ThePhanastasio

Track listing

Disc One
1.) Fee (Anastasio) – 5:23
2.) You Enjoy Myself (Anastasio) – 9:47
3.) Esther (Anastasio) – 9:21
4.) Golgi Apparatus (Anastasio, Marshall, Szuter, Woolf) – 4:35
5.) Foam (Anastasio) – 6:50
6.) Dinner and a Movie (Anastasio, Pollak) – 3:42
7.) The Divided Sky (Anastasio) – 11:50
8.) David Bowie (Anastasio) – 10:59

Disc two
1.) Fluffhead (Anastasio, Pollak) – 3:24
2.) Fluff's Travels (Anastasio) – 11:35
3.) Contact (Gordon) – 6:42
4.) Union Federal [Live] (Anastasio, Fishman, Gordon, McConnell) – 25:31
5.) Sanity [Live] (Anastasio, Fishman, Gordon, McConnell, Pollak) – 8:22
6.) Icculus [Live] (Anastasio, Marshall) – 4:24

Preface: In doing this series of album reviews for the discography of Phish, I’ve wanted to be fully correct and informative in order to present all of the material in chronological, correct, and complete order. Up to this point, I’ve been sure to include full offerings of album length material which were recorded and distributed – to an extent.

In the early days of the band, they had a great many demos recorded and several compilations which included songs often used in the band’s repertoire – which appear only on those demos. I included Anastasio’s senior study The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday for this reason, and also for its wide distribution in spite of its never having enjoyed release in album form (it was decided by the band that making profit from Gamehendge was not the right thing to do). I also included The White Tape because there are several songs even in the present rotation (See: “Fuck Your Face”)which appear only on that particular collection.

Junta, however, is an entirely different animal. Heralded by many as Phish’s “first album”, albeit incorrectly, Junta appears in two different forms; one from 1989 and its initial independent release by the band, and one from 1992 and its re-release by the Elektra label following the band’s being signed to the label. The original release, via the now defunct Rough Trade Records, did not have the three live tracks (“Union Federal”, “Sanity”, and “Icculus”) included. However, in this particular attempt at correct chronology and my unwillingness to review the same album twice to reflect separate editions, this review includes those three live tracks.


This particular album is heralded by many fans as being the definitive Phish album, containing many of their more intricate and unique compositions. It does, however, also include its share of fun and campy songs, which also assist in defining the band’s unique sound. If someone were to request an album asking what studio Phish sounds like, I would hand them a copy of Junta.

The album opens with “Fee”, the title character of which is a weasel in this charming tale which culminates in death and a sliced nipple. (Not for Fee!)



“Fee” features some pleasant jazz chords by Anastasio, interesting percussion by Fishman, and stellar playing by Gordon and McConnell. The song itself is sufficiently catchy, really fun, and quite nonsensical. How can one resist a compelling tale of the love of two weasels, the jealousy of chimpanzee who wishes Millie, the weasel, for his own, and death via nipple slicing? (With paper no less!)

“Fee” is not the type of song which would necessarily change one’s outlook on music forever, but it is an enjoyable little song. It never fails to put a smile on my face. The next track is the type of song which could completely change a person’s outlook on the music they’ve been listening to and really turn them onto the music of Phish. It is the song which is probably more “Phish” than anything else Phish has ever recorded and remains a song in consistent live rotation to this day. That song is “You Enjoy Myself”.



“You Enjoy Myself”, frequently known as “YEM” by fans for brevity’s sake, was written by Anastasio in the summer of 1985 while he and Fishman were performing street music in Europe.

The title draws from a statement said to Trey and Fishman by a German man while they were in Europe: “When I’m with you, you enjoy myself!”

Charmed by his clumsy English, their song title was created.

“You Enjoy Myself” is a brilliant composition with very few words: In fact, the only lyrics in the song are, “Boy. Man. God. Shit. Wash Uffizi, drive me to Firenze.” The real brilliance in this song lies in the composition itself, very intricately woven with very distinct sections. It goes from lovely arpeggios and work by Anastasio and McConnell, to very funky rhythms indeed. Definitely a must hear, and a serious highlight to not only this album, but the entire Phish repertoire.

Another song definitely worth mention, although not a compositional masterpiece by any means, is “Golgi Apparatus”, also a mainstay in the Phish catalog. Although there is no available video of the studio version of the song, the live version below will give the basic gist of the song – it’s a pretty tightly structured song, and live versions don’t deviate from the album version a great deal.



“Golgi Apparatus” was actually written originally by Anastasio, his song-writing partner Tom Marshall, and friends Dave Abrahams and Aaron Woolfe while the four were in 8th grade. At the time, Trey didn’t even play guitar, so as one could imagine, it has been altered since.

The song is pretty much a feel-good, comfortable song inspired by a junior high school science lesson and young adolescent boredom. The repeated, “Golgi, olgi, woe is me / You can’t even see the sea / Golgi, golgi, golgi / Golgi” is goofy, but ultimately kind of charming. Oh, to be 13 again!
There are many other consistently played songs in the band’s repertoire featured on this album, including “Foam”, “The Divided Sky”, “David Bowie”, and to a lesser extent “Dinner and a Movie” and “Contact”, but one of the band’s major defining live tracks, “Fluffhead”, combined in the present day with “Fluff’s Travels” and called simply “Fluffhead” in that form, is worth mentioning as a shining highlight.



“Fluffhead” has what is possibly one of Page McConnell’s most memorable piano riffs, and overall gorgeous composition. Lyrically, it tells the story of a character named Fluffhead, and is more of a narrative song than anything. The music for the song is superb.

“Fluff’s Travels” is the longer track of the two on Junta, and features six distinct sections:

I. “Fluff’s Travels”
II. “The Chase”
III. “Who Do? We Do!”
IV. “Clod”
V. “Bundle Of Joy”
VI. “Arrival”

For a great version of “Fluffhead” combined with “Fluff’s Travels”, check out this version from Hampton on 03/06/09 – it was the first song played by Phish after a nearly five year hiatus.




Finally, not to leave the live tracks out, I will mention the closing track on the re-release, "Icculus". The video below is not of the actual live performance used on Junta (That one came from Red Rocks in 1988), but it will give you the basic gist of the song:



This is from the most recent performance of the song, and I assure you that the version on Junta does not feature a rant about iPhones. The chord progression throughout in addition to the composed section ("Written by the great and knowledgeable Icculus..." to the end) remains the same.

This song certainly isn't for everyone, but it remains a pleasing rarity in the band's catalog. It's more fun (and a tie-in to their Gamehendge universe) than anything, but it is enjoyable to see Trey improvising an actual story. Very strange stuff, but compelling in its way.

Ultimately, I will have to say that Junta is an album well worth checking out. There are very intricate and complex pieces, fun, rollicking numbers, and a wide variety of influences readily on display on this album, a true showcase of four talented musicians really having a great time.