It has long been thought that most bands in the so-called “jam bands” genre cannot produce good studio albums—that the true way to experience a band’s sound is through its live shows. Calling jam band music its own separate genre is a misnomer as well because it is a very broad genre. There are folksy bluegrass bands like Yonder Mountain String Band, straight up hard rock bands like Gov’t Mule, and then bands that seem to mix it all together like Phish and even the Grateful Dead. Yet all of these groups are still lumped under the broad jam band label.

moe., a band that has had rising popularity over the past few years (possibly due to the breakup of Phish), seems to fall to the middle of the road in the jam band “genre.” They combine standard rock music with just a hint of blues and jazz sprinkled throughout. Their latest release, The Conch, looks to help them reach even more fans.

Part of this initiative comes in the revolutionary recording process the band first pioneered on their last album, 2003’s Wormwood, an album which won a Jammy (the jam band Grammys) for “Album of the Year.” The band performed every song on that album during shows on their 2002 tour, recording each track, and then taking studio-recorded versions of the same songs and blending them with the live versions. This gives the album the sense that it is part live album, part studio—you can even hear audience cheering on several of the tracks.

With The Conch, moe. took that same critically-praised recording process as on Wormwood and refined it slightly. Rather than picking the best versions of songs from a tour’s worth of shows, they pick out two shows—June 10 and 11, 2005 in Portland, Maine. They went into those performances with the knowledge that they had to play the hell out of the new album’s songs because they were being recorded. The band, normally taper-friendly, specified that this show was not to be taped by any fans. moe. had road-tested all of the songs before, so the fans knew what they were getting before this album was even released.

By recording its last two albums this way, moe. has found a way to break past the stereotype of mediocre studio albums by jam bands. These groups are in their element during live shows because that is when they can truly explore and get lost in long jams; the studio is too confining. Because moe. is essentially putting live versions of songs onto this album, the jams are quite present. The band is clearly exploring the studio space when it can, stretching out some songs to well over seven minutes. This is a very long album—the 17 tracks on the album put it at over 75 minutes, which is nearly the time limit on a single disc.

“Blue Jeans Pizza” sounds like something straight out of the 70s era of stadium rock. The high falsetto-dominated track is a fun way to kick off the album. Fans of Steely Dan may get a little nostalgic after hearing that one. The relaxed pace of the song makes it seem like the exact song the band would perform to kick off one of its legendary concerts.

The pace really speeds up on the fourth track, “Tailspin,” which has been a concert staple for years before the release of this album. Here dual lead guitarists Al Schnier and Chuck Garvey really get to shine with sonic riffs and excellent solo interplay. This track also contains several clips of Dubya speaking, signaling that the band wants to grow up some. They are no longer the band that played frat parties 15 years ago as a way to have fun in college – now they’re getting more serious with their work.

The centerpiece of the album is “Wind it Up,” which clocks in at nearly eight minutes long as the lengthiest track on the disc. This expansive jammy track features percussionist Jim Loughlin’s extensive use of the marimba, which certainly adds a Latin element to the song. The bridging of studio and live performance is most breached here with the crowds at the Portland performances chanting the song’s chorus "Be on my side, I'll be on your side," over and over so much that the next song, “Y Eaux Massa” is just a minute of the crowd’s chants over the lingering beat on the song.

Taking its title from the classic novel The Lord of the Flies, where it is said that he who holds the conch holds the power, moe. is clearly out to demonstrate that it holds the power to captivate and lead the jam band genre. The Conch may not measure up to Wormwood, which can be considered one of the greatest studio jam band albums of all time. However, it does show that moe. has really come into its own as a band that is looking to be at the forefront of this genre.