''A Picture of Nectar'' is the third studio album by the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Phish. The album was released on February 18, 1992, by Elektra Records and was the band's debut release for a major record label. The album is dedicated to Nector Rorris, the proprietor of Nectar's in Burlington, Vermont, where Phish played their first bar gig followed by a series of monthly three-night stands, saying that the experience "taught us how to play". There are two versions of the album's cover. The first printings of the CD were issued in longbox format, and the title of the album was not printed on the CD insert itself. Later printings came in shrink-wrap format and had the band's name and album title printed directly on the insert.Phish:net: A Picture of Nectar
Online. Accessed: August 11, 2011. The songs on ''A Picture of Nectar'' explore a variety of musical genres, including

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

, calypso,

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

and

neo-psychedelia Neo-psychedelia is a diverse genre of psychedelic music that draws inspiration from the sounds of 1960s psychedelia, either updating or copying the approaches from that era. Originating in the 1970s, it has occasionally seen mainstream pop su ...

. Tracks 2, 8, 9, and 14 are instrumentals. The song " Manteca" is a cover of the song by jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie; in Phish's short version, the melody line is sung as a goofy nonsense phrase. "Poor Heart" is written in bluegrass style. The latin jazz instrumental "The Landlady" is part of longer work (only available in live performances) titled "Punch You in the Eye". All songs on the album have been performed live by the band, though the instrumental tracks have become relative rarities after the mid-1990s. The short instrumental, "Faht", written by drummer

Jon Fishman Jon Fishman (born February 19, 1965) is an American drummer known for his work with the band Phish, which he co-founded in 1983, and which was, in part, named after him. He is credited with co-writing nineteen Phish songs, eight with a solo cre ...

, has only been performed live twelve times, the last in 1995. The album was certified gold by the RIAA on November 15, 2001. After its vinyl reissue in 2014, ''A Picture of Nectar'' charted on the ''Billboard'' 200 for the first time (22 years after its release), peaking at number 110.

Critical reception

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

staff writer Jim Smith gave the album four and a half stars out of five, noting the variety of musical genres explored on the album and calling it "a surprisingly tight record for a band that built its reputation on endless concert jams". In an April 2, 1992, review, '' Billboard'' magazine raved that ''A Picture of Nectar'' "...should be required on all college listening lists. The songs are all over the place from whacked-out rock to bluegrass to jazz. The constant is the high quality of musicianship and spirit that runs from track to track."

Track listing

Personnel

Phish *

Trey Anastasio Ernest Joseph "Trey" Anastasio III (born September 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Phish, which he co-founded in 1983. He is credited by name as composer of 152 Phish o ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, lead vocals *

Page McConnell Page Samuel McConnell (born May 17, 1963 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American multi-instrumentalist most noted for his work as the keyboardist and a songwriter for the band Phish. In addition to having been a member of Phish since 1985, ...

–

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, organ, backing vocals *

Mike Gordon Michael Eliot Gordon (born June 3, 1965) is an American bass guitarist and vocalist most recognized as a founding member of the band Phish. In addition to bass, Gordon is an accomplished banjo player, and is proficient at piano and guitar. He ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, vocals, lead vocals on "Poor Heart" and "Catapult" *

– drums, backing vocals Additional *Gordon Stone – pedal steel, banjo *Michael Mills – art direction *Tom Walters – assistant engineer *Jon Altschiller – engineer *Bob Ludwig – mastering *B.C. Kagan – photography *Joe Witkop – photography *Kevin Halpin – producer, engineer

In popular culture

The song "Llama" is included in the music video game ''

Rock Band 3 ''Rock Band 3'' is a 2010 music video game developed by Harmonix. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, in late October 2010. Mad Catz took over both roles and re-released the title on N ...

'', where it is the second song in the main-game series (not including DLC) to have full Impossible rating for all band members (''

Painkiller An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic (American English), analgaesic (British English), pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve relief from pain (that is, analgesia or pain management). It i ...

'' from '' Rock Band 2'' is the first). However, it is the first to have a full Impossible rating with keys included. "Stash" and "Tweezer" were also released as downloadable content for Rock Band 3 in 2011. "Tweezer Reprise" was used in a

Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold med ...

montage following his 19th Olympic medal in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

. It was also used by the Atlanta Falcons in their introduction video at Super Bowl 51. "Catapult" features a sample from "I Remember Now" by

Queensrÿche Queensrÿche is an American heavy metal band. It formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 16 studio albums, one EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record. The original lineup ...

off of the album '' Operation: Mindcrime''.

Charts

References

External links

Phish's Official Site

Phish.com: ''Picture of Nectar'' Album Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Picture Of Nectar 1992 albums Phish albums Burlington, Vermont Elektra Records albums Picture of Nectar, A