 "Classic" | 2010-02-10 |
| - Reviewed By Seamus from Oak Ridge, TN USA |
A Picture of Nectar is essential for any Phish fan - from the budding enthusiast to the dedicated Phish-head.
This album in particular exhibits their diverse tastes and styles, and it added several classics to the bands repertoire, as well. |
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 "Not so good / Pretty good (or vice-versa)" | 2009-11-29 |
| - Reviewed By F. J. PRISCO from Seattle, WA USA |
You know, everything everyone says about this is true: The band is inventive and incredibly tight, spinning off lengthy jams with great enthusiasm. So what could be lacking?
Answer: songs. Like their most obvious predecessor, Frank Zappa, "Phish" do not give themselves to their musical subjects, but discuss them from a dismissive distance. "Nectar" [evidently a person] appears to be important to them, but you won't find out why in the lyrics; "Nectar" is just something to be spoken/sung about until the jam starts. "Chalk Dust Torture" (to choose another fan favorite) is likewise just a fast-paced riff with something to shout between guitar breaks.
But really, what do you expect? This is upbeat, energetic party music (with jams) that intends no meaning whatever, and succeeds at that very well -- a sound, if you will, without undue concern for memorable songs. If you wanted that, try the B-52s. But there won't be guitar solos like these. I just wish the songs gave us more reason to hear them. |
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| "A perfect cd for people new to Phish" | 2009-09-15 |
| - Reviewed By Jason L. Lewis |
| This was the first Phish album I bought and I still think it's their best studio effort. Somehow it captured their incredible adventerous energy their concerts were known for back then. I got into the band in '93 after hearing 'Cavern' and 'Guellah Papyrus' on the radio. This cd has a good blend of pop, jazz, latin and Zappa like strangeness all wrapped together with superior musicianship and a sense of joy. It doesn't have any major epic songs that the band had built a reputation for like a YEM or a Reba but it's concise song writing and accessibility makes it a very fun album. |
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 "Those were the days, huh?" | 2007-04-18 |
| - Reviewed By IRate |
| One of Phish's most critically acclaimed albums may not have been their greatest, but proceeded to incorporate more elements into one wildly fun whole, definitely some sort of early year triumph in regards to that incredible high-wire act between pop and progressive tendencies they struggled with forever. Here, the 16 tracks blaze along into a convincing whole with ease. Whatever any melodic excess their instrumental, scale-bustin' ways starts to grate on traditionalists, a huge display of seamless synergistic prowess in multiple genres offsets the intellectual jamming , which I usually love more then anything else to begin with due to the musically enlightened pedigree this supreme unit doth brought to the rock set. A far cry from their stellar, massively extended live adaptations any fan has come to let overshadow their original studio incarnations, enjoy this sweet album of nectar on it's own merit to find one of the more intelligently hip rock experiences of the early 90's which for the most part holds up quite fine indeed. |
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| "Smegma Dogmatagram Fishmarket Stew" | 2005-12-02 |
| - Reviewed By My Uncle Stu from Boston |
This is Phish at their best. This is the album that made me a fan. And when I saw them live for the first time, they came out and opened with an instrumental, The Landlady, off Picture O' Nectar, and it was great. They came out and just played, no cutesy-ness, no geeky, absurd, pseudo-momentous lyrics. I always wondered why they couldn't do that more often. When they appeared on the David Letterman show or Saturday Night Live, why not just come out and do a tight instrumental? I think I know why. Because they have to be cool and pick songs that show off that they don't care what the larger public thinks, "we're just playing what we like for ourselves, man." But they should show a little more respect for their fans, some of who, like myself, have attempted to turn other people on to the scene only to be embarrassed by their lame recitals when on the national stage.
Anyway, that first paragraph sounds awfully resentful, I'm off to a bitter start but I'm really trying to say that this is a great album. Of all their studio albums, Picture of Nectar has the highest ratio of cool songs to filler. Songs such as Llama, Cavern, Stash, Landlady, Guelah Papyrus, Chalk Dust Torture, and maybe Tweezer all rank as some of the best studio Phish. As a band, they don't quite live up to the hype and expectations of the hard-core fans. But as musicians, when they had time to write and create together, when they were focused on jamming and musicality over the bombastic flamboyance of their live shows, they were often great. One can make a case for Lawn Boy, which comes in a close second for me, but overall I would say this is the one album to own if you want to appreciate Phish for their songwriting and musicianship.
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| "Phish Rules!!!!!" | 2005-11-29 |
| - Reviewed By Anonymous |
| Phish is known primarily as a live band, but this CD shows that they know how to make awesome studio albums to. The album opens with an awesome song: llamas. The song opens with some awesome drumming and then Trey comes in on guitar and Page on the keyboards. Cavern is another great tune. The song Guelah Papyrus has awesome jazzy keyboard jams. Chalk Dust Torture showcases awesome hard rock, with Trey Anastasio's guitar and Mike Gordon's bass taking center stage. Overall the album has influences of everything imaginable. Jazz, funk, latin, and rock are the most prevalent, but the song Poor Heart is really a country song. The lyrics on Picture of Nectar are whimsical, the instrumentals are brilliant, the jams are exciting, the compositions superb. What more could you want? I would reccomend this CD to anyone who likes good music! |
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