"If I was rating this compared to all the live phish this probably gets a 2 (its sounds harsh but theres a lot of awesome phish out there).
This is an interesting live phish, I have never heard one of the band's earlier shows until I picked this up. I think its a pretty good buy, but still its '89. There are a bunch of screw ups on it and there are some songs that I would rather not listen to again. Definetly not the first phish you should pick up if your new to the band. Still, You can tell that they are having a lot fun up there, and it has good, youthful energy.
I thought Fluffhead was pretty good(they dont play this song too often), and trey's story that goes from Colonel Forbin's Ascent to Fly Famous Mockingbird is awesome. I didnt think to highly of the versions SOAM and Divided Sky. Disc 2 is probably my least favorite. You Enjoy Myself is a personal favorite of mine and i like hearing how it developed into the beast it became. Hearing them do the Andy Griffith theme is great. I also liked Funky Bitch and Foam. Disc 3 is my probably my favorite out of the 3. Alvenu Malcenu is great. Some other notables are Suzy Greenberg, Dinner and a Movie, and the Lizards.
If your going to get this live phish get it because you want to hear early phish, dont expect anything else."
Sick Phish
E. Cable | Charlotte, NC USA | 10/23/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is the only taste of early live phish offered by the Live Phish series, and I can say it is one of my favorites. This album is essential to tracking Phish's progression throughout their carreer. As for the setlist, all three discs are incredible. From an amazing You Enjoy Myself, to a Run Like an Antelope to be reckoned with, Phish flows on all cylinders to play their best."
A bomber Phish show
E. Cable | 01/06/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you are a Phishhead that likes old school Phish, this is the show for you."
Old school... good school
alex | pa, usa | 08/04/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"No, the songs are not nearly as polished as they got to be and the sound quality of their instruments isn't as good as it got to be... but the energy is definitely throughout this show and it is cool to get and old school version of Phish and their songs.
Disc 1 - starts out with a "fluffhead" (15:23)that definitely goes different places than they usually take it, though the jam might sound boring to some. next comes "colonel forbin's ascent" (7:12) which starts out with a narration by trey. i actually really like this "forbin" over others. then comes in the all mighty "fly famous mockingbird" (7:20). after that they play "harry hood" (10:21)which i think is a little weak, but don't get me wrong it is still "harry hood". next comes "soam" (7:12) which is kind of short, but i like the way they play it a lot (and what they do in that short amount of time). "divided sky" (12:08) to end the disc, and like the "hood" played, it is good, but doesn't live up to what it later will become.
Disc 2- starts out with a "yem" that goes into "possum" and it is actually my favorite "yem" (you can tell that this was one of their best songs early on).. maybe not the best(listen to the ones on live phish 14 and 15) but my favorite definitely and i like the way they go into "possum". they then whistle the andy griffith theme and then play a cover of hendrick's "bold as love" a better version is the one for the encore of live phish 1. then comes in a "ya mar" (6:34) with some cool echoing effects on the mic and it really grooves with page's organ (a sweet page solo i should add). then comes in a fairly short "slave" (6:20) that is a little different. after that comes the classic "ac/dc bag" (6:41), which once again is short but page's organ rocks on this song. then they play a charlie parker tune (which it sounds most people on here do not like it) but i think it definitely gives this show some good variety and i think it is cool to hear phish play some jazz. then comes "funky bitch" and "foam" (not much to say, except that funky sounds about the same and foam is real good)
disc 3- same thing pretty much as the first two discs, not played as great as they grew to be, but played a little differently, which is cool to hear
some old school, yet very good school Phish.. i wouldn't start out with this live phish show (i recommend 1 or 12) but it should be bought if you are trying to get a good variety of the live phish shows"