Vida Blue, Vida Blue July 27, 2002 - The Morning Call (Allentown) by John Terlesky Album Review - Vida Blue ROCK Vida Blue, named after the great Oakland A's pitcher of the early 1970s, is made up of Phish keyboardist Page McConnell and latter-day members of the Allman Brothers and the Meters, bassist Oteil Burbridge and drummer Russell Batiste. With such an all-star lineup of jammers, it's not surprising that the band's strong suit is the extended instrumental excursion, as heard on "Most Events Aren't Planned" and the 12 minute "CJ3." But that's really only in comparison to McConnell's attempts at straight-ahead songwriting, post-Dead ruminations that help explain why he wasn't much of a composer with his old group. Despite a strong and fluid rhythm section and no shortage of processed keyboard voices, the jamming falls short of its "Third"-era Soft Machine/"Bitches Brew" inspirations, mainly because there is no central focus with anything close to the substance or presence of Miles Davis anywhere near this recording. Vida Blue is certainly no ace -- more like the journeyman reliever you bring in when the game is out of reach. © 2002 The Morning Call