A Live One

33⅓ Main Series #109

by Walter Holland

Twenty years after its release, Phish's double-CD collection A Live One has something rare and precious going for it still doesn't sound like anybody else. Oversized, perverse, requiring an unusual amount of listener background knowledge? Yes to all. Yet the collective improvisations it captures, unprecedentedly coherent yet freewheeling and open-ended, are unique in rock 'n' roll.This book considers the music and moment of Phish's ecstatically inventive 1995 live document, a mix of weirdo acid-psych, ambient moonscapes, vaudevillian Americana, and riotous arena-rock energy, all filtered through bandleader Trey Anastasio's screwball compositional sensibility and the band's idiosyncratic approach to spontaneous group creativity. It places Phish and their fandom in historical and cultural context, and picks apart the mechanics of their extended group jams. And it examines the mystery of how a quartet of nice boys from Burlington, VT could have been, all at once, one of America's biggest touring acts and one of its best-kept secrets.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

153 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 24, 2015

Reviews

[K R N]

I haven't actually read this yet, but created a "books by friends" shelf in its honor. It automatically put it as "read" when I added it to that and I can't seem to change it.
Anyway, Congratulations Wally!

[Joshua Friedman · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is way over my head and ungodly esoteric. Only for hardcore music nerds and philosophers. "Late-90s Phish, with its extended ambient/textural explorations and genetic-algorithmic minimalist cow funk grooves...."

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more than I actually did. The detailed play-by-plays are fun and a good excuse to revisit the featured album. But I'm not sure it does much to establish the album as worthy of its place in this book series.

[Simon Sweetman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well written book that is still totally and utterly wrong.

[Brendan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Holland claims, at the outset, the desire to write a book for the casual fan or non-fan of Phish, and then proceeds to do the exact opposite, peppering the book with references and inside jokes that only a diehard fan would appreciate, or even catch. A Live One is one of my favorite records, but I found the overly technical discussions of the music herein that make up the bulk of this book to be utterly boring, and the non-technical writing to be nothing new or different than every other piece of writing about Phish. Unessential.

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I still have nightmares about this band, waiting tables with Phish in the background for hours because the cooks had the power. As for the book, Holland makes the same argument so many of those cooks made to me long ago...it's experimental jazz performed like nothing else. And sure, I acknowledge those dudes can play...but dear lord does it bore me. There were a few chapters that even sounded like arguments from Phish fans if that makes sense. But, in the end, I see their importance and relevance. so Holland wins. I can finally put Phish away and hopefully never look back.

[Chrisman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too bad a book about one of my favorite albums by one of my favorite bands was so not fun.

In turns way too technical and then too lazy. (Which did make me think for the hundredth time that I really should learn some music theory.) A frenzy of dropped names, bands, and album titles with little context.

There was a weird little detour where said that Phish was Church of the SubGenius to the Dead's Discordianism. That was interesting..

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't at all sure how this one would come across in a 33 1/3 book, but I'm really pleased with the way Walter Holland approached it. I'm a big Phish fan so I was probably more open to this than the average music fan, I'd be curious to hear what non fans or newcomers thought. It has definitely made me want to read Holland's other book about Phish.

[Dan Molloy · Rating 2 out of 5]

what owning a thesaurus does to a mf

[Steve Siegel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book-length examination of one of the most important live albums in my life, recorded at the exact moment that I was getting into Phish, there's no doubt that it would evoke strong opinions for me. The author manages to wrangle both crystalline genius-level insights and vomit up some of the most pretentious navel-gazing bullshit -- often within the same page. I have to recommend this book for hardcore Phish fans, but be prepared to hold your nose and shrug off some of its more ridiculous references.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tried to listen to Phish's A Live One before starting this book but the overall jamminess got on my nerves and I abandoned it.

The book, on the other hand is playful but there are some chapters where Holland goes into technical detail and I found that a bit off-putting. The beginning bit about the band's history and the 'list' chapters are cool though.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A damn fine word soup on Phish, with whom I'm at least as obsessed as the author. I find most of what's been written about Phish and their music to be mostly average to awful, so this was a nice surprise.

[Jamison Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about a band I'm not into. Does an amazing job explaining why I should be.