Phish

Joy is a pretty good Phish album.  I don’t know if it’s my favorite, but it’s certainly very accessible and feels brighter and wiser.  I’m not going to address the various comments of the reviewer, which I don’t find either accurate or illuminating (especially his reflection on Phish concerts and the studio intentions of the Grateful Dead who were trying to record a studio album in 1994-5 before their demise - as ANYONE who is familiar with the band knows).  To the record then:

“Backwards Down the Number Line” - a reflective tune that sets the mood for the rest of the album.  This is about experiences when life tightens up on you.  It’s about loss, struggles, failures, and redemption.  The song does have a nice short solo, but the entire song is 5 minutes long, so it’s hard to understand where the reviewer’s comments were based on.

Anyway, “Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan” is a rocker, plain and simple.  To me it sounds like SRV on a bender.  Thumbs up!

“Joy” is a beautiful song along the lines of “If I Could” or “Fast Enough for You”.  In concert it is more like an anthem - We want you to be happy because this is your song too - but here Trey’s “shaky” delivery just reveals vulnerability. I can relate.

“Sugar Shack” has a swirling reggae beat that is somewhat off-kilter (how else with Mike?) but is a good song for dancing anyway.  Mike’s voice sounds great.

“Ocelot” is the typical Phish song that starts off innocently, but becomes a ripping song in concert.  The summer tour has been pretty tentative so far with this number, but I can’t wait for this one to take off.

You can’t say that about “Kill Devil Falls”.  Live, it rocks.  The album version is concise and to the point (a bit like “Chalkdust Torture”) but the message is clear.  Great lyrics too, by the way.

I’m not a huge fan of “Light” yet and the version here isn’t going to do it for me.  This song reminds me a bit of “Spread it Round” (played in 2003 before the last hiatus).  Let’s see how it develops.  The version here is harmless enough, but doesn’t jam much at all.  They are trying to be concise.

I like Page’s tune “I’ve Been Around”.  Yes, it is a bit cheesy, but at the same time he manages to sound quite genuine and we are talking about the guy most like Frank Sinatra in the band after all.

“Time Turns Electric” is a prog opus which is the most complicated tune that Trey has written since “David Bowie”, “You Enjoy Myself”, and so forth.  The band nails this and if you find yourself needing air before it’s over, well, I really don’t know what to say.  I thought music critics like to listen to music.  Odd choice of profession, I’d say.

“Twenty Years Later” is a perfect closer.  If we learned anything all these long years (I’m almost 50 now) it’s that there is still plenty to learn from life.

Anyway, that’s my take on it.  I’m a phish fan and have been since my first show in 1993.  I have all their albums and buy every digital download.  I am convinced that people like me are their real audience.  I also listen to 100s of other bands, classical music, opera, jazz, blues, rap, heavy metal, industrial, hip-hop, and plenty of indie music too.  By the way, this is an Indie record on the Jemp label.  I can’t wait to hear what Pitchfork will make of that.

Comment by michael from florida — September 11, 2009 @ 12:34 pm

Nice review Michael, great comments.  I think this is the best album the band has ever put out.  I’m amazed by it.

Comment by spwal from gamehendge — September 12, 2009 @ 7:36 am

While I’ll begrudgingly let the predictable comments about stoned hippies and hackeysacks slide, I’m afraid I can’t do the same for your psuedo-intellectual attempt at music theory. 

If there’s one thing that Trey Anastasio doesn’t do, it’s run pentatonics.  Who told you that?  If this person is your source for music theory questions, you should probably find another one.

The statement is just wrong.  Love ‘em or hate ‘em, many, many of the classic Phish jams are based around harmonic structures that facilitate improvising in a variety of modal and diatonic settings.

A first year music student should be able to hear that Stephen, and if you can’t, perhaps you should refrain from offending the intelligence of your more musically-inclined reader?

