[gsmacleod]

This is after I discovered The Hip and the first time I picked up the album on release day; having worked through the back catalogue over the previous year, I was very excited for new stuff and where this amazing band was headed.

This album lived in my CD player for at least a month and I loved the variety of the album; a little bit of everything and it wasn't long before I knew these songs by heart. This was also the first tour when I got to see them; they played two nights in Halifax and I caught both (including taping them on a very crude recorder to begin my bootleg collection). A great couple of shows and while I was disappointed Gord wasn't as animated as I had read about (and watched on Heksenketel), it was two amazing shows that showcased the new songs but were two very different shows.

Except for FC, PP is also the only album where I have heard every track live (including Emperor twice - sorry to everyone who missed out!) and will always have a special place for me since there are some many firsts for me with this album.

Shane

[cochise]

Penguin will go down as my great missed track. Again, a strong song that never seemed to make it onto set lists (past this tour?). Always wondered if there was a technical challenge in performing it, or just a track that they never really cared for.

I have a bootleg from a show in Cleveland from 2007 where they played it

I was at that show, was a great treat to hear. I have lucked out somehow and have caught it live I think three, maybe four times somehow.

Such a great song. Every time it gets to the change in temp at the "you'd be tossed up or washed up, the narrator relates" lyrics and then into the solo....... goosebumps

[cheney50mc]

https://goo.gl/erSBfR Its roughly about there/

It's about there. They don't do tours, at least back about 7 years ago they didn't do tours. I was lucky enough to be shown the place by Aaron Holmberg. One of the best experiences I ever had.

''

Cool, thanks. I was close when I was looking around on the map. I saw 'Millhaven Maximum Security' ! maybe they do tours

[edgoffin]

I saw 'Millhaven Maximum Security' ! maybe they do tours

There's a pretty simple way to get a tour of maximum security, but someone else gets to choose the facility. (FYI the Kingston Pen tour is pretty good).

Looking at set list archive, Emperor was played more than I thought -- fairly regularly played in 2000, but then only four times afterwards. Amazingly, I saw Get Back Again more times that Emperor Penguin!

Fireworks -- I just love the "flexed arm hang" line -- dreaded those Canada fitness tests.

[kieffer]

I bought this album the day it was released along with another album but held off listening/opening to either for a few days as my family had a vacation planned that involved a bit of a road trip. I remember piling into their Dodge Caravan with my discman, prepared to digest some new tunes. The funny thing was, as much as I was interested in spinning this one, for some reason I was way more excited to listen to my other purchase - Aenima by Tool (it had been released a few years prior but I was in the midst of a metal phase at the time). I unwrapped Phantom Power, and made a quick decision to change direction and listen to Aenima instead. unwrapped it, only to find that it actually was missing the cd (this was a new purchase from HMV or some place, and must have been a packaging/production issue).

So back to PP and a few minutes in I had forgotten all about my other purchase. Based on previous comments, I may be in the minority but this album ranks top 1 or 2 for me.

After the darker DFN and more atmospheric TATHH this album has always struck me as a more straightforward, summer album.

Poets - I had heard this a few times on muchmusic and loved it, while a very simple concept, the video was pretty cool and this is such a groovy tune. I believe of all the shows I was able to catch this was the one song that I heard most frequently

Something On - I'll never forget how unprepared I was for this song, it was so weird, such a different structure. The opening line of "Your imagination's having puppies" was so different

Save the Planet - I was always pleasantly surprised when this song showed up live

BobC - well, if there was a hip song that has massive song fatigue for me it would be this one - the odd thing is that it's not a song I've overplayed, but one that just seems to carry that societal overuse, especially in the last couple of years. Having said that I do believe it's a great song.

Thompson Girl - pretty sure I've read that Dallas Green approached Gord about wanting to write a song in a similar vein, and this is what lead to them collaborating on Sleeping Sickness.

