I concur with d21cohen. The 8-11-98 Runaway Jim is about 35 minutes and mind-melting. And I'm not talking one of those "this is a long aimless jam for the sake of being long" jams, I'm talking inspired other-worldly greatness. How it's omitted here is anyone's guess; I'd venture to say it's the best version they've ever done. They even bring it back to the Jim finale after taking way out into outer space. This history needs revising!
I'm surprised the version from 8.11.98 Star Lake isn't mentioned on the recommended list. Fans of the exploratory Jims must add this one to their list. Opened the second set of a throwdown dank show, Jim runs away to an etheral space mixing jazz, latin drum rythms, and funkiness, and for some reason finds himself in Washington Heights at the end. Phish took Jim to Manhattan's Upper West Side to quote "Maria" from Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story (a musical which Page allegedly wanted to cover). In my opinion the resulting piece of music is beautiful.
The Worcester Jim is the single most underrated jam of all time. Depite its mindbending length, it remains a shockingly cohesive journey into Phish's genetic code. Weaving through multiple disparate themes with style and panache, the Runaway J(a)m is the antithesis of so many other historically long Phish jams which seem to collapse under their own weight. Eminently musical and shockingly captivating throughout the entire journey, it is a shame that it remains so divisive to this day. When Jim ran away, we always wondered where he went. This version provides the answer. The spirit of Runaway Jim stirs inside the tyrant shaman, atop a mountain of bones, fur and gristle that was once Worcester, Massachusets. Gleaming with the blood and fat of the conquered, one rheumy eye tracks the fabric of reality as his former master tears it asunder.
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