More importantly, your flippant comment reflects a frighteningly prevalent and inherently racist sentiment that the pentatonic scale and it’s most prolific child, the African American-derived blues scale, are somehow less complex, less sophisticated, or less worthy than the European modes.  Jimi Hendrix used variations of the pentatonic scale almost exclusively, as did every single one of the great blues and rock guitarists that defined the music we all love. Are you going to knock them as well?

No, I highly doubt that you can hear the difference between the major pentatonic, the minor pentatonic, blues, phrygian, dorian… if you could, I’d like to think that your conscience would force you to credit Trey where he’s due. 

Which is it Stephen?  Are you a liar intentionally misrepresenting musical fact, or are you a lazy writer that uses big words to make his music reviews sound smarter?

If you have *any* balls whatsoever, you’ll own up what we all know is the truth: you don’t know pentatonics from your own asshole.

For everybody out there that doesn’t really understand what I’m talking about, that’s cool, you really, truly don’t need to in order to have a sophisticated appreciation of music. 

However, let me give you an analogy of the stunt Steve-O pulled: Imagine an art critic claiming that the color orange, was, in fact, the color green, and then criticizing the work in question because of an excessive use of green.

Pretty silly, eh?

Comment by I Call BS — September 12, 2009 @ 9:41 am

I salute your rip-roaring screed, I Call BS.  In my review, I was referring to a commonly-held perception about extensive jamming in general, regardless of what scale is being used.  Trey’s solos employ all kinds of scales, including, of course, the pentatonic scale, which I, as do all guitarists, know well. He’s using it on “Backwards Down the Number Line” and “Kill Devil Falls” on this album, for instance.  It hardly makes sense to belittle a musical scale, and I’ll go on record and officially declare that I’ve enjoyed a long-standing and deep love affair with the pentatonic scale, especially in the key of G, my first love.  Now, calling me a racist for suggesting that Trey sometimes takes long guitar solos in concert is perhaps something to call BS about, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and do some serious soul searching while I rehearse today with my blues band.

Comment by Steve Leftridge — September 13, 2009 @ 9:52 am

I don’t believe Phish is subject to the same criticisms as many other bands (especially ‘Pop’ acts. Their main ‘problem’ so to speak is their failure (or lack of desire) to produce anything that is readily digestable to the average music listener. To the exceptional attentive listener however, they provide a rich tapestry of rhythm and melody that is on par with the most complex musical compositions humanity has ever coughed up. So what if they don’t make singles for radio airplay? They’ve managed to be one of the most spectacular and well followed touring acts despite lack of mainstream radio. So what if Trey’s voice and delivery sometimes leaves something to be desired? They all have on and off nights, as do all bands and musicians. The difference with Phish is that unlike other acts, they are engaging in a personal relationship with the audience. I feel every mistake Trey makes but the rest of the tapestry is so amazing and the music so impressionistic that often ‘mistakes’ become part of the song (barring catastrophic blunders in orchestrated pieces that do occasionally happen).

Overall, I think Phish has gotten tremendously better since their most recent reunion, and I love Joy. Not my favorite album but high on my list, and IMHO, definitely the most accessable yet.

Peace.

Oh, and PS, Don’t underestimate the average post-hippie phish head. We are on the whole a sophisticated bunch, and while there are a lot of drugs in the scene, and many individuals who can’t handle it, we stand for something, namely the elevation of the human condition and the value of Joy in everyday life.

Comment by Damien Pagan from New York — September 16, 2009 @ 7:10 am

That was the worst, laziest most inaccurate review I’ve ever read.  Its like you never even listened to the album.  I feel sorry for you if all you hear is trey going up and down the pentatonic scale because he does a lot more.  Also, if you find that trey may be playing a repetitive part try listening and critiquing Mike Gordon or Page McConnell.  For christ sake I didn’t even read their names until the comments!!! I’ll stop there, good thing your readers know more about music than you or I would’ve had to type out a lot more of your faults here. Micheal from Florida, well written review.  I Call BS, ease up a little I think all Stephen listens to is Hanna Montana(not that there is anything wrong with that).  Stephen, good luck with the band, and Junta was a fantastic studio album even if it wasn’t catchy and sounding like Steve Milller. Actually, Joy the album as a whole was way more interesting musically in many ways than anything Steve Miller ever put out, and I bet Steve Miller would be the first to agreee with me.  Although Steve Miller is great for a party!

