Undermind (album)
| Undermind | ||||
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| Studio album by Phish | ||||
| Released | June 15, 2004 (U.S.) | |||
| Recorded | May 2002, The Barn (Vermont), April 2003, Nantucket, Massachusetts, June 2003, Big Moe Recording, Chicago, Illinois, February 2004, The Barn (Vermont), March 2004, Cactus Unlimited, New York and Vermont | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 50:30 | |||
| Label | Elektra | |||
| Producer | Tchad Blake | |||
| Phish chronology | ||||
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| LivePhish.com Downloads series chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    |
| Rolling Stone | (favorable) |
Undermind is the tenth studio album by American rock band Phish, released on June 15, 2004, by Elektra Records. 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 either Let It Be, the final studio album by The Beatles, or Songs of Faith and Devotion, the eight studio album by Depeche Mode. In a review of Undermind, Glide Magazine suggests that the album's individual song contributions may also be intentionally "Beatles-esque". 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. 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. Two excerpts from the Headphones Jam were used for the Undermind album: "Maggie's Revenge" and "Tiny" (an internet-only bonus track).
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