Ghost
Performances Song History Discussion

Ghost

Music/Lyrics: Anastasio/Marshall

Vocals: Trey

Debut: 1997-06-13

Historian: Martin Acaster

The 1997 European spring tour was the spawning ground of the Phishy funk, which has become the mind-eating great white shark of many of their recent live performances. During 1997, “Ghost” epitomized the constantly evolving psychotronic-aquadisco sound of the next millennium that appears to have arrived a few years early (or is it 20 years too late?). The ultrasound of the then unborn “Ghost” can be heard in the segue from “Wolfman’s Brother” to “Jesus Just Left Chicago” on the album Slip, Stitch, and Pass.

At its core, “Ghost” consists of a simple funk groove oddly reminiscent of Anita Ward’s “Ring My Bell” being played at the same time as the Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight.” To say that the Phish groove of the 90’s (and “Ghost” as its disembodiment) is not firmly rooted in old school ‘70s funk, rap, and disco would be a crime of the mind. This sound has been brought into the ‘90s and beyond via techno-space transporter beams, absorbing renewed vitality along the way.

Spring 1998 found Phish in the studio laying down tracks for Story of the Ghost. This time in the studio pushed “Ghost” further up (to some, back down) the evolutionary ladder. Where in 1997 “Ghosts” typically started abruptly, materializing out of thin air. The “Ghosts” of summer 1998, and that which is found on Story of the Ghost, have a mesmerizing techno-spacey groove for an intro that is very reminiscent of recent versions of “Also Sprach Zarathustra.” Where in 1997 the vocals of “Ghost” seemed edgy and disturbed, the singing in the “Ghosts” performed since summer 1998 have been imbued with a cool hipster confidence, a smooth swagger that paves the way for the ethereal and transcendent groove for which it is typically the prelude. The vocals in the album version “Ghost” lie somewhere in between the two end points, slithering frantically or hurrying at a languid pace.

Story of the Ghost as an album is just that, a story of a Ghost. As the first song on the album, “Ghost” introduces us to the main character of the tale. The Story of the Ghost is one of rebirth, hope for the future, and self-extraction from a well of despair. A metaphor perhaps for the musical rebirth of Phish from the seeming improvisational stagnation endemic to the bulk of 1996, to the new frontiers they have explored since. “Ghost” has been a weather vane of sorts for the direction that the winds of change have blown. It has provided a glimpse into the progression of the jam from the “cow funk” of ’97 to the low-viscosity magmatic flows of dense metallic trance-space rock that are presently the nature of the beast.

The first official performance of “Ghost” was in Dublin, Ireland on 6/13/97. “Ghost” was, however, one of several new songs debuted in Europe that had been played before a small crowd a week earlier at the home of Brad Sands. “Ghost” was played frequently during 1997 and varied greatly in duration and style. In The Phish Book Trey referred to the 11/17/97 Denver “Ghost” as his favorite part of his favorite show from the fall tour, a show the band listened to many times, in a way influencing themselves. This “Ghost” was subsequently released on Live Phish 11. In contrast, quite possibly the least impressive “Ghost” of them all, played during the third set of the 1998 Halloween show, was released on Live Phish 16. A rather sparse original four-track recording of “Ghost” was also released by Trey and Tom on Trampled by Lambs & Pecked by the Dove. Every other live performance of “Ghost” to date, spanning the spectrum from the “cow funk” of ’97 through the ethereal space of ‘98, dissolving into the more brooding darkness of ‘99, the eruption of the liquid metallic neon deliriously molten and flowing jams of the new millennium, the thick and creeping ooze of '04, and the revivified spectral phantasm of '09 is worth a listen; but the following are guaranteed to send a shiver down the listener’s spine: 7/3/97 Nuremberg, Germany; 7/23/97 Atlanta; 8/13/97 Burgettstown, PA; 11/17/97 Denver; 11/21/97, Hampton; 12/13/97 Albany; 7/2/98 Copenhagen; 7/9/98 Barcelona; 7/19/98 Shoreline; 7/21/98 Phoenix; 8/2/98 Deer Creek; 8/16/98 Lemonwheel; 11/7/98 Champaign, IL; 11/19/98 Winston-Salem; 12/31/98 MSG; 7/4/99 Atlanta; 9/12/99 Portland, OR; 12/30/99 Big Cypress; 5/22/00 Radio City; 7/1/00 Hartford, CT; 2/15/03 Las Vegas; 7/12/03 George, WA, 8/3/03 IT, 4/17/04 Las Vegas, 6/26/04 Alpine Valley, 8/12/04 Mansfield (materializing from a "YEM" vocal jam), 8/15/04 Coventry, 6/9/09 Asheville, 6/20/09 Alpine Valley, and 7/30/09 Red Rocks ("Praise You" jam and "Windy City" tease). Trey also played an acoustic version of "Ghost" with Mike sitting in on electric bass at the 11/11/05 Utica Memorial Auditorium stop on his Fall 2005 tour.

Recommended Versions: 1997-06-13, 1997-07-23, 1997-11-17, 1997-11-21, 1997-12-13, 1998-06-30, 1998-07-02, 1998-07-06, 1998-08-16, 1999-07-04, 1999-09-12, 1999-12-30, 2000-05-22, 2000-07-01, 2003-02-15, 2003-02-26, 2003-08-03, 2004-06-20, 2004-08-12, 2009-06-04, 2009-07-30

Albums: The Story of the Ghost, Live Phish 11, Live Phish 16

Lyrics:

(Anastasio/Marshall)
© Who Is She? Music, BMI

I feel I've never told you
the story of the ghost
that I once knew and talked to
of whom I'd never boast

But this was my big secret
how I get ahead
and never have to worry
I'd call him instead

His answer came in actions
He never spoke a word
Or maybe I lay down the phone
before he could be heard

I somehow feel forsaken
Like he had closed the door
I guess I just stopped needing him
as much as once before

But maybe he's still with me
the latch was left unhooked
He's waiting in the wind and rain
I simply haven't looked