With Joy, Phish returns to the studio with producer Steve Lillywhite (Billy Breathes) and caps off their return from the indefinite dark time since they ‘broke up’ in 2004. They’re older, wiser, healthier, and more optimistic than on 2004s Undermind and it shows. Life hasn’t always been easy for the past five years but there are good things around us all and Phish has decided to show us the way.
“Backwards Down The number Line” is a perfect distillation of a jamband pop-rock song. Catchy melody merged with interwoven instruments and a solo that gives chills. Reminiscent of the ecstatic, melodies in a Summer ’97 “Gin” jam with a touch of early 70s Dickey Betts, this solo is worth the price of admission. The lyric may be a tad syrupy but syrupy is not territory that Phish has mined heavily in the past so it’s not as if we should be sick of it, yet. They go there several times on this record and come out with some delightful gems. If “BDTNL” was too syrupy, “Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan” responds with a bit of a punch in the face. Opening with tension, driven by a pounding piano and ripping guitar riff (“machine-gun Trey” makes an appearance on the solo,) this song has a strong yet abstract lyric that is open to enough interpretation to keep the fans guessing.
The title track follows with a delicate introduction and a moving lyric. “Joy” is connected to Anastasio’s sister’s recent passing from cancer. Such a topic could leave a listener wrapped in grief but this tune turns sadness into inspiration. In life, if you encounter someone who is hurting, it can be a challenge to reach out with empathy and lift them up. Phish would not be my first guess of bands that could do so in song; until now.
Just to be sure that you aren’t left in a blue funk, “Sugar Shack”, a quirky Mike Gordon song, follows. This reviewer absolutely hated this song live when it surfaced during the Summer but the studio version absolutely makes clear and justifies the band’s intent in performing it. The vocal melody, so awkward onstage, comes across neatly and the bubbly guitar solo (reminiscent of a video game soundtrack) will stick in your head for days. Were the verses cloaked in lo-fi early-80s synthesizers, they could pass for a New Wave song. Fortunately, this is Phish and you’d be hard pressed to identify “Sugar Shack” as anything but.
“Ocelot” is a great song. It’s one that hearkens musically to a slowed down version of “Tennessee Jed” and lyrically to “Dear Prudence” while presenting an ode to a small South American jungle cat. The solo is possibly Anastasio’s most restrained on any record but that’s sure to change onstage. Besides, with a twisting, descending guitar riff, “Kill Devil Falls” kicks in a hot rock tune. this one could go a few ways in the hands of another band. Nashville could throw violins, dobros, and a cowboy hat on it and sell millions of records. Memphis would employ a horn section and gospel backup singers and sell a pile of wax as well. Phish plays it straight from the hip and, on this record of few overdubs resists the urge to overproduce. The lyric is easily overlooked when jamming out to this, but don’t sleep on the rather serious tale of a man who has let idle time cost him a relationship.
On “Light”, the music describes the lyrics. Moving from murky, ambiguous space into a clear and inspiration melody, this song is about pushing forward into a better future. It’s a tale all too close to home for the band and its members and surely many of thier fans. The band works into a fervor over the refrain and begins singing in a round a variety of lines: “The Light is growing brighter now.” “Obstacles are stepping stones.” “Fences are filters.” This serious tone is relieved by Page McConnell’s “I Been Around”. Sounding a bit like the coda to an off-Broadway show, were it any longer, this simple song might overstay its welcome. But in a records so serious, it’s a good reminder that Phish hasn’t lost its sense of humour.
Next comes “Time Turns Elastic”, an ambitious reworking of Anastasio’s work for guitar and orchestra. Considering that they are attempting to distill an orchestral work, the band has done a remarkable job producing a solid piece of prog rock. Upon its release as a single, this reviewer took a hard opinion against the lyrics on “TTE”. They, at times, feel forced and, at others, seem as if they would benefit from a sensible editor. However, in the context of this record, they are less overwrought and more appropriate. In fact, I think I’m going to go on record and say that I now find this song to be a moderate success. Yes. I do not hate “Time Turns Elastic”.
After the breathless finish of “Time Turns Elastic” comes a simpler, reflective, song; “Twenty Years Later”. Simpler in the beginning at least. This one builds into a bit of bombast and thunder which sends up off looking back and thinking forward as Phish embarks on a “second time around.”
After hearing the songs from this album on the Summer tour, I expected something less connected, more expansive and very hard to define. Instead, we been given a smart album of well paced songs, (yes, SONGS not jams) that fit together nicely. At Lillywhite’s behest, most of the songs were recorded ‘live’ in the studio with minimal overdubs (“TTE” being the key exception) and the result is a record that captures the band tight yet relaxed. The songwriting is among the strongest ever and damn it, everything about “Backwards Down the Number Line” is dead perfect.
I’ll be giving this record many spins in the coming months and, hopefully, you will too. So put aside your well honed cynicism because, after all, “we want you to be happy…”