Lawn Boy is Phish's second official studio album, released
on September 21, 1990, on the Absolute A Go Go Records and Rough Trade labels
on cassette, single-LP vinyl and CD (with CD bonus track Fee). Vinyl LPs of the
original Absolute A Go Go release are still known to circulate. The album was
later re-mastered by Bob Ludwig and re-released on CD and cassette by Elektra
Records June 30, 1992.
The songs on Lawn Boy include many of the progressive rock
and fusion elements featured on the band's first studio album, Junta, as well
as incorporating elements of bluegrass, jazz and barbershop quartet.
According to Phish Archivist Kevin Shapiro: Lawn Boy was
recorded and mixed at Archer Studios in Winooski, VT in 1989 and 1990 on
16-track 2" tape and was mixed to 1/4" stereo reels. The band won the
initial studio time with a first-place Rock Rumble performance on April 21,
1989 at a downtown Burlington, VT club called The Front. The Lawn Boy sessions
that followed consisted of mostly live takes with a few effects and overdubs.
Engineer Dan Archer acquired a baby grand piano specifically for the recording,
Fishman played his drums squeezed into a vocal isolation booth and the band
utilized local musicians including members of what would soon be called the
Giant Country Horns. Like Junta before it, Phish self-produced Lawn Boy on a
hands-on level, surrounding the console for group fades without aid of
automation.
The album was certified gold by the RIAA on July 7, 2004.
In February 2009, Lawn Boy became available as a download in
FLAC and MP3 formats at LivePhish.com.
JEMP Records released "Lawn Boy" on Record Store
Day 2013 as a Limited Edition Deluxe 2-LP vinyl set. The LE Deluxe 2-LP vinyl
set was limited to 7,500 individually numbered copies and was created from the
original 1/4" stereo master reels with lacquers cut by Chris Bellman at
Bernie Grundman Mastering. Each LP is pressed onto 180g audiophile grade vinyl.
Deluxe packaging includes an 8-page photo booklet and an etched D-side.
