As most Phish fans are probably aware, the summer tour this year brought a wealth of new material from Phish 3.0.  While most of it was well received in the live setting, it can sometimes be a different story entirely with this band when it comes to laying it down in the studio (for proof of this, look no further than their last two albums, Undermind and Round Room).

I’m happy to report though that Joy really delivers. While I don’t feel that the material itself is necessarily the strongest, the execution really makes up for it.  More than perhaps any of their other albums, they manage to bring the same energy and intensity from the stage into the studio.

It should come as no surprise after just a single spin of Backwards Down the Number Line, the album’s first track and single, that the track was recorded in a single take.  Trey’s guitar solo is bright and lively, rivaling any version from this past summer.  Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan is similarly energetic and crisp.  Whereas in some past albums, the mix has sounded a bit thin with regards to vocals and Trey’s guitar tone, Joy successfully navigates the band past this obstacle.

The other songs that really shone on tour – notably Kill Devil Falls and Ocelot – really preserve that immediate feeling, but it’s the uplifting Light that is really elevated by the Steve Lillywhite production, while maintaining its open feeling that makes this song a jam monster in waiting.  Its spacey, watery intro is a great studio touch, like before launching (albeit a bit awkwardly) urgently into the main song which is buoyed by adroit vocal harmonies and striking guitar work.

However, I think it’s in the slower material where the production really shines.  I think very few Phish fans would claim Joy as their favorite new song of the summer, yet they put in a pretty good effort with their titular track.  The quirky Sugar Shack, Mike’s lone contribution to the album, benefits from the band’s ability to highlight some of the changes and subtleties of the song.

Then there’s the question of Time Turns Elastic.  As a live song, it was, at best, received with mixed reviews. Yet, as a studio work, it really comes into its own.  Reportedly it took 250+ takes (although I’m sure not complete takes) to put this one together for the album, but it was apparently worth it.  Every note is in its right place.  Whereas this always felt a bit half baked this summer live, the studio version is a masterful gem of classic Trey composition.

One of the theories I’ve heard the reason this song doesn’t really work live is that nobody really knows what to do…do you dance? stand with your arms at your side? bob your head?  It’s a challenging song to listen to, and most people just want to dance, especially if the band is going to use 15 precious minutes on a song even they hadn’t really figured out yet.  I’m not sure this will ever really come into its own live, but the studio version proves the song’s merit.

If there’s anything that could be called a miss on this album, it’s the rather  aimless Page song I Been Around.  Even still, it’s short and I’ve heard much worse from this band. Twenty Years Later seems like a bit of an afterthough following TTE, and it’s not the strongest song on the album, although I think this song has a lot of live jam potential.

Still, the hits far outweigh the misses on this album, which I feel is easily the strongest since Story of the Ghost.  More than any of their other albums, it captures the energy of their live show while at the same time taking advantage of the extra production the studio affords them. I strongly recommend Joy, which shows Phish is still fully capable of writing good songs and doing great studio work.

Filed under: Category Reviews | Tags: album by doug