Reasons why Phish are a true prog band

Great. Now you guys have me wanting to check out Phish. I thought they were just a Grateful Dead stoner wannabe band?

Edited by Jeffro - March 24 2015 at 08:43

Also while I'm here, I'd like to thank ProgArchives for helping me find so many crazy bands!

I made a decision to plunge head first into progressive rock after listening to some gorgeous tinkling Phish jam (like a Simple/Reba/Hood/Slave/Roggae style beauty jam) and realiZing I had no concept of any other bands that sounded that way. I've spent the last year or so immersing myself in bands that I've found here, on RateYourMusic (shout out to AshraTom! I'm on board with you on everything but the Midwest America/Ontario stuff lol) - especially one guys lists where he basically lists every progressive band in every country. Oh, and the God, Pierro Scaruffi.

I'm mainly into the more coherent/melodic Zeuhl stuff, along with some of the more psychedelically romantic sounding Italian and South American bands, loving some of these great German bands I never heard despite being really into the more motorik krautrock stuff forever, Quebec had a spectacular scene in the 70s with their folky weirdness..France is my favorite though. So many amazing bands. No slight to the "Canterbury scene" who probably produced my favorite bands outside of King Crimson. Avant Prog can go either way for me, kinda like free jazz I like it immensely when it's either more spacey or more rhythmic and isn't too screechy (and it's always been a shame to me that the free jazz tended so strongly towards expressing itself in screechy wailing, but I guess that's a product of its times)- finding prog rock that reminds me of the restrained nature of post rock (but 20 years earlier!) makes my day. I had generally avoided anything past the early 80s because I feel like the main influences became Rush ( who I dig) and Porcupine Tree (who I decidedly do not) along with a lot of metal, bombast and technical skill for the sake of technical skill.. But lately ive been crazy impressed with the newer avant prog and Zeuhl stuff I'm finding. Not everything turned into Marillon style fluff or endless finger tapping nonsense and macho posturing! Score!

So in essence, I never really found anything that sounded like a clear antecedent to a Harry Hood jam, but I do have a two terabyte hard drive filled up (for research purposes only!) with tons of prog, psych, jazz , avant garde and modern/minimal classical, and the vast majority of it all is stuff I hadn't heard of two years ago.

My plan as it sits now, is to make a series of a few dozen mixes that start with a Phish song, then fade out of the improvisational portion and into a succession of arranged snippets of obscure music..and then drop these on my Phish fan friends like a bomb. Most of these kids have great taste in music but a massive blind spot where prog should be, and it's silly that they should like so much highly inventive music but not know who Gentle Giant or Hatfield And The North are! They'll know soon enough once I blow their minds!

They're a great band & well known for the huge number of live albums available, but I much prefer the studio ones (especially Junta & Rift); to me personally, they are a prog band without doubt, but I do find their live jams, just a tad, well... boring

"Junta" doesn't even really "jam" that much, if that's what keeps people from calling it prog.  The lion's share of Junta is very highly composed, even the long tracks.

I really dig Phish. I could see a case being made for them being prog-ish, but not a full on prog band.

Formentera Lady wrote: I don't know this band and I've listened. The examples above sound proggy to me. But I need to listen to full albums to decide, if their composition style as a whole is proggy, and if these examples are not only exceptions.

I would suggest their album "Lawn Boy".

or "Junta"

I don't know this band and I've listened. The examples above sound proggy to me. But I need to listen to full albums to decide, if their composition style as a whole is proggy, and if these examples are not only exceptions.

I neither support no oppose their inclusion.

I can't hear through the patchouli and nitrous.  

Yes, I listened. I've listened to these and other Phish material, as a cousin of mine has tried for years to get me into them. While these songs would be considered prog, they just don't have the appeal to me. The band play well, but I don't care for the vocals and the songs just don't do anything for me.