One of the best things generally about Phish's covers of other bands' music, and the Halloween "musical costume" tradition in particular, is how much great music of other bands you can discover in the process of being a "Phish phan".

Other than 1994's Beatles' "white album" choice, which most in the audience knew by heart owing to the Beatles' near universal popularity, most of Phish's later Halloween albums choices tended to reflect Phish's influences in somewhat more obscure choices that many in the audience were mostly unfamiliar with, something of a risk for Phish that its audience would share the band's enthusiasm for their own influences.

This year's choice, Little Feat's 1978 double album "Waiting for Columbus" is within that mold and perhaps is the closest to Phish in all of the choices of recent Halloweens.

As Bob Lefsetz pointed out, Little Feat was a band that toured endlessly in the early and mid 1970s but could gain no radio traction or hit songs, save for its near hit, "Dixie Chicken". But their music was really innovative for the time, they had a committed fan base (at a time when the Grateful Dead were basically on hiatus from touring), and they had a kickass, tight live show.

So, in 1978, that band released a double LP vinyl album of two live shows in London and Washington, edited together into as much would fit on 4 LP sides which each side couldn't go much beyond 20 minutes, and when recording a live show was a big deal, requiring trucks parked outside with bulky studio tape deck consoles, and snaking cables into a theatre.

Which brings me to this year's reissue of a remastered edition of Waiting for Columbus by the famed audiophile company, Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs. MFSL reissues select CDs from iconic artists like Frank Sinatra and the Beatles where the master tapes are available, and uses proprietary mastering techniques and 24 karat gold CDs which are individually pressed from the master in a limited, numbered "collectors edition".

On the 10/31 setlist review page, Phish.netter @BarkleyMoo mentioned that MFSL had released a remastered WfC in a limited gold CD edition and recommended it to fans, and I went bought one immediately from the MFSL/Music Direct website here. It was $39.99, and about $6 ground shipping.

I received it two days ago, copy 000429 out of 500, and it hasn't been off my Apple TV, iPod boom box or car stereo much since. It is a terrific recording of a great couple of shows.

Without taking away anything from Phish's masterful imitation of Little Feat two weeks ago, the original performances at the height of the Lowell George period in 1978 are jawdroppingly tight, like Phish playing their own music when "the hose" of a "legendary" performance is happening. Like Phish, Little Feat sought to make these recorded gigs special, by adding the horns section from the Tower of Power, a blues band of the day.

If you enjoyed the Halloween performance and want to hear a formidably impressive recording of a formidably impressive, although overlooked band of the 70s era, you will run, not walk to snag one of the presumably less than 70 available copies left of this CD from the Music Direct link above.

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