Undermind (album)

Undermind
Studio album by Phish
Released	June 15, 2004 (U.S.)
Recorded	May 2002–March 2004
Genre	Rock
Length	50:30
Label	Elektra
Producer	Tchad Blake
Phish chronology
The Victor Disc (2002) Undermind (2004) Phish: New Year's Eve 1995 - Live at Madison Square Garden (2005 - recorded live in 1995) 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 tenth official studio album by the American rock band Phish, released on June 15, 2004, by Elektra Records. Phish collaborated with Tchad Blake on the album, their first time with an outside producer since The Story of the Ghost in 1998. 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) – 2:25
4. "A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 6:23
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) – 4:08
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) – 1:56
13. "Secret Smile" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 6:41
14. "Grind" (Anastasio, Marshall) – :59

Internet-only Bonus Track:

• "Tiny" (Anastasio, Fishman, Gordon, McConnell) - 6:47

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 DavydovArrangment: 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

Christopher Plummer - engineer

Maria Schneider - arranger

Jared Slomoff - engineer

Chris Weal - assistant

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 [last update]). "Undermind - Phish | AllMusic". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r698401. Retrieved 7 August 2011. 
2. ^ Kemp, Mark (2011 [last update]). "Phish: Undermind : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". web.archive.org. http://web.archive.org/web/20090216134531/http://rollingstone.com/artists/phish/albums/album/6115739/review/6184699/undermind. Retrieved 7 August 2011. 
3. ^ Ward, Eric. Undermind Review. Glide Magazine. Online. Accessed: September 6, 2011.
4. ^ Kemp, Mark (2011 [last update]). "Phish: Undermind : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". web.archive.org. http://web.archive.org/web/20090216134531/http://rollingstone.com/artists/phish/albums/album/6115739/review/6184699/undermind. Retrieved 7 August 2011. 
5. ^ Ward, Eric. Undermind Review. Glide Magazine. Online. Accessed: September 6, 2011.

External links

• Phish's official website
• Phish.com: Undermind
• A Fresh Start with Page McConnell interview, 2007, The Music Box