Trey Anastasio / Vida Blue November 10th, 2002 - Down Beat Magazine by Isaac Josephson Album Review - Trey Anastasio Trey Anastasio (4 Stars) Vida Blue (2 Stars) Phish's 12-year recording history was one of extremes dominated both by dense, extended compositions and 30-second musical sketches painstakingly stretched to radiolength. On his eponymous, post-Phish foray, guitarist Trey Anastasio has finally found the middle ground, and produced the best record of his career. This time out, Anastasio's arranging for a 10piece big band. Although the music is still complex, there's room to breathe, and the musicians buoyantly sail through the charts, setting afloat a delicious, cross-genre funk. The album opens with the calypso-flavored, "Alive Again," its full-bodied sound and syncopated rhythms chugging along at mid-tempo. Like most of the album's songs, it clocks in at around four minutes, with nary a wasted note. "Cayman Review" and "Night Speaks To A Woman" are chunky soul tunes, punched up by dirty guitar riffs and female backing vocals. "Push On Til The Day" is the album's high point, with Anastasio's murky guitar weaving through seven minutes of brass lines so spiky they put the JB horns to shame. The album's only bout with tedium comes during an 11-minute, fastclip groove that goes nowhere on "Last Tube." Even that is at least philosophically excused by Nicholas Payton's presence, darting in midway with a cascade of trumpet jazz licks. Using instrumentation to support the songs, rather than having them serve as mere vehicles for technical mastery and improvisation, Anastasio shows strong skills as a band leader and maturity as a musician. At the other end of the spectrum is Phish keyboardist Page McConnell and his new band Vida Blue. On his first stab in the role of bandleader, McConnell falls into the classic sideman trap of focusing too much on nuance and not enough on substance. Almost completely eschewing the piano in favor of electric keys, McConnell plays a spacey techno/synth groove that hints at direction, but settles for atmospherics. Bassist Oteil Burbridge and drummer Russell Batiste provide some ballast, but they're limited by thin material. Several of the cuts are throwaways, although "Most Events Aren't Planned" is colored with a Herbie Hancock sleaze, and "Fresh Tube" contains a rich electric piano funk reminiscent of the Miles Davis stable of keyboardists in the early '70s. McConnell's talent is undeniable, but his ideas need work. -Isaac Josephson Trey Anastasio: Alive Again; Cayman Review; Push On 'Til The Day; Night Speaks To A Woman; Flock Of Words; Money, Love And Change; Drifting; At The Gazebo; Mr. Completely; Ray Dawn Balloon; Last Tube; Ether Sunday. (59:23) Personnel: Trey Anastasio, vocals, guitar; David Gusacov, Laura Markowitz, violin; Ana Ruesink viola; John Dunlop, cello; Stacey Brubaker, Karen Kevra, flute; Steve Klimowski, clarinet, bass clarinet; Ann Greenawalt, oboe, English horn; Dave Grippo, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone; Jennifer Hartswick, trumpet, background vocals; Nicholas Payton, trumpet; Rob Volo, trombone; Ray Paczkowski, keyboards; Tom Toner, marimba; Tony Markellis, bass, background vocals; Russ Lawton, drums, background vocals; Peter Wilson, timpani; Cyro Baptists, percussion; Robert Lupie, programming; Lisa Fisher, Sharon Bryant, background vocals. Vida Blue: Most Events Aren't Planned; Where's Popeyes; Electra Glide; CJ3; Fresh Tube; Who's Laughing Now; Final Flight. (44:20) Personnel: Page McConnell, keyboards, vocals; Oteil Burbridge, bass; Russell Batiste, drums. © Maher Publications Division