Membership - Anyone have any interpretations of the greater meaning of this song? To me it's essentially another song about water, and it's power - but there could be a lot I'm missing

Fireworks - This song took a long time to grow on me, once I realized it isn't a hockey song as much is it is a song about Gord finding things more interesting than hockey, it connected. I've always loved the references to the national fitness program/flexed arm hang because of the memories it stirs. Referring to Fireworks as temporary towers is also so effing cool

Vapour Trails - I probably enjoy this one more than others, but would love to hear this song if it was a bit darker, moodier, louder - never caught it live, but could sound a bit more urgent in concert?

The Rules - beautiful piece of poetry - again GD did an incredible job painting a picture, to me this sounds like something that could fit just as perfectly on Coke Machine Glow

Chagrin Falls - where the unknown won't even go

Escape - on first listen this was the song that hit me, everything about it was just so amazing. a great song about the lasting affect a brief encounter can leave on a person.

Penguin - I don't think words can articulate how much I love this song, and I look forward to seeing how it does in the weakest link competition. I had really hoped this song would appear on the setlists of their last tour, and I'd have the chance to hear it performed.

This album brings up so many memories, it was released as I was an unsure teenager trying to navigate my way through adolescence and has been an important work of art that I am constantly coming back to.

[Moof_Milker]

Here's the radio premier for Phantom Power: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgXnR03AUss. Not as insightful as the TATH radio premier when it was just Gord answering questions. Although it is great to hear all the boys speaking together, we don't get a lot terms of in-depth discussion...and some of the phone-in questions are painful to listen to. It was recorded in the week between the surprise Camp Trillium benefit shows and the release of the album. I remember the TATH premier very well becuase I had recorded it onto a cassette and listened to it a million times, but this one I don't think I heard since it first aired - thanks to YouTuber MojoPaw for posting these...whoever you are! It was cool to hear them talk about those Camp Trillium shows -- I was first in line at one and got to be front-centre. Gord even gave me the mic when flubbed a line and let me sing it...I mean my god! I'll never forget that. So to hear them speak so positively about that mini-tour and the fans was very cool.

A year or so later I saw Jim Cuddy in a small club in Montreal and Bob Egan opened up for him - this was before Egan joined Blue Rodeo - and after the show I got to hang out and have a beer with him. Very cool guy. Told me his car broke down in Ottawa the night before and Cuddy gave him a ride to Montreal. Anyway, obviously I was dying to ask questions about his experience working on this album. He spoke VERY highly of the experience and said how much fun he had being there. I remember when I said something about him playing on a couple songs and he corrected me by saying that it was more like 5 or 6 songs. That's pretty much half the album. You can really hear his presence on Bobcaygeon. I checked the liner notes and all is says is "Bob Egan played lap and pedal steel and mandolin" -- no indication of specific tracks.

Overall, PP is a very tight album - I think it really holds up well, especially when compared to its weaker-in-parts predecessor, TATH. I predict a lot more vote splitting on this one when the time comes to vote for the weakest link. I could listen to this album any time...and never have an urge to press skip. Those melodies come back to me...in times beyond our heartbeat.

[potsie]

But I do have to admit one thing that will cause debate on here.......... I hate Fireworks. There I said it, I hate it. I don't know what is is about it, I mean its got Bobby Orr in it, its got the Summit Series in it, its talking about a teenage relationship that we can all probably relate to in one way or another, fairly good guitar riff, I should like it, but I don't, I just hate the damn song and it annoys the hell out of me that it is a popular track, LOL.

Fireworks is my least favourite track on Phantom Power, and probably my least favourite Hip "single" released in the pre-2000 era. Being smack dab in the middle of the album I find it disrupts the Phantom Power listening experience, and part of it for me is that I find the opening guitar riff to be grating, along with some of reasons mentioned by KWT. If I have the album playing, towards the end of Membership I get my trigger finger ready above the skip button so I don't have to hear those opening chords. In my Hip album rankings it takes work for me to shoehorn Phantom Power into my top five. If Fireworks was removed from the album, it would easily slide in there.

