Tom Marshall Releases Phish Rarities Online

If you’re on Twitter, and follow any of the large jamband news outlets, you’re probably aware that Phish lyricist Tom Marshall is now on Twitter (@TomMarshall111). Aside from tweeting about life, Marshall’s Twitter timeline has consisted of unreleased Phish/Trey related content. Even though you can just go to Tom’s SoundCloud page, I decided to embed all of his releases here, with the info he has posted on each track, below.

The order is latest to oldest, and will be updated on a soon-as-possible basis.

Enjoy!

Mathilda

A very old song from the Dungeon, this was done in 1984 on a cassette deck meant for dictation and not music — which explains the horrible quality. Pretty silly, you can see why it didn’t get very far (alongside the SERIOUS music we were intending to create), but you can hear the fun we’re having. Trey on acoustic — he, I and Marc Daubert sing when we’re not laughing too hard.

Lever Boy

okay — here’s the first one from “The Dungeon” — a recording that never became a Phish or TAB song, and wouldn’t otherwise ever see the light of day. I’m releasing it to you now…fly away little starling…fly fly fly… Sorry, that was my inner Hannibal talking. So “Lever Boy” was recorded on 12/10/2008 in a sweet New York hotel that Trey got for us, and had it loaded with recording equipment and instruments. 2 Tascam 8-track machines and a Mackie mixer are the core of Trey’s awesome mobile studio…but there are also some gorgeous preamps and AtoD’s and beautiful mics as well. There was a Kurzweil keyboard there, a Languedoc bass and a Languedoc electric, and a Martin acoustic. Roland V-drums too. The reason we were there was to write songs for a new Phish album…the one that eventually became “Joy”. During this session we also wrote Kill Devil Falls and Ocelot, but before we got really into it, we played around with our studio-away-from-studio and came up with this unusual song. Trey and I both love it, but feel it might never transcend its current version. For those of you playing along at home, this one (possibly) completes the “-Boy” series of songs…Lawn, Life and Dog Faced being the first three.

The Wedge

Sometime in late 1992 I handed Trey these lyrics inspired by the rhythm of the song Pocahontas by Neil Young. Trey wrote this one completely by himself soon thereafter in his home studio in Vermont, and the first time I heard it was over the phone and we both flipped out over how cool it was. Trey’s interesting overdubbed solo carried through to the studio version as well to my delight. Phish started playing it in early 1993 when it came out on Rift. One of my live favorites, I always think back to this first version when I hear it…

Walls Of The Cave

This one holds a great deal of significance for Trey and myself. It was a dark period in both our lives. It was a dark period for the country. I wrote this poem for my son…it read almost like an epitaph for my own grave. It was depressing. Trey and I also (due to my work situation which was dire) were holed up in a dark, miserable NJ hotel right near Newark airport. But one thing we knew how to do was write and record songs. Trey liked these lyrics, and with me essentially on the sidelines, he created this entire song…piece by piece. The most impressive to me was his piano intro. He’s quite a good pianist, and he uses it as a compositional tool very effectively. Those chords just kept building and building…heck, the song has FOUR intros if you count them like I do…until finally a bed for the lyrics appeared. And he sang them…I didn’t get involved, he was on a mission from god. I just handed the lyrics to the song-machine and my job was done. Later I found that people thought this was a tribute to the World Trade Center…WTC = Walls of The Cave=World Trade Center. So is it? Trey says yes. I say probably…but unintentionally on purpose.

Backwards Down the Numberline

This one was the one that reunited Trey and me again after a long silence in September 2007.Trey was in Saratoga Springs, NY, working very hard in his Drug Court program — helping himself, helping others…but not communicating with anyone…on purpose.His dad was key to breaking the silence and said I could email Trey a Happy Birthday and he “might answer”.At first I thought he was joking, because until that moment, Trey NEVER used email!So I sent off a birthday poem…these lyrics.2 hours later I received an “Oh My God, Tom” email.Then soon after, a phone call where he played me this song.Our writing conquered the chasm…the rift.The thing we did best and did forever, songwriting, reignited our friendship.

Silent In The Morning

This song, “Silent in the Morning” was eventually released on Rift, and split into two songs: Horse and Silent in the Morning, for some reason I never was made aware of. Anyway — this is the very first version, and it was recorded in late 1991 in my house in Princeton NJ on a Fostex 4-Track cassette machine in my “studio” — a room that would be eventually occupied by my (then nonexistent) daughter. Singing along with Trey and myself are Marc Daubert, and our late good friend Amanda Lake.

I Am Hydrogen

The ORIGINAL I Am Hydrogen. Me on keys, Marc Daubert on acoustic and Trey on his Ibinez…and a Fender amp I think.Recorded on a stereo recording Walkman (cassette).In this configuration we called the band Bivouac. I think in 1984

Backwards Food For Backwards Folks

Mike and Trey in the studio create an awesome version of a song that Trey and I wrote a long time ago…this came out on an unofficial leaked project called “Flotsam Five” — this wasn’t a Phish release or anything, and no one knows anything about it — but it had a compilation of interesting songs.

Skip The Goodbyes

From my band’s Amfibian album with the same name, here’s Skip the Goodbyes featuring Trey on guitar!

Nothing

This song was written by Trey and myself, and eventually released by Phish on Undermind. But long before that, I released it featuring singing by a great band called The Saras. Check it out — it also features a COMPLETE set of lyrics (AHEM Trey!…somehow a verse was overlooked by Phish!)