Comment by Nate B. from Massachusetts — September 26, 2009 @ 5:54 pm

Does anyone have the 12/12/06 tape? Killer setlist yo, Trey solo. Best performance he ever did, getting busted!

Comment by Nicholas from Austin, TX — October 6, 2009 @ 1:12 pm

I would like to thank those of you who commented on my response to the review.  Steve, I also wish you luck with your band.  Anyway, the reason I’m posting is that I just received my box set from Phish Dry Goods.  I am flabbergasted at the quality of the presentation - it’s an enormous box with little drawers for each poster - one for each song on Joy - a book with high-quality printing (including a scribble font for the lyrics), CDs of Joy and a DVD of the songs from the summer tour, and - now the reason I’m writing - the disc Party Time!

I actually like Party Time! even more than Joy, but I think that it appeals less to a general audience than everyone who has already been won over.  It has 2 songs each from Gordon and McConnell, 1 rowdy song by Fishman, and a lot of new material by Trey (all but 2 with Tom Marshall lyrics).  During Phish’s second long hiatus Phish’s songwriting improved greatly.  Gordon & McConnell fronted bands of their own and wrote many new songs.  On Party Time! this trend continues and their songs really shine.

This album begins with “Party Time!”, Fishman’s raucous invocation to boogie.  It really sets the loose mood of the album and the key for me is the “Cars, Trucks, and Buses” organ riffing over the bouncy bass lines.  In contrast to “Joy”, a very tight album that is a great commercial (well, for Phish) presentation, “Party Time!” seems to seek the oblique, the candid, and the free exploration of owing and promising nothing, but what is delivered is most rewarding.  Here we see a band that is unafraid of showing themselves as they are to their fans.  We have lived for years together and experienced their roller coaster vicariously while we have worked out our own vicious curves of fortune.  “Joy” describes that survival poignantly saying “Hey we have made it and it’s a good to be here.”  “Party Time!” screams out in celebration the same epiphany.

Say it three times: “Alaska” is a great Anastasio-Marshall classic.  It actually sounds a lot like “Ocelot” when it starts, which is maybe the reason it doesn’t appear on “Joy”, though maybe Phish worried putting a contagious song like “Alaska” on their primary release that it would be doomed to be a hit.  Okay, I’m kidding.  Maybe a song with lyrics about moving on (“Stuck here on my own now, diggin’ down deep, I don’t understand it but I ain’t losing sleep”) seems to be post-Joy, if you will.  If Joy is about the suffering that comes with the survival, “Alaska” reflects one of the host of options we all have.  We aren’t limited to just the choices on the table.

“Windy City” is Page’s first contribution to the album and this is just an excellent number, reflecting the great flowering of his songwriting.  Driven by his piano line and searing counterpoints of Anastasio’s guitar parts, “Windy City” is an anthem of the road and the lyrics seem to me to speak of isolation, frustration, and struggle.  “I think its time to let this thing unfold or let it be” he sings and you know he is singing to himself, a man who has spent 25 years - off and on - playing for us.  Does a musician as dedicated as Page have a choice but to put it out there night after night and watching the lonely lines on the screen as night burns into day?  A sad song overall.

“In a Misty Glade”, Trey wrote a perfect song for Jon to sing.  It features an eerie tone and lyrics like “If it were not for my disguise, you’d understand the view” and more about loneliness.  Is this “Party Time!” a party for one alone?