[potsie]

When I think of "best album", I always put DFN at the top just because it does work as a complete album. Similarly, I think MPP has that "whole album" concept. But like Potsie said, it's all semantics -- for my wife, also a Hip fan for 30 years, she'd likely say this is her favorite album.

Agree. When I think about the other four 90's albums (RA, FC, DFN, TATH), the songs feel like they "belong" to their respective albums. Those albums work as "complete" entities. When it comes to Phantom Power, I don't hold the same belief. The songs on Phantom Power, while almost all great songs, feel like they could be sprinkled amongst any of a number of the other albums (pre- and post-1998). There is no "Phantom Power" sound. There is no cohesive feel, mood, or atmosphere to the album. And for me, that is what holds it back from challenging DFN as their greatest work.

[potsie]

I remember when I said something about him playing on a couple songs and he corrected me by saying that it was more like 5 or 6 songs. That's pretty much half the album. You can really hear his presence on Bobcaygeon. I checked the liner notes and all is says is "Bob Egan played lap and pedal steel and mandolin" -- no indication of specific tracks.

I'd have difficulty picking out his contributions on 5 or 6 tracks, but besides BobC, the other song where you can certainly hear his lap steel is "The Rules".

[Moof_Milker]

I remember when I said something about him playing on a couple songs and he corrected me by saying that it was more like 5 or 6 songs. That's pretty much half the album. You can really hear his presence on Bobcaygeon. I checked the liner notes and all is says is "Bob Egan played lap and pedal steel and mandolin" -- no indication of specific tracks.

I'd have difficulty picking out his contributions on 5 or 6 tracks, but besides BobC, the other song where you can certainly hear his lap steel is "The Rules".

Off the top of my head, I can't recall which song features the mandolin either. Anyone know? And what the hell is the difference between a "lap steel" and a "pedal steel"? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Another Egan tidbit, his last ever show as a member of Blue Rodeo was on August 20, 2016 - same night The Hip's last show (..I'm sure Blue Rodeo and those in attendance wish it wasn't the same night). Anyway, in that concert, Blue Rodeo played Bobcaygeon with Egan on pedal steel. Must have been an emotional performance for him on a number of levels.

[gsmacleod]

Off the top of my head, I can't recall which song features the mandolin either. Anyone know? And what the hell is the difference between a "lap steel" and a "pedal steel"? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Lap steel



Pedal Steel



Lap steel is generally played like slide guitar (open tuning) but sitting on your lap. The pedal steel is a completely different instrument and, from what I've been told, takes a great deal of time to learn, even if you know how to play guitar.

Shane

[potsie]

Off the top of my head, I can't recall which song features the mandolin either. Anyone know?

I just did a quick listening scan and I can't really hear mandolin anywhere. If it's on there it must be buried pretty low in the mix.

From Bob Egan's website:

The Tragically Hip - Phantom Power
Recorded at the Bath House in Kingston, Ontario during the winter of '97.

I met the Hip when Wilco played on the bill of their summer tour - Another Roadside Attraction with Los Lobos, Sheryl Crow, Ron Sexsmith, Change of Heart, and Ashley McIsaac. What a summer that was! Steve Berlin from Los Lobos ended up producing their record and they invited me to do my thing during the infamous ice storm of '98 that left much of Ontario and Quebec powerless. It was a really smooth productive couple of days as I got to play mandolin, pedal steel, National, and lap steel guitar on the record. The single Bobcaygeon (on which I play pedal steel) won a Juno award in 1999.

I forgot about Bob having been in Wilco for a few years. He's got a pretty impressive musical resume.

[direwolf74]

There is no "Phantom Power" sound. There is no cohesive feel, mood, or atmosphere to the album. And for me, that is what holds it back from challenging DFN as their greatest work.

