Phish - "Joy"

Phish albums have never been known for their musical utility; they simply exist to offer proof that the incredible music the band plays on stage was conceived at some point in time. Phishheads certainly collect the albums along with the multitude of live recordings, but actually sitting down to listen to Phish albums is kind of missing the point of Phish. But that's where Joy--to an extent--changes thinking and direction on how to approach a Phish album. You see, rather than a collection of jam-templates that will inevitably morph into extended exercises of improvisation, here is an album that attempts to stand by itself as a listenable entity with very few live strings attached. I can't decide if the state of present day Phish dictated this album--for it seems that even in concert, most of the choice cuts on Joy don't stray too far from the original--or if Phish simply wanted to make more universally catchy and radio-friendly music.

I could probably go on about this infinitely, choosing to focus on the age-old question of: why do the majority of bands feel it necessary to push towards the commercial and accessible as they progress through their career, rather than trying to write something cool like "Split Open and Melt?" But I'm not going to get into that here, mostly because parts of Joy are extremely likable, and I actually prefer listening to the album versions over the live versions. Plus, I finally have a Phish album that is good for 10-15 minute increments of driving time. Breaking up a 25-minute "You Enjoy Myself" into my short commute or jaunts to the grocery store was unrewarding for me (especially if your trip happened to fall within the vocal jam; pretty bizarre driving to something like that). But with the songs on Joy--for example, "Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan" (which would have absolutely slayed in 1994 and would have become the "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" of Phish)--you get music that is designed to be instantly like-able for a short range of attention-span.