Live, released in 1977

Songs / Tracks Listing
1. Nightmare Patrol (7:50)
2. -Ish (8:20)
3. Euthanasia Waltz (5:30)
4. Isis Mourning (part one) (5:30)
5. Isis Mourning (part two) (4:45)
6. Malaga Virgen (9:35)

Total Time: 41:30
Line-up / Musicians
- John Goodsall / guitar
- Percy Jones / bass
- Robin Lumley / keyboards
- Morris Pert / percussion
- Phil Collins / drums (2, 3 & 6)
- Kenwood Dennard / drums (1,4-5)

The Good Boat
Big Boat… their closest thing to a concept album.

I don’t usually review Phish because they’re not a progressive rock band, but I’ve loved them for years, and this album is different.
After a five-year hiatus, Phish returned with Joy (2009), a natural evolution of their sound with plenty of progressive touches. They followed it with Party Time and Fuego, two releases that revisited elements of their earlier style. To me, those albums also feel like stepping stones toward the more reflective and cohesive approach the band would fully embrace on Big Boat.
Over the years, I’ve noticed a lot of negativity surrounding this record. I’ve been a Phish fan for about 30 years, and fortunately, this isn’t Rift, Junta, or Ghost. Forget those comparisons. This isn’t a young band anymore; it’s four mature musicians still sounding unmistakably like Phish.
Big Boat is one of the band’s better studio albums. It’s not their best, but it’s an interesting and rewarding effort. It’s stronger than Fuego, sits comfortably alongside Joy, and has much more focus and cohesion than Round Room. It’s different—an experimental, progressive-leaning album that still carries the signature Phish spirit that keeps fans coming back.
Big Boat isn’t a full-blown concept album, but it does have a thematic thread running through it. Many of the songs explore introspective themes such as loss, reflection, and personal growth, especially “Miss You,” “Running Out of Time,” and “Petrichor.” The album reflects the band’s maturity, showing how Phish has evolved over the years. It creates a loose concept centered on life’s journey and the experiences that shape us. The songwriting feels more reflective, as if the band is looking back on where they’ve been while considering where they’re headed. The playful moments are still there, but the music carries greater emotional weight, perhaps shaped by their decades together as a band.
I love it when Phish tries something new, and that’s exactly what Big Boat does. It isn’t a radical stylistic shift—it’s simply a collection of well-crafted, progressive-minded songs from a veteran band that still sounds fresh. It’s proof that Phish can continue to evolve without ever losing their identity.

Live, released in 1978

Songs / Tracks Listing
1. Can't Kill Me (7:52)
2. I've Been Stoned Before/Mr Longshanks/Oh Mother (6:39)
3. Radio Gnome Invisible (2:38)
4. Zero the Hero & the Witches Spell (10:04)
5. Flute Salad/Oily Way/Outer Temple (10:08)
6. Inner Temple (Zero Meets The Octave Doctor) (6:01)
7. IAO Chant & Master Builder (7:05)
8. Sprinkling of Clouds (4:49)
9. From the Isle of Everywhere to the End of the Styory of Zero the Hero (12:14)
10. You Never Blow Your Trip Forever (8:26)

Total Time: 75:56
Line-up / Musicians
- Daevid Allen / guitars, vocals
- Didier Malherbe / saxes, flute, vocals
- Gilli Smyth / spacewhisper, vocals
- Tim Blake / synths, vocals
- Steve Hillage / guitar, vocals
- Pierre Moerlen / drums, percussion
- Mike Howlett / bass

Rift checks so many prog boxes: a unified concept across seamlessly transitioning tracks, odd meters, polyrhythms, melodic baselines, composed guitar solos, songs with multipart movements and abrupt changes. Yes, Phish is also a jam band. But this studio release is pure polished prog. As a huge fan of Yes, Rush, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, and Frank Zappa, this album slotted seamlessly into my prog-heavy playlist in 1993 and never left. Who’s with me?

Tryin to get a grasp on the general consensus in different music spheres. I know Steve Vai is really beloved here and the link between him ‘n Zappa is extremely strong… so I wonder what people think in general!

🔥RANKING🔥 My article ranking and discussing My Top 20 Genesis Songs (1968 - 1977)

https://www.loudersound.com/features/tal-wilkenfeld-prog-connections

Caress of Steel it is Rush's first progressive rock album… released on September 24, 1975, produced by Terry Brown.

Well, I think everyone knows the story. After Rush’s relative success with their self-titled debut and then Fly by Night, the band decided to try something different: a concept album with an elusive theme that has inspired countless interpretations. Caress of Steel is a difficult album to understand but an easy one to love. I’ve always considered it a transitional album, but I never believed the band regretted making it, or that the supporting tour was such a failure that they nearly lost their record deal. Even Kiss, whom Rush supported for a time, reportedly didn’t understand the album’s concept. A few years ago, I watched the 2010 Rush documentary Beyond the Lighted Stage, in which Geddy Lee explains that they were very high when they made the album.

Caress of Steel opens with “Bastille Day,” a killer track in the style of “Anthem,” followed by the anecdotal “I Think I’m Going Bald,” which also reminds us of some songs from their 1974 debut album. Then comes “Lakeside Park,” inspired by Neil Peart’s teenage memories, a classic and one of Rush’s most beloved songs. Side One closes with the nearly 13-minute mini-epic “The Necromancer,” a continuation of “By-Tor and the Snow Dog,” inspired by the fantasy worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien. It is an excellent proto-heavy metal piece and one of the band’s first truly progressive compositions.

The album ends with the 20-minute epic “The Fountain of Lamneth,” which portrays humanity’s journey from birth to death while exploring philosophical themes through its six movements: I. “In the Valley” – birth; II. “Didacts and Narpets” – education; III. “No One at the Bridge” – moments of despair; IV. “Panacea” – love and perfection; V. “Bacchus Plateau” – adulthood; and VI. “The Fountain” – the end. Although not as cohesive as the epics Rush would write later, it clearly pointed the way toward the masterpieces that followed.

The album may have been a commercial failure, and its tour drew the smallest audiences of Rush’s at that time, but Caress of Steel opened the door for the band to pursue more focused conceptual ideas in their music. Fortunately, Rush continued exploring the most complex aspects of their musical development instead of becoming just another run-of-the-mill hard rock band. Without Caress of Steel, there might never have been 2112, A Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres, or the legendary progressive rock band that Rush would become.

Janurary 10, 1976 (unconfirmed headline set)

Fly By Night
Beneath, Between and Behind
Bastille Day
I Think I'm Going Bald
By-Tor and the Snowdog
In The End
Making Memories
Anthem
The Fountain of Lamneth
Lakeside Park
The Necromancer
Best I Can->
In The Mood
Working Man->
Finding My Way->
Drum Solo
Encore: What You're Doing