Tragically Hip – Phantom Power

Phantom Power is the sixth full-length studio album from The Tragically Hip and, as far as I am concerned, the last one worth owning (although I do have several later releases in my collection). Strangely – and sadly – the disk has disappeared from the case, so I am now left without a physical copy of this much-loved CD: if you have a Phantom Power CD without the jewel case, give it back to me!

Phantom Power hit number one in Canada and number three on the Billboard Heatseeker chart in the US, and won 1999 Juno Awards for Best Rock Album and Best Album Design, and was nominated as the Best Album. The American critics were not nearly as kind:

• AllMusic gave it 3 stars out of 5 and said things like "uneven and mildly disappointing in comparison to what they are capable of achieving"
• Pitchfork rated it a 7.3 out of 10 (though the link has disappeared from the website)

Four tracks from Phantom Power were hit singles in Canada: "Poets" (#4 RPM singles, #1 RPM alternative), "Something On" (#80 singles, #3 alternative), "Fireworks" (#9 singles) and "Bobcaygeon" (#3 singles, #2 alternative).

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Track Listing

1. "Poets" (Rob Baker, Gordon Downie, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair) – 3:59
2. "Something On" (Rob Baker, Gordon Downie, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair) – 3:21
3. "Save the Planet" (Rob Baker, Gordon Downie, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair) – 3:38
4. "Bobcaygeon" (Rob Baker, Gordon Downie, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair) – 4:55
5. "Thompson Girl" (Rob Baker, Gordon Downie, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair) – 3:32
6. "Membership" (Rob Baker, Gordon Downie, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair) – 4:40
7. "Fireworks" (Rob Baker, Gordon Downie, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair) – 3:56
8. "Vapour Trails" (Rob Baker, Gordon Downie, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair) – 4:29
9. "The Rules" (Rob Baker, Gordon Downie, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair) – 3:46
10. "Chagrin Falls" (Rob Baker, Gordon Downie, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair) – 4:10
11. "Escape Is at Hand for the Travellin' Man" (Rob Baker, Gordon Downie, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair) – 5:52
12. "Emperor Penguin" (Rob Baker, Gordon Downie, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair) – 4:08

Personnel

• Tragically Hip – Fully Completely (album)
• Tragically Hip – Day for Night (album)
• Tragically Hip – Up to Here (album)
• Tragically Hip – Road Apples (album)
• Tragically Hip – Bobcaygeon (song)
• Tragically Hip – Wheat Kings (song)
• Tragically Hip – Fifty Mission Cap (song)
• Tragically Hip – Ahead by a Century (song)