ALBUM REVIEW: Phish's Joy

When approaching any new Phish studio album, there are always two levels to consider; first, assessing the album itself as a creative piece and secondly, how successfully – or insanely – will the individual songs jam out when performed live?

With most of the songs having been played during Phish’s reunion tour in 2009, many jamming questions have been addressed, so how does new album Joy (JEMP) stack up as the ninth true Phish studio LP (not counting various demo and outtake collections issued throughout the years)? 

Also, how much of Phish guitarist/vocalist Trey Anastasio’s much-publicized personal issues – some of which lead to the premature demise of Phish in 2004 – would be reflected in the material? Adding to the intrigue is Joy being produced by Steve Lillywhite, who helmed Phish’s most critically acclaimed album, 1996’s Billy Breathes.

Mostly true to its title, Joy generates optimism with inaugural track “Backwards Down the Number Line” and its opening line: “Happy happy, oh my friend” penned by longtime Phish lyricist Tom Marshall. The catchy “Number Line” is reminiscent of the layered vocals of 1997-era Phish songs like “Vultures.” Musically “Number Line” is no “Vultures,” however.

More impressive is two-hole track “Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan” with a fiery blues edge. “Faulty Plan” is also indicative of the looser approach Phish employs on Joy compared with some of the pop constrictions of 2004’s Undermind, which fortunately, is no longer the final Phish album.  

Title track “Joy” evokes the Beatles’ “Dear Prudence,” at least thematically. While it is a cut above the banal ballads Trey churned out in 2003, and lyrically almost seems to be a disguised Anastasio autobiography dealing with his former addiction demons, it lacks the emotional gravity of the best Phish ballads like “Tela” and “Bittersweet Motel.”

The most challenging musical moment of the first half of Joy is provided by quirky bassist Mike Gordon on his “Sugar Shack,” where the interplay of the four-piece is in the forefront of the composition; it’s simultaneously fresh while kindling memories of an early ‘90’s Phish mélange of various sonic genres; a little funk, a little jazz, a little reggae, all in the mix.

“Ocelot” continues the Phish tradition of naming songs for animals (they could play an entire setlist just from songs they’ve written about dogs. An ocelot is a formerly endangered wild cat). “Ocelot” is a solid number with strong Anastasio vocals, though it displayed more verve in the live setting. 

“Kill Devil Falls” kicks off the superior ‘second side’ of Joy. Recalling Phish’s classic “Chalk Dust Torture” (often heard as background music during pro football and baseball telecasts); “Devil” features the best Anastasio lead guitar on the album and apt world-weary lyrics.

“Light” is a shining Lillywhite moment with its trippy psych intro, headstrong chords, and, for big-time Gordon fans, some of his best bass fills on an album to date. “Light” also proffers lyrics of accepting the inevitable: “Fending off fears, and hearing the call and finally waiting for nothing at all … And the light is growing brighter now.” These words are rendered more poignant in the context of Anastasio’s sister Kristy’s tragic, way-too-young death from cancer earlier this year, and Joy is dedicated to her memory accompanied with her photo. “Light” concludes with an a cappella outro that balances the track to perfection.

Keyboardist Page McConnell’s sole contribution, “I Been Around” is spontaneous swagger, but altogether too short. Lillywhite should have allowed “Around” a measure of expansion, but it works as a breezy bluesy interlude.

While “Time Turns Elastic” has been dubbed “time for a piss-break” by some cynical fans during summer tour, this is the 13-minute epic centerpiece of Joy with more sharp Lillywhite production. The only track Anastasio wrote completely solo, “Elastic” climbs one intriguing plateau after another, and for drummer Jon Fishman, the various movements of “Elastic” allow him to display some of his polyrhythmic preferences. While the live versions have not held up to this studio take thus far, its potentiality in performance would seem unlimited, although even as a compositional piece, it rewards repeated and attentive listening. At times “Elastic” conjures the best of composed Phish from “David Bowie” to “You Enjoy Myself” and even offers bizarre Trey lyrics such as: “But I’m a submarine and the submarine sinks below the ground.”

“Twenty Years Later” is a more subdued closer, with the fitting line: “It’s a small world and it’s turning real fast … It’s a new day and the mourning has passed.” At the three-minute mark, it shifts into a psychedelic maturity slightly recalling their pre-breakup “A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing.”

Another promising aspect to the songs of Joy is their live potential. Even the pedestrian “Number Line” yielded a spectacular feedback jam at the 8/11/09 Chicago show, and most of the tracks have already made a live impact, probably to be explored further at Phish’s upcoming three-day, eight-set Halloween festival in Indio, California.

Though not sporting as many epics and no references to mythical Gamehendge as found on 2002’s Round Room, Joy may be Phish’s best overall disc of the decade, more polished than Room and more cohesive than Undermind. Joy also promises better things to come, now that Phish is free of corporate label obligations to do what they will in the studio setting, oftentimes an oasis for a band that is constantly under the microscope to deliver the goods and to blow minds at every show.  

4 out of 5 pot leaves