Phish "phans" love the band's front man, Trey Anastasio. He isplayful, skilled, and willing to push his skills into new musicalterritory.
Anastasio does just that in "Seis de Mayo," with tracks rangingfrom soothing acoustic to a full orchestra. Phish phans, stay onyour toes. You have not heard Trey like this...for better orworse.
The idea of Trey Anastasio as a solo artist began in 2001. Tothe horror of phans around the globe, Phish disbanded in late 2000,each member went on his own path of musical exploration. ForAnastasio, it was a path of more instruments, as he toured duringsummers with various horns in addition to his band.
Now, Phish is back together, but Anastasio continues to explorelarge ensembles. In "Seis de Mayo" he discovers the 66-pieceorchestra. Anastasio plays guitar on only two out of seven tracks;the rest of the album is orchestral arrangements of Phish songs,using diverse instrumentation ranging from the balafon to thedjembe.
Transcribing music from rock to orchestra is not easy, and indoing so, Trey shows his versatility. Although the album shows thatAnastasio certainly has talent in orchestral composition, mosttracks on "Seis de Mayo" fail to excite and it is clear that theartist would be better off spending more time with Phish.
The last track on the album, "Guyute (Orchestral)," is thefinest example of Anastasio's orchestral composition skills. Italmost seems as if the song was written for an orchestra and notPhish. The arrangement is dynamic and exciting for all twelveminutes, and the orchestral version is perhaps better than thePhish song itself.
Unfortunately, "Guyute (Orchesteral)" is the exception ratherthan the rule. "The Inlaw Josie Wales" is quaint but seeminglyuninspired, and the remaining orchestral tracks are downright ugly.Dissonant and wandering, these tracks are painful to listeners.It's like getting a detuned violin repeatedly smashed over yourhead. It is not a coincidence that these poor tracks are originals,and not from Phish songs.
Let's get practical. This "Trey" album has almost no Trey on theguitar. Instead we have a guitar player writing music for anorchestra. The album is also very short. There are some redeemingmoments, but not enough.
When it comes to the orchestra, Anastasio can arrange Phishsongs, but he is not gifted at composing his own material. There isa small oasis in the middle of the strings and horns found on "Seisde Mayo" in the form of "Andre the Giant," a flowing acousticgroove with guitar, bass, balafon, and djembe. "Andre" is amesmerizing and soothing opening to the album, but it is out ofplace, resembling nothing else on the CD.
The album might be weak, but Anastasio needs to be congratulatedfor his fearless exploration of music. It's not every day that aguitar player goes out on a limb and composes orchestralarrangements. It would be easy for Anastasio to play his old hitsover and over again, and make millions doing it. Instead he feels aduty to keep expanding as a musician. This is an impressive qualitythat many successful musicians need to acquire.
"Seis de Mayo" is not a grand slam, but some of Anastasio'sother solo material is excellent. His self-titled debut album "TreyAnastasio" is upbeat and fun with a blazing horn section. It's thekind of solid groove that would go well at a party.
Even better is Anastasio's work with the band Phish. If youhaven't given them serious attention, it's time to go buy a CD. Try"Story of the Ghost" or "Billy Breathes". Their live material isarguably better than the studio recordings. Some good live albumsare "A Live One" or "Slip, Stitch, and Pass". If you are reallyambitious, you should go see a Phish show. It's a trip you willremember for many years.
