I have always held the Phish albums up on high. We really only had albums to listen to before Hoist was released, and maybe 5-8 tapes between us, not full shows mind you. The album "version" was the set piece, the live show versions derived from the studio recordings. Now that we all got to hear this album in real time (watching it, actually, at home on Halloween), the effect of the new album is way different for me. I didn't get to hear any of the Hoist songs before I got the album; those tapes just didn't make it to me in time. Back then it was "man, these songs are cool, but I wonder what they sound like live?" They played them live before the album dropped, only people on tour or with quicker access to tapes heard them.

I feel totally privileged to have heard these songs in their first form, pre-studio, and am very excited to hear them on album to hear the studio treatment. OP, the Phish albums get heavy rotation in the car, and after your review, I can't wait to have this one in the stereo for a few weeks straight!! And, I can't wait to hear it and reminisce about the years that have gone by and all the changes the band has gone through, and to reflect on the tour> studio/studio> tour/tour> studio> tour treatments we've gotten from these great guys over the last 30 years