Joy (Phish album)
Encyclopedia
Joy is the eleventh official studio album
by the American rock band Phish
, released on September 8, 2009, on the band's own label, JEMP Records
. The album marked Phish's return after a four year break, and also re-united the band with producer Steve Lillywhite
, who last worked with Phish on their 1996 release, Billy Breathes
.
Noting that 2009 marked the band's 25th anniversary together, Rolling Stone
described Joys songs as something akin to "a belated birthday party" characterized by nostalgic, reflective lyrics that appear to be influenced by guitarist Trey Anastasio
's struggle with drug abuse during the intervening years. Rolling Stone praised the album as "genuinely great" and "a deeper trip than most Phish LPs".
The first single, "Time Turns Elastic" — originally a multi-movement work for strings, guitar and vocals released as an album
earlier in the year by Anastasio — was released for iTunes
-only download on May 26, 2009. The album's second single, "Backwards Down The Number Line", was released on iTunes and began radio rotation on August 17, 2009.
Amazon.com
released an exclusive live version of "Backwards Down the Number Line", recorded at Red Rocks
during the band's summer tour, as a download-only bonus track.
All ten songs were performed live during the band's 2009 summer tour, and have been generally well received by fans. However, "Time Turns Elastic" has been criticized as being too overly composed for ready translation to the live stage, and the album's nostalgic ballads are sometimes thought to dampen the energy of Phish's typically acclaimed live shows.
, based on nine reviews. The New York Times
commented that "Steve Lillywhite’s clear and ungimmicky production makes Joy sound like the band members onstage responding to one another," while Billboard
simply stated "Joy is a journey not to be missed."
Many critics also made reference to the band's enthusiasm, with Rolling Stone commenting that "what's most impressive here is how much they seem to be enjoying themselves--truly, deeply, gratefully." Additionally, The Record Review remarked on the duality of the band's longevity and continued creativity, stating "twenty years later, Phish has returned to form and turned in a winner."
and the tour’s opening date at Fenway Park
in Boston
."
A limited edition vinyl was also released at Superball IX, Phish's 2011 summer festival. Party Time has not yet been made available for stand-alone purchase as a physical CD, or as a LivePhish download.
A few of the songs on Party Time have become part of Phish's song rotation, with "Alaska" and the title track appearing somewhat regularly, while others have yet to be performed live.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by the American rock band Phish
Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
, released on September 8, 2009, on the band's own label, JEMP Records
JEMP Records
JEMP Records is a record label that was created at the beginning of 2005 by the Phish Organization in Burlington, Vermont, originally specializing in archival releases from the band Phish....
. The album marked Phish's return after a four year break, and also re-united the band with producer Steve Lillywhite
Steve Lillywhite
Steve Lillywhite is an English Grammy Award winning record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited for working on over 500 records and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including XTC, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Dave Matthews Band, U2, Peter Gabriel,...
, who last worked with Phish on their 1996 release, Billy Breathes
Billy Breathes
Billy Breathes is the sixth official studio album by American rock band Phish. It remains one of the most popular Phish albums, and is credited with connecting the band to a more mainstream audience beyond its strong cult following...
.
Noting that 2009 marked the band's 25th anniversary together, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
described Joys songs as something akin to "a belated birthday party" characterized by nostalgic, reflective lyrics that appear to be influenced by guitarist Trey Anastasio
Trey Anastasio
Trey Anastasio is an American guitarist, composer, and vocalist most noted for his work with the rock band Phish...
's struggle with drug abuse during the intervening years. Rolling Stone praised the album as "genuinely great" and "a deeper trip than most Phish LPs".
The first single, "Time Turns Elastic" — originally a multi-movement work for strings, guitar and vocals released as an album
Time Turns Elastic
Time Turns Elastic is an album by Trey Anastasio consisting mainly of his work by the same name for orchestra, electric guitar, and vocals. Written with Orchestra Nashville conductor and arranger Don Hart, it was recorded in the autumn of 2008 by Anastasio, Hart, and the Northwest Simfonia...
earlier in the year by Anastasio — was released for iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
-only download on May 26, 2009. The album's second single, "Backwards Down The Number Line", was released on iTunes and began radio rotation on August 17, 2009.
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
released an exclusive live version of "Backwards Down the Number Line", recorded at Red Rocks
Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Red Rocks Amphitheatre is a rock structure near Morrison, Colorado, where concerts are given in the open-air amphitheatre. There is a large, tilted, disc-shaped rock behind the stage, a huge vertical rock angled outwards from stage right, several large outcrops angled outwards from stage left and a...
during the band's summer tour, as a download-only bonus track.
All ten songs were performed live during the band's 2009 summer tour, and have been generally well received by fans. However, "Time Turns Elastic" has been criticized as being too overly composed for ready translation to the live stage, and the album's nostalgic ballads are sometimes thought to dampen the energy of Phish's typically acclaimed live shows.
Reception
Joy received generally favorable reviews upon its release, with a 65/100 critic score on MetaCriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, based on nine reviews. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
commented that "Steve Lillywhite’s clear and ungimmicky production makes Joy sound like the band members onstage responding to one another," while Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
simply stated "Joy is a journey not to be missed."