Can't say I agree with this, as I feel the album does indeed have it's own sound. To me it's always had a real earthy/summer-ish feel to it, and many of the lyrics seem to be full of nostalgia, wistfulness, and reflection. Not sure I can explain it any other way, but for me there's a definite cohesiveness to the general atmosphere of these songs that instantly transport me back to a specific time and place in my life. Not many other Hip albums give me the same warm & fuzzy feeling that this one does, which makes it distinctive amongst their catalogue...at least to me. And that's why it remains one of my favorite Hip records.

[clarke]

There is no "Phantom Power" sound. There is no cohesive feel, mood, or atmosphere to the album. And for me, that is what holds it back from challenging DFN as their greatest work.

Can't say I agree with this, as I feel the album does indeed have it's own sound. To me it's always had a real earthy/summer-ish feel to it, and many of the lyrics seem to be full of nostalgia, wistfulness, and reflection. Not sure I can explain it any other way, but for me there's a definite cohesiveness to the general atmosphere of these songs that instantly transport me back to a specific time and place in my life. Not many other Hip albums give me the same warm & fuzzy feeling that this one does, which makes it distinctive amongst their catalogue...at least to me. And that's why it remains one of my favorite Hip records.

There is no "Phantom Power" sound. There is no cohesive feel, mood, or atmosphere to the album. And for me, that is what holds it back from challenging DFN as their greatest work.

Can't say I agree with this, as I feel the album does indeed have it's own sound. To me it's always had a real earthy/summer-ish feel to it, and many of the lyrics seem to be full of nostalgia, wistfulness, and reflection. Not sure I can explain it any other way, but for me there's a definite cohesiveness to the general atmosphere of these songs that instantly transport me back to a specific time and place in my life. Not many other Hip albums give me the same warm & fuzzy feeling that this one does, which makes it distinctive amongst their catalogue...at least to me. And that's why it remains one of my favorite Hip records.

Phantom Power is spring. I play it ever year on the first nice day where you can drive with the windows down or not wear a coat. It's right there in the first line.

Poets - "Spring starts when a heartbeat's pounding"
Thompson Girl - "It's the end of rent-a-movie weather"
Membership - Bring on the springtime, bring on the houseflies, Bring on the butterscotch, river over spilling its banks"
Vapour Trails "Damn this sleepy weather he said, As he marched in sopping wet shoes"

Reflections on winter too in Something On, Thompson Girl, Emperor Penguin. To me Phantom Power is emerging from the freeze into spring.

Phantom Power is when I became a Hip fan. DFN was my first cd, but I was a bit too young (11) to really get into the band, I wasn't aware of TATH except for ABAC, but Phantom Power came out when I was 15. It was the summer between Grade 9 and 10, the last summer I wouldn't have a full time summer job. We camped out overnight outside of Centennial Hall in London and saw one of the Camp Trillium shows, the one that was taped. There were two cameras on the floor, each out surrounded by 6 or 8 security guards, and the crowd would all move together towards a camera where the security guards move push everyone away back into the other camera where the security team would push back again. That went on all night and I was right there in the middle watching a crazy guy on stage singing, dancing, and ranting like I have never seen. I smoked pot for the first time that night. That was my first concert.

I can vividly remember the feeling of recognizing Grace Too as that weird song I knew from having DFN and the power of thousands of people yelling along. I remember the sheer intensity of 100th. I was hooked.

I bought Live Between Us next (btw did we do a poll and insights on that?) and really discovered fully, gift shop, abac, courage, nois, blow as live versions which may be why I never connected with the studio versions of those songs. Then was fully obsessed moving forward but the new albums always were always more interesting than going back to UTH, RA, and FC. I wanted to see what was next.

The Rules-Emperor Penguin run is my favourite end to an album. The Rules and Chagrin are two of my favourites and gems of the catalog.

I don't think I can decide between DFN and PP as the best/my favourite hip.

[edgoffin]

I bought Live Between Us next (btw did we do a poll and insights on that?)

That's a great story...and no, I skipped over LBU...we should go back to that one!