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Trey
Anastasio -
Seis de Mayo
(Elektra Records)
by Corey J. Feldman
Phish
frontman Trey Anastasio has recently released his new
solo album, which is completely different from anything
Trey fans have ever encountered. Trey’s traditional
solo style usually includes a 10 piece jam band centered
on the ripping lead guitarist. Seis de Mayo
seems more like an experiment in musicianship as Trey
takes on the Seattlemusic Orchestra for whom he wrote
out the score to the Phish epic “Guyute.”
The album features several Phish songs written for a
collection of different instruments, as well as other
originals to add to the mix. The majority of the album
is really more of a neo-classical work that seems to
have been misplaced in the music stores under the rock
section. It does not belong there at all, even though
practically the entire album is derived from melodies
written over the years by the now 20-year-old jam band.
It
doesn’t take a Phish fan to appreciate what Trey
Anastasio has done with this recent venture. As a Phish
fan, I would say this album simply convinced me of the
man’s genius as a musician. The melodies are familiar
in the Phish realm, but that really doesn’t matter
because the beauty and complexity of Seis de Mayo
is impressive to anyone with an ear for orchestral music.
Trey featured several melodies from the late 2002 album
Round Room as well as “The Inlaw Josie
Wales” from Farmhouse and “All
Things Reconsidered” from Rift. I would
think the album’s originals represent something
a little closer to Trey, as they sort of tie the rest
of the album into a 7 movement symphonic experiment.
The most interesting thing about this album is understanding
how a rock n’ roll/jam musician sees potential
in certain songs and melodies. All of the tracks felt
natural, as if they’d been written originally
as a score. You can imagine love scenes and chase scenes,
as you can feel the dynamics of the album reach intense
highs and mellow lows. Personally, I cannot wait to
see what Trey will come up with next.
Discography
Surrender
to the Air
(Elektra, 1996)
One Man’s Trash (WEA, 1998)
Trampled By Lambs and Pecked By the Doves (PD,
2000)
Trey Anastasio (Elektra, 2002)
Plasma (live) (Elektra, 2003) |
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Check
out these great DVDs also!
| Bittersweet
Motel takes a look at the iconoclastic Musicians
of Phish, one of Rock and Roll’s most successful
touring bands, a group that Rolling Stone called
“The Most Important Band of the 90’s.” |
|
The
84 Minute Documentary tracks the band over the course
of a year- on and off stages across the United States
and Europe and at home in Vermont. The Film wraps
with an extensive section devoted to one of Phish’s
grand festivals “The Great Went,” where
70,000 fans descend on the tiny village of Limestone,
Maine, for a spectacular multi-day musical event.
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Among
the highest rated documentary films on air on
HBO, Arlene Donnelly's wildly popular Naked States
invites you to join notorious artist Spencer Tunick
on a trip across America as he shoots intimate
photographs of everyday people in some very public
places. |
His
goal: a nude in every state. Go on an adventure in
a modern day road picture and see how one artist's
journey highlights the dynamics of the American cultural
landscape, but with a few twists along the way. See
what the Hollywood Reporter calls, "...sly, funny,
and entertaining... The docu is an adventure with
suspense and humor." Naked States definitely
gives up everything in the name of art. Spencer has
a special relationship with the Phish Family and was
featured in Bittersweet Motel when he took 300 Phish
Phans and photographed them at the Great Went festival.
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