Anarchy
| Originally Performed By | Phish |
| Music/Lyrics | Anastasio/Fishman/Gordon/McConnell |
| Vocals | Trey |
| Phish Debut | 1985-03-04 |
| Last Played | 1989-10-14 |
| Current Gap | 1857 |
| Historian | Mark Toscano |
| Last Update | 2023-11-20 |
History
"Anarchy" was really no more than ten seconds of blaring punk chords supported by breakneck drumming from Fishman, all accompanied by repetitive shrieks of “Anarchy!” It was basically a joke song that didn’t even make it into the nineties – the final known version took place on 10/14/89. If you truly want to experience the many interesting and excitingly diverse versions of this tune, by all means listen to 4/15/86, 10/15/86, 4/29/87 (two in a row), and 8/10/87 (three in a row).
“Anarchy” does have a bastard sibling, an equally thought-provoking composition supported by lyrics that almost live up to the sweet, poetic beauty of this, a song that finds us in perhaps Phish’s finest hour. Played only one delirious time on 10/17/85, “Revolution” will likewise have you cursing songs like “Reba” and “The Squirming Coil” as pedantic and amateurish.
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