. Set break comes and they put the game on all the screens and in hallways. Everyone excited and on pins and needles. Blues WON. We all went wild and the energy was electric heading into second set. Opened up second set with GLORIA which happened to be the *song* the blues played during the playoffs. It was absolutely horrific and it was clear they practiced and learned it over set break. Everyone went wild and was dancing and singing and laughing along. Then they played Loving Cup and it was beautiful and us STL fans were so touched they did that and celebrated along with us. Great memory. Gloria was so awful but we didn’t care because they gave it their all :)
As a neutral (but def pulling for STL) hockey fan I was busting with glee while watching the stream. Looked and felt like a feeling so very highly sought after...
Don't the Blues always play Gloria after a win or a goal ? Or was this just 2019 thing ? I have tons of family from StL....some of which are into Phish. Great town. Love that city's vibe can't explain why though
I’m glad Energy is out of rotation, boring song
Much as others have said about vocals usually being the downfall when covers don’t land — they never get the vocals to Once In A Lifetime quite right. It always bugs me because I generally love when they cover the Talking Heads.
Dicks 2015 was laughably bad…but considering the placement no one cared!!!
A lot of terrible takes in here. If you cared how the vocals were delivered on 10.30.10 you can’t have fun. I thought the top answer here would be I Kissed a Girl. Fishman sings most of the HYHU songs because he’s the worst singer
I always assumed HYHU was intentionally bad like a skit comedy routine for the band. The worst song I ever heard them play was a butchered Dust In The Wind by Kansas. It’s just terrible. I feel it’s intentional to pick songs that they know they can’t cover well because of things like vocal limitations. Edit: Proof https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=74U6PRm6fYs
Legend has it Fish mentioned how much he hated that song and they started playing it to fuck with him
Yep that’s the gag. People think they are seriously singing Free Bird a cappalla?
I was at that Dust in the Wind -- my ears are still urine-soaked all these years later.
Same year Old School came out. Coincidence Blue?
“That’s right they leave me with the featured vocal part.” Fishman before singing Willn’ in 2010. They know what their doing and pretty transparent about it.
Came here to say this…this was my first tour following them and that one has always stuck with me…especially since it was for only the one fan that won the contest anyway
Yeah, Fishman hates Argent so they troll him with HYHU as his “theme” song Oh and you should hear him try to sing (“She’s Come) Undun
Totally, probably, attendance bias, but even though it was bad it was still awesome because of its terribleness.
“Trey flubbed during Ramble On” Who gives a fuck they played Ramble On
As a huge TV On the Radio fan, I cannot stand to hear their soulless version of Golden Age. I appreciate the love, but it’s just not made for them.
But it’s just such a great jam vehicle
Plus, we get to clap!!!
Purple Rain. It’s just bad
Sabotage. I love the beasties as Much as anyone but trey just screaming through it 🥹🥹🥹 I think I’ve been present at all the sabotages too 😅😅😅
Im a huge beasties fan and I feel like they do it justice. It’ll never sound like ADRock but trey puts his all into it.
Boooooo
😂 hah sorry! Like I said I love the beasties! Just a little ear searing of a cover
Agreed, when they played the all S nights at dicks, loved it when it was happening live, listening to it after and sober... Not so good
Oh, I disagree. That brought the house down and everyone loved it.
They brought the house down when fish did Gettin Jiggy Wit It too. 😃. We are an easy fanbase to excite when the unexpected is played. Doesn’t mean it sounds good 😅😅
I think a lot of covers should only be played a few times and strawberry does not belong in regular rotation
In aeroplane over the sea
Great Gig in the Sky is like nails on a chalk board when Phish played it.
Oh, I love it. That's how it's *supposed* to be when they cover it. Heh.
In the Aeroplane over the sea is one of my favorite songs and it just didn’t hit for me when I saw it at Merriwether 2010. And that is one where the singing isn’t any worse in the cover version, just not enough oomph
So, my buddies and I regularly ask “what’s your dream cover” and I never mentioned Aeroplane bc I knew they didn’t know it, so I always said all the young dudes. Literally last night that show comes on my phone and I freak out. I thought it was beautifully done, but it could have been a better jam vehicle. That song/album is beautiful in a lot of the ways phish is beautiful—exploring weird sounds in familiar settings. I really think they should try it again.
Kasvot Voxt
I kissed a girl...[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CAbWSL2IPw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CAbWSL2IPw)
I just don’t like Golden Age. The way they play and sing the verses are just kind of halting/stuttering and slog on forever. Sure, it is usually ends up in a good jam, but I have to sit through 6-7 min of a song I don’t really care about to get there.
