Free

, comment by aisincl , attached to 2019-06-21
aisincl Who doesn’t love when Trey stretches the middle section, which he does here. Love those opening Solo notes, and he tends to revert to those tones during the build-up section at the end. This song could be played at every show, and I would not complain.
, comment by GoonieBuff , attached to 2015-12-30
GoonieBuff A great Free. Trey with some rocking solos in the jammy parts.
, comment by Mistercharlie , attached to 2015-08-12
Mistercharlie I love this Free The Martian Monster!!!!
, comment by n00b100 , attached to 2015-08-12
n00b100 "Tease and quote" is understating it, IMO - they simply *just start playing Martian Monster*, and then go right back into Free. They're close enough musically that it's not the hardest transition to make, but I think there's certainly enough there for Free -> Martian Monster -> Free, IMO. Just shouting into the void, don't mind me.
, comment by CreatureoftheNight , attached to 2003-12-29
CreatureoftheNight This is the best Free I have ever seen. Demonic and fully connected. Deserving of the yellow treatment!!
, comment by Dog_Faced_Boy , attached to 2003-12-29
Dog_Faced_Boy Thanks to @kipmat's valid point, the description of the duet is no longer referred to as "nice."
, comment by kipmat , attached to 2003-12-29
kipmat "Nice" doesn't do justice to the Mike/Trey duet. The jam starts out with Mike as usual, but Trey goes to that uncompressed low growl tone, clearly in a mood to match melodic wits with the Cactus. Between 6-7 minutes, Page and Fish play the main riff of the jam in stop-time, allowing Trey and Mike to tear up the frets! The main riff comes back in super tight, but then Page and Fish fade out, and for the next 1 1/2 minutes, it's a true improvisational duet. Unlike the jam out of DWD at the Great Went, this is just two musicians attempting a conversation with their instruments. The band returns to the closing jam riff at 9 minutes, and bring it home in style, with a guitar-noodle tag at the end.
, comment by moephan , attached to 1999-09-29
moephan This free never gets any attention. It's one of my favorite versions out there.

It's not type II and it's not 30 minutes long.

What it is, is a perfect example of what fall '99 was all about. Coming in the 2 slot of set one, you wouldn't expect such a perfect jam platform so early in the show, but that's exactly what this is.

As soon as the jam starts trey drops back to create a few background loops to set the atmosphere. Mike is out front right out of the gate. This free is a sign of Mike's genius. A patient, yet beautiful exercise in bass mastery. Showing off in a humble way. It's not over the top. It's just perfect.
, comment by Pinhead_Larry , attached to 1998-07-15
Pinhead_Larry This Free is quite possibly the best "laid-back" version. Trey doesn't do much except play a few chords in the funkadelic way he did back in the late '90's (you know, the guitar is playing with the wah-wah, or he's doing some cool scratching noises). But that doesn't much matter, because to be honest, the rest of the band isn't doing much either.

This is a good thing, don't get me wrong. I call this jam the "more with less" jam. It's great and the band is totally locked in the groove and with each other. Sometimes a great jam is the groove, and that's exactly what this one is; groove-jamming. Page and Jon shine in this one with excellent (and rare!) interplay between them, with Mike joining in with an excellent bass-riff.

If you're looking for a great, straight-forward jam that showcases the band's talent without "showboating" then this is it. This is my all-time favorite Free (up there with Brooklyn '04 and the experimental jam-fest of 11/22/95). This one showcases what the band was trying to (and did) accomplish in the Summer of '98.

Highly, highly, highly recommended. Listen now! (if you haven't already)


Phish.net

Phish.net is a non-commercial project run by Phish fans and for Phish fans under the auspices of the all-volunteer, non-profit Mockingbird Foundation.

This project serves to compile, preserve, and protect encyclopedic information about Phish and their music.

Credits | Terms Of Use | Legal | DMCA

© 1990-2024  The Mockingbird Foundation, Inc. | Hosted by Linode