In the 1.0 era of Phish there is no year more hotly debated, more controversial, more divisive, and more celbrated than 1997. To some, it represents a sublime and ethereal peak moment where the band shed their skin and reinvented themselves as a minimalist, groove-oriented machine that embraced jamming with open arms, and turned their shows into infectious dance parties, where prewritten songs no longer mattered. Others view it with an air of indifference, a sort of boring sidetrack from the pure origins of the band; a moment when, for the first time, the band showed signs of laziness, and, instead of pushing themselves further, relied on simple grooves, and extended jams to get themselves through a tour. Still some see it as the moment when Phish lost track of who they were, allowed drugs, the scene, and the bigness of what they'd become, take precedence over their music, and began the slow downward spiral to the bottoming out of 2004.

Whatever way you look at 1997, one thing is certain: the music Phish created throughout the year represented a distinct shift in styles from everything that had come before, and would alter the course of their craft, and the band, in a multitude of ways over the next twenty years.

Read more...