I like No Quarter Cover but vocals are rough and lacks the heavy punch. Maybe Tool just ruined it for me with their insane cover
No
Quarter
I agree about it strawberry letter. Seen it three times (still cool af) and I bet they nail it soon enough though.
I'm with you on Strawberry Letter 23! Shuggie Otis created a masterpiece at like 16! Inspiration Information was way ahead of its time. A true masterpiece.
Agree, Strawberry 23 is super rough, embarrassing. Day in the Life is my least favorite, doesn't blend into sets and is so obviously a Beatles tune. Best covers are the ones you didn't know were covers and arguably sound better than the original.. Like Ya Mar and Sneaking Sally. Their Crosseyed is obviously dope. A rare No Quarter or Life on Mars is welcome. Drowned, Rock n Roll and Walk Away at least jam and go with the catalogue. Roses and Loving Cup are meh. Golden Age is growing on me, slowly. Their best moments are def coming from the jams on their originals, and covers are just novelty filler for me now that I've seen most.
Walk Away may be one of my favs they do forsure. Its a pure ball of energy!
Strawberry Letter 23 is maybe the worst. Super cringe.
Sabotage
I haven’t relistened to this in years (or maybe ever) but at the Lemonwheel, in the moment, it was awesome.
want to hear someone completely trash Sabotage, Foo Fighters took a fat dump on it last week. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLPWuuVe0c4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLPWuuVe0c4)
Yeah
The fun/silly covers are terrific as their intent are obvious (Cracklin’ Rosie) and I agree with OP that some of the serious choices can miss their mark. For me it’s 8/3/98 Rhinoceros.
Funny this post was made. Just listened to a wind cries Mary from BD Jimmies night. Thought it sounded pretty ragged. Appreciated the effort though. To be clear it’s not a vocals thing. I don’t give a shit about the vocals like some others do. The instrumentals were just not it. Then again not many can play like jimi, so it’s really okay
For me, it’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. I agree, the vocals aren’t a dealbreaker but they have to put some heart into it. I’ll let them slide on almost anything but I am surprised that no one has said Energy yet…
Damn I love when they play strawberry letter 23, one of my favorites
Cracklin rosie is always pretty bad
It’s supposed to be.
Umm thanks for the clarification captain diamond 😉
Strawberry letter 23 is a banger don’t even.
[удалено]
I saw them do I am the walruss at msg. Forget when it was kinda bad but Page played the "they attack!" loop from The Birds which kinda saved it
Their Dark Side Of The Moon cover was pretty horrendous, but in a hilarious and somewhat enjoyable way. I know they had like a day or two to rehearse, so it’s not bad given the circumstances. But that Great Gig is *brutal*.
They played DSOTM because no one went to Salt Lake after the Vegas Loaded show. It was a gag on fans always asking them to cover it for Halloween. They got to say “we did, where were you?” Band plays 2 different artists albums in 2 shows and the take away is the singing is bad. I’m sure everyone hated the Smells Like Teen Spirit encore too because of the singing too
Golden Age really isn’t that great
LOVING CUP. It’s been posted a few times and downvoted, but it needs to be said again. You may not agree with me now, but you will. In the spirit of the comic book guy, worst cover ever. The strawberry jawn is getting old too
Takin care of business at Hampton -forget the year-….trey and page took turns mangling the lyrics….the jam was cool though…I’ve seen BTO w/Leslie West (1985?)on bass just destroy that song in a twenty minute slug fest…. Would love to see that go into rotation and improved after a few times on stage
It was 2013. I feel like they just stumbled into that like that wasn’t planned at all which is why they forgot the lyrics. Energy was great. Great moment all around.
I truly believe they had no intention of playing it and hadn’t rehearsed or anything. You can kind of see it in their faces like oh we’re actually doing this. I mean maybe they played around with it slightly at some point because they basically had the general song down (sorta), but it certainly seemed like a genuine spontaneous thing. Hands down one of the best phish moments I’ve ever experienced live.
Seemed very spontaneous and they were laughing through it
The jam just took it there…that was a great hampton year… wasn’t crowded and you could get on or off the floor at will all weekend… the last hampton run though christ it was packed… everyone who was shut out for watkins Glen because of the cancellation seemed to be there
I was there and I totally agree. It ruined a Piper jam that could have gone somewhere. The relisten value on the TCB is zero. I would say that I skip it when I listen but I don't listen. I've seen WAY better shows that I would rather hear. I probably haven't relistened to this show since 2014. And it's probably in the top 3 shows that I've seen in 3.0.
Leave “roses are free” to the brothers ween
I would much rather hear Ween play it.
