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Phish - Joy
| rollingstone |
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Phish turned 25 last November quietly; after all, they'd been defunct for over four years. So consider their reunion LP, the self-released Joy, a belated birthday party. "Happy happy, oh my friend/Blow out candles once again" sings Trey Anastasio on the nostalgic opener, "Backwards Down the Number Line." It's the epitome of a Phish song, complete with bouncy country-rock groove, merrily cryptic chorus and immaculately ecstatic guitar solo. And it leads off an unlikely gift: a genuinely great album from a touring phenomenon not known for great albums. Funny thing about birthdays, though: At a certain point, they become not merely celebrations but occasions for reflection and even regret. The latter elements are what make Joy — despite a fair amount of joyfulness — a deeper trip than most Phish LPs. To a large extent the set reads as The Redemption of Trey Anastasio, who wrote most of the songs with longtime lyricist Tom Marshall. The frontman spent a portion of the band's hiatus battling addiction and the fallout from a drug arrest, and the lyrics frequently feel confessional. "I was doing the best that I can, I suppose," he sings on the wistful title track, clearly aware that it wasn't enough. In the lilting "Twenty Years Later," the singer is "still upside-down" after decades of recklessness. And on the I-will-survive rocker "Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan" — in a couplet sure to launch a thousand Facebook status updates — Anastasio declares, "Got a blank space where my mind should be/Got a Clif Bar and some cold green tea." He sounds more exhausted than enlightened....full text |
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| Billboard |
| "Got a blank space where my mind should be/Got a Cliff Bar and some cold green tea," Phish frontman Trey Anastasio sings on "Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan," the second track on the band's ebullient new album, "Joy." Phish masterfully marries freedom and form on its first studio release since 2004's "Undermind," combining the best elements of its jazz-inspired outings with an acute attention to song structure. The result is a collection that succeeds on multiple fronts, and one sure to please both the avid fan and casual listener. With strong production by studio titan Steve Lillywhite, the band effortlessly switches between jangle (the sentimental, Allman Brothers-esque "Backwards Down the Number Line") and jam (the nearly 14-minute, early-Pat Metheny Group-sounding "Time Turns Elastic"). And on the title track, Anastasio pays moving tribute to a sister lost too soon. "Joy" is a journey not to be missed.ý --Jon Regen...full text |
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| Ew |
| After a five-year hiatus, the long-running, jam-happy quartet has decided to give it another go, returning with their most commercial-sounding album since 2000's polarizing Farmhouse. Not everything here works, but tracks like the sing-along-ready ''Kill Devil Falls'' and the winding 13-minute opus ''Time Turns Elastic'' could send anyone — not just hardcore devotees — into an ecstatic twirl dance. While Joy doesn't find Phish exploring much new territory, the band sticks to their strengths, making for a welcome return. B...full text |
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