Album Review: Phish - "Joy"

Before I jump into this review, it is important to establish one thing about Vermont jam legends Phish: They are not a studio band. Phish has earned its reputation and its money as an amazing touring act that puts on one of the most mind-blowing concerts you will ever see. That being said, the band has released 10 studio albums throughout their illustrious career. I personally enjoy a good number of these albums (specifically A Picture of Nectar and Hoist), but they are by no means studio masterpieces. For their 11th studio effort (and first in 5 years), Phish turned to Steve Lillywhite to try and capture the lightning in a bottle of their live show in a studio setting. Lillywhite previously produced the very strong "Billy Breathes" in 1996 which gave Phish some mainstream attention. While he and the band have crafted a solid album with "Joy", they once again fall short of making a truly great studio album. Phish is a band that cannot be bound by the limits of the studio, and this album is a strong reminder that the true magic from this band comes on the stage. On to the song by song analysis:

1. Backwards Down the Number Line - Opting to open the album with this upbeat and happy tune was a good choice. Number Line is a fairly basic tune for the most part, featuring a simple arrangement by Phish standards. I personally get a great vibe from the happy lyrics and the catchy chorus, which is eventually punctuated by a nice long solo from guitar god Trey Anastasio. Overall, Number Line is a nice way to ease into the album and a very easy to listen to, accessible song. 7.5/10

2. Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan - Bad. Ass. This song is probably my favorite from the new recording featuring a classic Phish sound that hearkens back to the album "A Picture of Nectar". Trey is on fire throughout, showing off classic tone over a great rhythm. The lyrics are also some of my favorite on the album as they include a sure to be trademark Phish line: "Got a blank space where my mind should be". Great new song. 9/10

3. Joy - The album's title track is a quiet, acoustic number that would probably have fit in well on Billy Breathes. It's a really pretty tune with nice guitar and lyrics from Trey. I especially enjoy the melody and words to the chorus. It's simply a nice breezy tune that shows the band can do more than just jam out. 6.5/10

4. Sugar Shack - The only song sung by bassist Mike Gordon, Sugar Shack shows a shift into the funk that the band experimented heavily with on "The Story of the Ghost". The bass and drums are great and supplemented by some cool reggae riffs from Trey. The first couple of minutes are great, but the song meanders into redundancy and ends up just being o.k. when all is said and done. 7/10

5. Ocelot - Another nice breezy tune, this one is extremely influenced by the jams of the Grateful Dead. It's got some solid lyrics and good music, with a nice melodic Trey solo, but it isn't all that memorable. Like many songs on Joy, it is nice, but not anything particularly great. This type of song will improve greatly in the live setting when the band can cut loose and go on a bit of an excursion with it. 6.5/10

6. Kill Devil Falls - They might as well have named this song Chalk Dust Torture, Part 2. One of the better songs on the album, this number is extremely similar to the "A Picture of Nectar" classic. Although it doesn't come close to touching Chalk Dust, it is still a very strong song that rages pretty hard. I feel like the band really settled into a nice groove with this one and were able to capture a good live feel with it. 8/10

7. Light - This is just a very cool song. I feel like it will be a beast in the live setting. Like many Phish songs, the studio cut is simply the foundation in which they build off of when the song comes to the stage. I'm looking forward to hearing this one in concert because I feel like it has strong potential to go places. The ambient sounds and harmonies throughout should make for a great live song. 8/10

8. I Been Around - Nice try, but not a great song. At least it is very short. This is trademark quirky Phish but it just does not do anything for me, and I usually really like Paige songs. The lounge style playing is just too cheesy for me. 4/10

9. Time Turns Elastic - This 13 minute progressive rock opus allegedly took 278 takes for the band to nail in studio. I'm still not sure what to make of this tune. On one hand I really appreciate the band's ambition and recognize that this is definitely the biggest risk taker on the album. On the other hand, I just don't think that the song is all that great. The foundation of it is solid, but it seems like it could have either been alot shorter, or been alot more dynamic at its current length. I'm going to go with an undecided rating on this one until I listen to it a few more times.

10. Twenty Years Later - This is a strong way to finish out the album. The intro lyrics from Trey feature some great word play and I feel like the song overall is very strong. This is yet another one though that will be much better on the road. It seems like a good start, but something is missing from making it a great track. 7/10

Overall, "Joy" is a solid, but unspectacular album. Phish is known for being extremely unpredictable and taking major risks in their live shows, however that has simply not carried over into the studio. Most of these songs feel too safe and not as exploratory of new sounds as they should be. I think they will benefit greatly from concert treatment, but as they stand on Joy they are just decent. Lillywhite again proves his mettle as a great producer, but he still wasn't able to coax that great live feel out of Phish in the studio. I would recommend this album for big Phish fans only. If you want to start getting into the band either go with an earlier album or preferable a live disc. I will be interested to here the second disc from these sessions, "Party Time", to see if it has more risk taking and trademark "Phishiness" to it. I definitely feel joy that Phish is back from their hiatus, but "Joy" does not elicit the response that it's title would suggest.