Billy Breathes by Phish

Billy Breathes is the sixth studio album by American rock band Phish, released by Elektra Records on October 15, 1996. It remains one of the most popular Phish studio albums, and is credited (like the later release Farmhouse) with connecting the band to a more mainstream audience beyond its strong cult following. Rolling Stone said that Billy Breathes is "a quiet gem of an album" that confirms Phish "is much more than a jam band from Burlington, Vermont." The album includes the song "Free", the band's most successful rock chart single, which peaked at #11 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart and at #24 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Chart.Tracks 5 and 9 are instrumentals. "Bliss" was not played live by the band until December 30, 2018, 22 years after the release of the album. The album's final track, "Prince Caspian", is also the name of a mythical prince in The Chronicles of Narnia, a fantasy series by British novelist C. S. Lewis. The album's cover is a close-up shot of bass guitar player Mike Gordon, the first time that any member of Phish had appeared on an album cover. Phish frontman Trey Anastasio recalled in a 1997 interview that the cover came together very quickly on the last day of recording. It was certified Gold by RIAA January 8, 1999. In February 2009, the album became available as a download in FLAC and MP3 formats at LivePhish.com. On March 6, 2018, it was announced that Billy Breathes would be getting the vinyl treatment and released as a 2-LP set for Record Store Day by JEMP Records.