Trey Anastasio, Trey Anastasio May 1st, 2002 - UCLA's Daily Bruin by Andrew Lee Album Review - Trey Anastasio No one can blame Trey Anastasio for lacking ambition. Liberating himself from the confines of his former band Phish in order to explore more creative musical avenues, Anastasio has already recorded and toured with bizarro outfit Oysterhead; now with the release of his first official solo LP, long-time fans can watch him dive headfirst into Latin and R&B in an attempt to be the next border-hopping Paul Simon. With no less than 29 other instrumentalists contributing to the album, it's clear how easily Anastasio's first solo project could have become an overblown glut-fest. Yet with songs like "Cayman Review" and "Push on Til the Day," the horn arrangements manage to add just enough bombast to provide an energy that was AWOL in nearly all of Phish's studio work. Meanwhile, songs like the afro-beat driven "Last Tube" and the marimba-enhanced album opener "Alive Again" show Anastasio in a state of transition, still trying to assimilate the world-beat stylings without coming off forced. Witness "Money, Love and Change," which features Anastasio sharing vocal duties with a soulful R&B singer. Even with his volume turned down low, our melanin-deprived friend's nasally vocals nevertheless sound embarrassingly awkward. Naturally, the best moments come when all of the added bells and whistles don't get in the way of Anastasio's quirky melodies and guitar virtuosity. Thankfully those moments come often enough to avoid the train wreck that this LP could have become.