Trey Anastasio
"Shine" (Columbia)
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ANASTASIO was wise to let it all go. Phish was everything, the meaning of life itself to a dedicated caravan of cultists, an endless jam session of sunshine and formless noodling, and profoundly uninteresting to most everyone else. By dissolving Phish last year, to the great horror of true believers, Anastasio finally set himself free.
It shows on "Shine," his first album (in stores Tuesday) since that breakup. This one isn't about showcasing his playing chops yet again, just songs. And maybe for the first time ever, he encourages himself to get to the point, remaking his memories of '70s folk-rock into polished nuggets of elegant pop melody.
His lyrics are dependably humane and too often bland, but it's the music here that flows and flows, allowing this formidable guitarist a mid-career escape from an extremely lucrative rut. "Tuesday" is energized by psychedelic flavor and classic rock guitar muscle. And if "Sweet Dreams Melinda" is maybe too tropical for its own good, it remains another song-centric work that would fit comfortably on the FM dial between the Kinks and Fleetwood Mac.
