Mike Gordon
The Green Sparrow
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BY Chris Bilton
August 06, 2008 15:08
Isn’t about time that Phish just admit that they’re the KISS of jam bands and would be better off milking the 27-minute-solo shtick until the second coming of Jerry Garcia? Because I just can’t imagine many VW busloads of disciples following Mike Gordon around to hear extended versions of songs from The Green Sparrow. This second solo effort from the former Phish bassist exhibits Gordon’s uncanny ability to cop some of his old bandmate Trey Anastasio’s guitar lines (Anastasio himself also appears here), but Gordon’s cartoonish warble and dull production underwhelm. The songs dwell in obvious grooves rather than exploiting his star-studded session players (like organist Ivan Neville and Joe freaking Russo on drums). Anastasio sounds bored noodling through “Traveled Too Far” and “Dig Further Down” and even Gordon’s own bass playing doesn’t begin to bubble up to its usual pop-slappin’ funk until the final few tracks.
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