Trey Anastasio
Shine
Available: November 1, 2005
Label: Sony

He’s what Clapton became when he left Cream. He’s a master on stage. But If I were Trey: once I sobered up from recording my second official solo release, Shine, I’d rename it to Radio Friendly.

Let’s just say that I miss Phish. I’ve been to lots of Phish shows, made the trek to Bong State Park in Wisc., babysat hippie babies at shows, purchased every album, side projects, book and DVD, mourned their demise (twice!) and embraced Trey’s self-titled horn-ridden debut AND Seis de Mayo and more.

So obviously, while I appreciate a good jam band with wailing Trey solo, giant field concert and traditional atmosphere of a Phish show, I’m not against a little change.

And Shine is definitely a change. First clue? The longest song, “Wherever You Find It,” is just shy of 6 minutes. Trey worked with Rage Against the Machine producer Brendan O’Brien — who plays bass and keyboards on the album — in a partnership that resulted in tracks with a harder edge complete with colorful coalescing layers that fans never could have anticipated.

Unsurprisingly more like Undermind than Junta, this album never promises more than it delivers but takes a few listens through to really shine. And it goes withouth saying we can rest assured the live show will still be ripe with energy and dancing fans.

But with all of that said, if you think about it too hard, songs like “Spin” — which are quiet, slow, chorus driven and climaxless — leave lots to be desired considering the potential of Trey’s abilities and financial freedom.

Maybe it’s because they weren’t recorded in a barn. Maybe it’s because the drummer wouldn’t wear a dress. Maybe it’s the lack of banjo, trampolines and crazy time signature. But these songs are less silly (no Guyute the ugly pig dancing jigs, sadly), but that’s okay, too. These songs aren’t built to be launching pads for solos.

Instead, tracks like “Black” do have succinct, radio-friendly solos and ABABA format. Maybe that’s the next step for the more serious Trey. Maybe it’s just a diversion for now.

After all, serious and radio friendly is cool. You just need different drugs for serious and radio friendly.

Trey Anastasio’s solo tour launches in Minneapolis tomorrow night.

UPDATE: If you want to listen to Shine on your iPod, don’t buy the actual disc at a retail store. Sony has it protected so it can only be played in Real or Windows Media Player mp3 players - the jerks. EFF has released a list of CDs known to have Sony’s deadly rootkit DRM technology, including this one. If you have one of these CDs, and you have a Windows PC, you’re probably already screwed just like me (oh, and it’s undeletable - THANK SONY!). I’ll be reformatting my hard drive this weekend thanks to Shine, which I could’ve downloaded (illegally) for free but wanted to support the artist. I’ll think twice next time.
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Download Shine here: