Phish - Hoist (1994)

“Hoist” is the fifth official studio album by the American rock band Phish, released on March 29, 1994, by Elektra Records.
The band suggested a few ideas for the album's title before finally settling on “Hoist”; one of the alternative suggestions was “Hung Like a Horse”. The band ruled this out, but decided to keep the visual joke intact for the album's cover. The horse is also a reference to "The Horse," the only song not visually depicted on the cover of Rift, the band's previous album.
“Hoist” features guest appearances from Alison Krauss, Béla Fleck and a host of other musicians, as well as actor Jonathan Frakes on trombone. With its jazz, blues, soul and bluegrass influences, the album is marked by more stripped-down, straightforward songwriting and pop-friendly hooks, a somewhat new approach for Phish.
However, the album's final track, "Demand", segues into an extended instrumental excerpt from the April 21, 1993, live performance of the song "Split Open and Melt", followed by the first verse and refrain of the Hebrew song "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold).
"Riker's Mailbox" is a brief interlude track on the album, and the only "song" on the album to have never been performed live by the band. Album producer Paul Fox lived next to Jonathan Frakes, whose mailbox is apparently uniquely decorated. Frakes, who played Commander Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation, sat in for a while during the Hoist sessions, giving his name to the track.
Phish's strength is not songcraft or hooks, it's the band's love of free-form song structures and extended jams. When the group's sound is reduced to its core, as it is on Hoist, it isn't quite as compelling. Nevertheless, the album is an improvement on the dismal Rift and features several fine cuts.

Track listing

01.  "Julius"  - 4:42
02.  "Down with Disease"  - 4:07
03.  "If I Could"  (Anastasio) -  4:09
04.  "Riker's Mailbox"  (Anastasio, Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon, Page McConnell)  - 0:26
05.  "Axilla (Part II)"  - 4:28
06.  "Lifeboy"  - 6:54
07.  "Sample in a Jar"  4:41
08.  "Wolfman's Brother"  (Anastasio, Fishman, Gordon, Marshall, McConnell)  - 4:28
09.  "Scent of a Mule" (Gordon)  - 4:02
10.  "Dog Faced Boy"  (Anastasio, Fishman, Marshall, McConnell)  - 2:11
11.  "Demand"  - 10:42

All songs written and composed by Trey Anastasio, Tom Marshall, except where noted.

Credits

Phish
Trey Anastasio - guitars, vocals
Page McConnell - keyboards, vocals
Mike Gordon - bass guitar, vocals
Jon Fishman - drums, vocals

Special Guests
Morgan Fichter - violin on "Lifeboy"
Alison Krauss - additional vocals on "If I Could"
Rickey Grundy Chorale - backing vocals on "Julius"
Rose Stone & Jean McClain - backing vocals on "Julius" and "Down With Disease"
Tower of Power Horn Section - horns on "Julius" and "Wolfman's Brother"
Jonathan Frakes - trombone on "Riker's Mailbox"
Bela Fleck - banjo on "Riker's Mailbox", "Lifeboy," and "Scent of a Mule"
The Richard Greene Fourteen - strings on "If I Could"

Notes
Recorded: October–November 1993, American Recording Co., Woodland Hills, California
Mixed By, Recorded By: Ed Thacker
Producer: Paul Fox
Genre: Rock
Length: 50:28
Release: 1994

Label - Elektra Records