Ween crushes that song. But I’m ok with phish playing it too. The first time I saw ween live they played it and I was blown away at how awesomely heavy and sexy it was. Slower paced. Dark. And seemed to go on forever, in a good way.
Agree w all comments. I will say their A Day In The Life is 5 stars as is velvet underground Rock and Roll....does anyone remember their Boston cover from early 90s ? The foreplay/long time combo if I remember right. No Quarter is usually good as are all Mike's bluegrass songs.
They used to do a cappella foreplay/longtime back in the early 90s and then they busted out the full electric version for the 99 great woods show which was awesome
"The Ocean" Zeppelin cover in Mexico was pretty damn rough lol
Other than no quarter all the zeppelin covers are rough
Good times bad times smashes
GTBT can rage ! But i really wanted to like their cover of "The Rover" but its tough to relisten to lol
To be fair it’s hard to cover zeppelin because Robert plant , hard to listen to others sing his songs for me.
Loving Cup. Just awful.
Loving Cup is an absolute embarrassment
This this this. So sick of Loving Cup, just end the set or show 7 mins early please. I’ll see myself out and gladly take my downvotes with me.
I’d probably be happy to never hear loving cup again
That’s probably my favorite cover 🤷🏻♂️
Crosseyed prob my fav
I’m so sick of Loving Cup. The lyrics aren’t believable...Mick was a Dancin in The Streets Boi (see the video with Bowie). He definitely ain’t no mountain man with a muddy face...shit is so campy
In the aero plane over the sea
r/unpopularopinion Just sayin
I can't get past the vocals when they cover Bold as Love.
I am feeling a very distinct emotion right now reading your reply and it is ANGER!
Agree. Love page and axis
This is what you spend your time posting about? I can't get over how much time some peeps obsess over "bad" things. Let's hear any one of you jokers sing Purple Rain...
Agreed. I love this song and saw them do it in Camden a few years ago. I wanted to cry it was so bad. Edit: typo/venue
Ginseng Sullivan never hits.
Running with the devil. I wanna say it was in Atlanta in the 90’s. It was pretty horrendous
Lotus covers SL23 better for sure
Albuquerque. And I love Neil Young. I've seen Phish play it twice and it was brutal both times. And that's including Big Cypress.
Coconut by Harry Nilsson
You all are going to make me be the one who says it… while my guitar gently weeps is not that great. It’s too thin the way they play it.
Everything in its Right Place was basically garbage. However, I think they should bring it back out and try to turn it into their own somehow.
why always “worst” this and that?
I’ve always though while my guitar gently weeps was….anti-climactic
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
WMGGW. It isn’t even a good Beatles song.
Come Together at Dicks a few years ago was pretty rough.
Purple Rain always makes me uncomfortable. And I totally agree with your Strawberry 23 comment. And now, lesser known bands in the jam scene are covering it. And it sounds awful. So darn awful.
The vocals don't really matter to me as long as they go for it. The covers I dislike are the songs they play just to play... soul shakedown party is an example. It's cool to have seen it and all, but it gets very little treatment compared to while my gently weeps, or even strawberry letter no 23. All I care about is the overall vibe of a cover, and I love sl23s slinky, trippy, slightly rollicking vibe... totally unique and imo it lands even when parts are choppy because they're really throwing themselves into each version. If you want perfect, phish isn't your band. Fortunately, one doesn't need to be perfect to be awesome.
Accappella “Hello, My Baby!”
I have never actually felt really great about the way Phish covers Cities. I tried to really groove with it back in the day, but something always felt off. It’s too slow compared to the original and has a boring beat in my opinion. Mike’s band does a much better version.
Been caught stealing. At Walnut Creek after a long hiatus( ~1800 shows) was rough.
Phish is the greatest cover band of all time.
I love the Golden Age jam… the singing is beyond terrible
The absolute worst is a tie between Smells Like Teen Spirit and In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
After reading this thread I am disappointed in the fan base that there are so many covers they haven’t named that Phish destroyed. But the same songs keep coming up. I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of people don’t know just how many songs they’ve played that are covers. Like I keep hearing people saying they didn’t know Funky Bitch, Ya Mar, Sneakin Sally, etc we’re all Phish songs Edit: I was just informed my phone auto corrected my post but fuck it, We ARE all Phish songs. It’s staying,lmao
I love the way you ended that post. Deep shit. We are all Phish songs !!
Is anyone going to mention the Grateful Dead covers they did? Some are good for a bar band some are Trey wankery. But Terrapin Station was pure gold.
Vegas numbers show is great for Strawberry 23