Many critics also made reference to the band's enthusiasm, with Rolling Stone commenting that "what's most impressive here is how much they seem to be enjoying themselves--truly, deeply, gratefully." Additionally, The Record Review remarked on the duality of the band's longevity and continued creativity, stating "twenty years later, Phish has returned to form and turned in a winner."
Track listing
- "Backwards Down the Number Line" (AnastasioTrey AnastasioTrey Anastasio is an American guitarist, composer, and vocalist most noted for his work with the rock band Phish...
, MarshallTom Marshall (singer)Tom Marshall is a lyricist, keyboardist and singer/songwriter best known for his association with Trey Anastasio and the rock band Phish...
) - 5:37 - "Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan" (Anastasio, Marshall) - 4:40
- "Joy" (Anastasio, Marshall) - 4:24
- "Sugar Shack" (GordonMike GordonMike Gordon is a bass guitar player and vocalist most noted for his work with the rock band Phish. Gordon is also an accomplished banjo player, and is proficient at piano, guitar, harmonica and percussion...
) - 4:04 - "Ocelot" (Anastasio, Marshall) - 3:36
- "Kill Devil Falls" (Anastasio, Marshall) - 5:29
- "Light" (Anastasio, Marshall) - 5:02
- "I Been Around" (McConnellPage McConnellPage Samuel McConnell is an American multi-instrumentalist most noted for his work as a songwriter and keyboardist with the American rock band Phish....
) - 1:57 - "Time Turns Elastic" (Anastasio) – 13:30
- "Twenty Years Later" (Anastasio, Marshall) - 5:03
Boxed set and Party Time
It was announced on August 10, 2009, that Joy would be made available for pre-order in several different formats, including CD, vinyl and the "Joy Box" which, in addition to the Joy CD, "will include ten individual Limited Edition posters designed for each of the album’s 10 songs, a complete second album titled Party Time, and a DVD capturing live performances from the first half of Phish’s summer 2009 tour – including footage from the 2009 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival2009 Bonnaroo Music Festival
The 2009 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival was held June 11–14, 2009 at a farm in Manchester, Tennessee, . There were roughly 75,000 people in attendance....
and the tour’s opening date at Fenway Park
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
."
A limited edition vinyl was also released at Superball IX, Phish's 2011 summer festival. Party Time has not yet been made available for stand-alone purchase as a physical CD, or as a LivePhish download.
A few of the songs on Party Time have become part of Phish's song rotation, with "Alaska" and the title track appearing somewhat regularly, while others have yet to be performed live.
Party Time tracklisting
- "Party Time" (FishmanJon FishmanJon Fishman is an American drummer best known for his work with the band Phish. He is credited with co-writing 19 Phish originals, 8 of them as a solo credit....
) - 2:42 - "Alaska" (AnastasioTrey AnastasioTrey Anastasio is an American guitarist, composer, and vocalist most noted for his work with the rock band Phish...
, MarshallTom Marshall (singer)Tom Marshall is a lyricist, keyboardist and singer/songwriter best known for his association with Trey Anastasio and the rock band Phish...
) - 7:16 - "Windy City" (McConnellPage McConnellPage Samuel McConnell is an American multi-instrumentalist most noted for his work as a songwriter and keyboardist with the American rock band Phish....
) - 2:41 - "In a Misty Glade" (Anastasio, Marshall) - 2:51
- "Gone" (Anastasio) - 4:09
- "Only a Dream" (GordonMike GordonMike Gordon is a bass guitar player and vocalist most noted for his work with the rock band Phish. Gordon is also an accomplished banjo player, and is proficient at piano, guitar, harmonica and percussion...
) - 4:10 - "The Birdwatcher" (Anastasio, Marshall) - 2:16
- "Let Me Lie" (Anastasio, Marshall) - 3:57
- "If I Told You" (McConnell) - 3:53
- "Splinters of Hail" (Anastasio) - 3:33
- "Can't Come Back" (Gordon) - 4:38
- "Shrine" (Anastasio, Marshall) - 1:54
- "Liquid Time" (Anastasio) - 3:53
Personnel
PhishPhish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
- Trey AnastasioTrey AnastasioTrey Anastasio is an American guitarist, composer, and vocalist most noted for his work with the rock band Phish...
- guitars, vocals - Page McConnellPage McConnellPage Samuel McConnell is an American multi-instrumentalist most noted for his work as a songwriter and keyboardist with the American rock band Phish....
- keyboards, vocals - Mike GordonMike GordonMike Gordon is a bass guitar player and vocalist most noted for his work with the rock band Phish. Gordon is also an accomplished banjo player, and is proficient at piano, guitar, harmonica and percussion...
- bass guitar, vocals - Jon FishmanJon FishmanJon Fishman is an American drummer best known for his work with the band Phish. He is credited with co-writing 19 Phish originals, 8 of them as a solo credit....
- drums, vocals
External links
- Phish's official website
- Washington Post review
- Vimeo: Phish Official Videos - "Backwards Down the Number Line" recorded June 12, 2010 in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.