Stash
Phish, 1995, from A Picture of Nectar. Solo by Trey Anastasio.
Tense and aggressive, from Great Woods, 1994.
'Stash' is built for tension and release, and the version from Great Woods leans hard into the tension. Trey Anastasio works over a minor-key vamp, stacking repetitive, dissonant phrases until the band sounds ready to snap, then pulling back into brief moments of calm. His Languedoc guitar has a clear, round tone that cuts through even when the playing gets aggressive. It's a good snapshot of how Phish used improvisation as group storytelling, with the whole band following Trey's lead. Listen for the long stretch where he repeats a small figure over and over, tightening the screws, until the band finally lets the pressure out.
Stash by Phish is ranked #130 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Trey Anastasio and the song was released in 1995. It appears on 4 lists, placing as high as #39 (Rolling Stone).
In our lists
- See Them Live — #47
- The Modern Canon: Best Since 1990 — #31
- The 25 Greatest Jam Band Guitar Solos — #9
- The 1990s — #24
- Greatest Live Solos — #6
- Most Divisive — #20
- The Best Phish Guitar Solos — #6
Sources
- Rolling Stone: The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time — #39
- Bombay Lives (Substack): 100 Greatest Guitar Solos — #73
- Topito (now 10h26.com): Top 100 des plus grands solos de guitare de l'histoire (Benoit Floyd) — #73
- Digital Dream Door: 250 Greatest Rock Guitar Solos — #177
Who played the guitar solo on Stash?
Trey Anastasio played the solo on Phish's Stash (1995).
What guitar was used on the Stash solo?
A languedoc, according to widely reported accounts.
Where does Stash rank among the greatest guitar solos?
#130 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 4 of them.