On September 8, Phish released their highly anticipated, 14th studio album entitled simply yet elegantly, “Joy.” While all ten tracks on the album were performed live during the 30 shows of the spring and summer tours, only two of the actual album cuts (“Backwards Down the Number Line” and “Time Turns Elastic”) were officially leaked to the public before the album was readily available for consumption.
However, now that fans and the media have had some time to digest the recent studio release, a heated debate has ensued as to whether the album is “phishy” enough. While Phish perfected a style of musical composition in which many songs served as launching pads into lengthy improvisational peaks and valleys, the songs on “Joy” are far more contained, “standalone creations” (Roach). Thus, while many of the tracks off “Joy” are soulful and concise, some are still critical that the album is abandoning the patented style of jamming (in case it hasn’t been made clear, jamming is a loose term to describe spontaneous improvising) into extraterrestrial dimensions that makes Phish…well…Phish.
To further examine the response towards the album, examine the review of “Joy” from jambase.com, an online database that contains features, reviews, tour dates, bios and more on any musical group who has a salient “live” presence. To begin, author Cal Roach claims the album retains the “unshakable essence of Phish” but rejects “the density of the band's mythology in favor of broader matters of the heart and soul” (Roach). While his review continues along this largely positive vein, the author remarks, “Just because it’s a studio album doesn’t mean you can’t jam a little bit” (Roach).
While criticizing the album for too little jamming is nothing unexpected, it does little to detract from the value of the album because, as mentioned, all of the songs on the album have already been performed live. In the live outlet, the band can and has inserted exciting and innovative improv into the tracks on “Joy,” allowing the album to focus on the lyrical qualities of the songs that reflect (both seriously and light heatedly) a “defiant emergence” from the group’s embarrassing history of substance abuse, and into a new period defined exclusively by…joy (Roach). Therefore, because the group has so many opportunities to illustrate greater creativity with these songs in the live setting, the studio versions of the tracks can serve to communicate the tangible sense of hope meant to characterize a now older and wiser Phish.
On the other side of the spectrum, The Disco Biscuits are also anticipating the release of a new studio album entitled “Planet Anthem.” However, instead of releasing the new album in one piece, tracks will instead be leaked slowly over 6 weeks this fall (singles “You and I” and “Konkrete” have already been released and performed live). By contrast, while Phish has already woven elements of excitement and surprise into their live performances of the songs off “Joy,” The Biscuits’ live renditions of “Planet Anthem” songs have thus far been plain and formulaic. While The Biscuits undoubtedly have plenty in store as more tracks are slowly released and performed during their nonstop fall tour, they will need to begin integrating something more unique into their new material if they want to keep up with the example Phish has presented. However, that discussion will need to wait for a future blog when more fuel for analysis is available. Until then…keep on jammin’.
References:
Roach, Cal (2009, Sept 05). Phish: Joy. Jambase.com, Retrieved from
http://www.jambase.com/Articles/19554/Phish-Joy
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