For those who point to “Kill Devil Falls” as Trey’s song about conquering his demons, look only to “Gone” for more affirmation, but with the gloves off.  Trey wrote the lyrics and talks about Running from yourself, loneliness, and stop bleeding from your head, and doing what’s right.  This is an intensely personal song and Trey’s solo at the end is a perfect tune of redemption.  I really like this song, but I must confess it didn’t grab me right away. I have to hear this live.

“Only a Dream” is Mike’s first song on the album, though it’s hard to believe because Mike has been so present since the first note.  I think this is Mike’s least offbeat song in the entire Phish catalog, but that doesn’t make it any less interesting.  I really like the lyrics and if I dreamed like that, I would stay awake all the time.

“The Birdwatcher” is an à capella number that is (whisper voice) just exactly what we need after Mike’s dream.  I love this tune and I think it’s the real dividing line here.  People who love Phish know the joys of hearing “I Didn’t Know” while standing in a meadow in the Everglades or screaming “FLUFFHEAD!” at Red Rocks to release the tension.  “The Birdwatcher” is the one that I will sing in my reveries.  Listen to it and see if it gets out of your head - it will “Thunk” you.

“Let Me Lie” is a song we have heard for a few years now.  It’s a Trey tune that I first caught in the GRAB tour and it was clearly an important song or the moment, but it was somewhat occluded by the trappings of the time and the fact that it had not really matured - compared to numbers like “Mud City” and “Suskind Hotel” that had totally arrived by the time they went on tour.  Here, though, we see it in a pure crystalline state and the effects are mesmerizing.  It left me breathless (gasping for air - remember?) at the fragility and icy resolve. Ah…  I love it.

“If I Told You” is Page’s second tune on “Party Time!”  At first glance it is very unlike “Windy City” with a heavy driven bass riff.  Listen to the lyrics though and you see parallels (motions and note emotions, traveling down roads never seen, watching events splashing across the screen - like he’s observing, but not participating - and of course it’s all so conditional).  This was probably the hardest song for me to like on the album, but I really do now.  It reminds me a lot of the Undermind tunes that have gotten so funky as they evolved.  I’ll bet this song will become huge live.  I can’t wait to hear Mike & Page play these riffs.

“Splinters of Hail” is another song that Trey wrote both the tune and the lyrics.  This is a pretty song that (along with “Liquid Time” has a vulnerable air that is reminiscent of some of the tunes that Neil Young sang on “Tonight’s the Night”, though the songs of course are more melodic.  In the case of “Splinters of Hail” the song has the delicacy of a snowflake.

“Can’t Come Back” is Mike’s firm response and there is nothing fragile here.  It’s almost teasing though, as he beseeches us to move away from the edge.  The psychedelic tension complete with guitars played through reverse sequencing unnerves the listener, but there is little desire to actually go back.  Forward seems a better place.

Fishman sings lead vox in “Shrine” too. It’s hard to believe after hearing his depiction of “I Kissed a Girl”, but his voice seems so soothing to me.  “Shrine” is a short song, little more than a ditty, but it’s cautionary tale is one to remember.

“Liquid Time” closes the album with an urgent need to understand it all.  It works perfectly just like everything else in the package.  Go listen to it and experience it for yourself.

All in all, I’m thoroughly satisfied with the purchase.  I think the band has come back very strong and the break did them well.  I’d encourage them to take their time going forward and not to push themselves too hard.  As Trey mentioned in his dedication to Les Paul the other night, it would be really cool to hear these guys in their nineties, for us and them.  Let’s take care of ourselves and get past the big obstacles so that the good things in life can be enjoyed without moderation!

CHEERS and good vibes to all!

Peace from Florida,

Michael

Comment by Michael from Florida — November 15, 2009 @ 1:03 pm

I miscounted in my review. 3 of the songs, “Gone”, “Splinters of Hail”, and “Liquid Time” have lyrics penned by Trey - not 2.  Oops.

Comment by Michael — November 15, 2009 @ 1:13 pm