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Phish - Billy Breathes 180g Vinyl 2LP (Out Of Stock) Pre-order
Jemp Records
Phish Billy Breathes 180g Vinyl 2LP
Phish and JEMP Records reissue Billy Breathes, the band's Gold-certified sixth full-length studio album, on audiophile 180g vinyl 2LP. The beloved 1996 release marked a milestone in the development of the Phish catalog. In the mid-90s Phish sought to broaden their stylistic palette and tackle a significant musical challenge by developing more mellow, ballad-style original material to round out their rotation.
When Billy Breathes was released prior to the fall 1996 tour, many fans tabbed the title song as the best song on the album, and some consider it the best piece of studio work in Phish's catalog to date. The studio version saw the band nail the difficult, intricate harmonies so crucial to the song's chorus. The brief instrumental interlude was augmented with additional instrumentation and a breathtaking guitar solo that seemed to catapult the emotional level of the song to new heights.
All of the other songs on the record have either been jamming vehicles ("Free," "Taste," "Character Zero," "Theme From the Bottom") or were written after "Billy's" 9/27/95 debut ("Swept Away," "Steep," "Talk"). While other ballads came before it ("Fast Enough for You"), "Billy Breathes" stands as a turning point in the band's songwriting, as post-"Billy" ballads became more common.
Billy Breathes was recorded and mixed in 1996 at Bearsville Studios by John Siket and Steve Lillywhite, and was produced by Phish and Lillywhite. Billy Breathes was originally mastered by Bob Ludwig and released by Elektra on CD and cassette in October 1996. In fall 2017, Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering cut the lacquers from the Digital Audio Tape flat master for the vinyl edition. Includes MP3 download of the album transferred from the vinyl.
Phish Billy Breathes Track Listing:
1. Free
2. Character Zero
3. Waste
4. Taste
5. Cars, Trucks, Buses
6. Talk
7. Theme From The Bottom
8. Train Song
9. Bliss
10. Billy Breathes
11. Swept Away
12. Steep
13. Prince Caspian