Oblivion Awaits - The New Songs, 2022-2023

 So I went and made a list of the brand new songs from 2023 as well as the Mercy songs that have been played live in a band/electric setting.
Currently wading through the various versions of these songs to pick one of each that I will then edit (mainly intros and outros) and compile into a "New Songs 2022-2023" compilation.

Shoreline 2021 is getting postponed until tomorrow - family drama this afternoon that threw my "schedule" off whack for today.

I'm not super concerned with removing the jams from these tracks (to imitate a fake studio album), but just overall seeing which ones I happen to like the best overall. It's very intersting because most of the songs have been played with Phish, the TAB Trio, AND the full band TAB with horns and singers, so some do sound more "natural" or "better" in certain environments to me. Also, the TAB Trio shows have the bass very high in the mix (understandably), and so I've found myself almost avoiding those versions as having to constantly adjust the bass setting on the stereo while playing through the compilation would get annoying

For instance, they've done great things in Phish with Oblivion this summer, but of all the versions, the TAB version from 7/23/23 in Asbury Park sounds the most "complete" to me. Sure the TAB Trio version rages and Phish has unearthed TWO massive jams out of it, but this 12 minute reading with horns and everything sounds absolutely spectacular by comparison!!!!

Also, I'm not including Greater Good or ...And Flew Away as, even though they had their live debuts this year, they are available in studio form on the Lonely Trip album, therefore unnecessary for this project.

This is just for fun to placate my "listener OCD" I can't just have random new songs floating about all willy nilly!! I need them in ONE place, dang it!


Here's the songs/versions I have chosen:

- Splinters of Hail (TAB Trio, 6/11/23) *Yes it's from the Party Time album, but this is the debut performance of it in any form, and it sounds great, so I'm counting it, like how Ruby Waves was debuted in 2008 then shelved for 11 years....*

- The Well (Phish, 7/25/23) I'm picking this version in it's entirety. All 20 minutes of it! The jam is a masterpiece and from start to finish, this almost feels more like a friggin' composed piece than some improvised work!!!! Truly a special version that will be remembered for years to come!!!!

- Roll Like a River (TAB, 10/28/22) A superb, album-ready rendition of this new classic Trey ballad. Includes a killer outro guitar solo not present on all readings. This one screamed "pick me!", let's put it like that.

- 6 1/2 Minutes (TAB, 10/29/22) Without pulling up .NET again, I believe this is the only version? So it gets included.

- Burning Down the Twisted Wire (AKA, Is It In My Head?) (TAB, 10/29/22) There are a number of similarly fine versions from TAB and TAB Trio, but I picked this one as I strongly preferred the sonics of this recording compared to other LivePhish versions from Fall 2022. Special note, the TAB Trio version from Denver 2023 is killer, with a faster tempo, but as with Oblivion (to come), I thought this sounded way more "properly complete" since it included the horns and backup singers, etc

- Where They'll Find Us (TAB Trio, 6/9/23) Only version, so it gets included

- Monsters (TAB Trio, 6/9/23) Absolutely DESTRUCTIVE version, this feels like the new About To Run!!! The Phish version from the summer was similarly good, but I thought this TAB Trio reading was even greater. If you like dark and nasty Trey, seek this out.

- Perseid (TAB Trio, 6/9/23) Version 2 from the night, the first reading was aborted for technical readings. Killer track begging for a proper studio recording!!! Suck it, Petrichor!!!!

- The Endless Dream (TAB Trio, 6/10/23) See Monsters above! Only version of the song so far so it gets included. Killer stuff.

- Outside the Lines (TAB Trio, 6/10/23) Yet ANOTHER song only played once so far. A funky good time. This one is begging for a Phish treatment.

- Machine (TAB Trio, 6/10/23) Only version played, so it gets included. A bit of a strange song. I like it, but I guarantee you if this entered Phish rotation, .NET would be up in arms about it. The lyrics are very...he's a machine, ok? Musically it's pretty damn neat - it's a rocker with a cool ascending riff in the B section, kinda dark and brooding, but still uptempo. Go check this one out. I don't think it fits Phish but I also don't think it fits TAB!

- Hey Stranger (TAB Trio, 6/11/23) Though this has been played multiple times by both TAB and Phish since 2022, this is by far the best of all of them, imo. This one stretches out to 15 minutes of glorious, gooey, funk rock nastiness, along the lines of a good Ghost or something!!!!! SEEK THIS OUT!!!

- Flying Blind (TAB Trio, 6/11/23) Only version, I'd be interested to hear Phish play this. It's got a cool composition with a bit of a jazzy construction. Very unique!!! It's kinda "whacky" along the lines of something like Thread. There is totally a massive jam lurking inside this.

- Valdise (TAB Trio, 6/11/23) Only version, a nice little pop-ballad. Sounds like a slightly faster Beneath a Sea of Stars or something. Like a nostalgic, feel-good ditty you'd hear over the end credits of a coming-of-age teen comedy. Or something like that. I like it!!!

- Mercy (TAB, 7/6/23) This has been played a ton by TAB and TAB Trio and Phish. I didn't find the Phish version all that compelling and the TAB Trio reading is begging for more embellishment. This one fits the full-band TAB perfectly. Most versions are pretty interchangeable, so I went with the excellent 7/6/23 reading as ther performance was great and the sonics didn't suck (I have words to say about the 2023 LivePhish sound....)

- Oblivion (TAB, 7/7/23) The "heavy hitter" of the new songs in the Phish repertoire, this has had a few killer readings and jams. But TAB have also played this exactly one time (as far as I can find) and that one time is outstanding!!! It's just exactly PERFECT and the recording sounds terrific. Just like my pick of the 10/28/22 reading of Roll Like a River, this one screams "pick me!" as well. This sounds SO much better with the horns and backing singers etc. This is a song that screams for a more "complete" arrangement. This is KILLER! No, seriously, this is effing BAD ASS!

- Ether Edge (Phish, 7/12/23) I prefer this to the TAB Trio version. It sounds much better to my ears being fleshed out with the piano and given the Phish vibe. Not my favorite song but I enjoy it. A simple kind of pop ditty. This one is probably better suited to being played by TAB, but this is a great little reading of it.

-Pillow Jets (Phish, 7/21/23) This is INCREDIBLE!!! Seriously, this has to be one of the best performances of the summer. The jam is EPIC! It's only 11 minutes in length, but for my money this is the best version of the several performed. Absolute MUST HEAR material. ANYBODY COMPLAINING THAT PHISH DON'T STILL KICK TOTAL ASS HAS NOT HEARD THIS. IF YOU HAVE HEARD THIS AND DIDN'T THINK IT DESTROYED WORLDS, YOU HAVE YOUR DAMN HEAD BURIED IN THE SAND!

-Life Saving Gun (Phish, 7/30/23) Where the hell did this come from?! I'm not familiar with the studio recording, so I'm including this. The jam is just insanely killer. 13 minutes of PRIMO 2023 Phish!!!!

- Broken Into Pieces (Phish, 8/1/23) A very nice Prince Caspian-esque, slow build ballad-rocker (how's that for a contradiction?). This kills, and I strongly prefer the fuller band sound compared to the Trio version. THIS HAS LEGS. LET IT WALK!

- Back In the Bubble (Phish, 8/4/23) Hey, I included Life Saving Gun, so im including the new Gordo tune played this year. Sounds great as played by Phish. Would love to hear this get played more.




Ok, those are my choices. Tomorrow I'm gonna throw the tracks into wavepad, edit the intros and outros, and then compile myself a little compilation. Thought this was worth sharing....