"Traveler" new Trey Album

Non-Phish Phish Band Members
#21

i think its commendable that a “guitar player” can step out of that role and explore other possibilities in songwriting and producing. :slight_smile:

i actually really like the whole thing including the title track and Greyhound Rising. although i don’t mind another try at Let Me Lie, this is not my favorite of the bunch. and although i understand the inclusion of Clint Eastwood i guess i like Greyhound Rising enough that i woulda chosen that myself.

so far on like two listens through my highlights are the delicate loops of keys and pianos on the Corona intro which lead into a very beachy, California groove.

Frost has some really gentle, spaced out and feedback soaked soloing lurking through the background at times that really reveals Trey’s new approach to things here.

The Land Of Nod blasts right in with probably the most adventurous Trey ideas outside of Phish. Programmed drum loops clash with live percussions, building into a demented symphony full of horns and sci-fi effects that sound like a Tim Burton movie soundtrack. all this then drops right off the table and we’re left with only a repeating reverbed chorus of “i was asleep for so long” and gentle piano chords, before it all crescendos again.

Pigtail is a joyous rollicking ez rocker that sounds like its probably going to evolve into a horn and guitar soul shakedown on this tour.

Architect opens with bombastic and syncopated rhythms, but these drop out for some very pretty harmonized sections between Trey and, i presume, Jennifer. also there’s a cool section with a reverby, distant, and fuzzy guitar solo that reminds me of Elbow. if its Trey, its a totally new sound for him, but then it could be one of the guest musicians. either way i think Trey has taken a very creative approach to meshing rhythms of all parts of the orchestration here.

Valentine features the classic Languedoc tone most prominently of anything on the album in the second half of the song, but even here its a repeated melody of notes that instead sees Trey infuse the phrasing with more variety and feeling each time around.

anyway that’s what i got out of a couple quick listens. hope that helps anyone out.

#22

Well, right when I start saying I haven’t got the album, there was the package with the CD waiting when I got home yesterday. Finally gave it a first listen this morning. Overall, I really dug the album…probably his best since Shine. I thought Bar 17 was dreary at times and Horseshoe is hard to describe since it’s really just a horn jam session but this one really got me going…a lot of upbeat tunes that were really catchy…here’s my quick, caveman, very non-technical thoughts on it. Should be noted that the CD version I had didn’t have Greyhound Rising but I guess that’s not the worst…I didn’t mind the versions I’ve heard but it didn’t blow me away either.

Corona – Big fan of this one, especially the percussion which really keeps the song moving…it’s pretty unusual for a Phish/Trey tune and I liked it a lot. It was hard to understand the lyrics but I can’t say I cared too much.

Let Me Lie – Yeah, I don’t get them rearranging this one. There’s a bit better arrangement and it’s fun to sing along to but it’s still a “meh” tune. I will say this version is better than the first as the song kind of builds and builds to a crescendo at the end which was nice and is something the first version doesn’t do so well.

Frost – I’d heard the live version before and it was alright but the album does it much better. Good harmonies and decent soloing on this. Want to hear it again.

Land of Nod – First I’d heard this one. Love the rapid-fire horns at the start and while the “sleep” part is an abrupt change it still works until it dives back into the horns again. Basically an instrumental and an enjoyable one. I’m curious to check out some live versions of this one.

Pigtail – I hadn’t heard Phish’s version yet and I really enjoyed this one. Really great poppy song that is a lot of fun and great to sing along to. Looks like it’d be a ball to hear it live.

Scabbard – A good tune but it jumps around. You’ve got the Zappa intro, then the short lyrical part…then the acoustic part that follows feels out of place at first but you can see some great jam potential as this part builds and builds…then it ends in a bit of a sigh at the end as it fades…another solid pseudo-instrumental.

Clint Eastwood – Maybe it’s me but they recorded this one just to show off Jennifer doing the rap parts since she sounds great. I hadn’t heard Trey’s live versions of this yet but the studio one really doesn’t do anything new in terms of the actual music. But I like the original so I liked this version for sure. Strangely, the full version of the original is around six minutes as they kinda jam on it at the end and yet Trey’s is a little over three minutes…a bit strange there. I’ll have to check out a live version or two. Still, it’s a rarity for them to put a cover song on an album, especially such a famous one.

Architect – “Raise a drink to the Architect”?..is this about the Matrix? Anyway, maybe the only really “meh” song on the album for me. Kinda catchy with some good guitar work but maybe I’ll need more listens.

Valentine – I already really dug this song so this one didn’t disappoint. Was a bit different than the original with the extra horns and the band kind of singing along with the horns parts at the end but I love how this song just MOVES and really doesn’t stop. If I had to pick a Trey song for Phish to pick up, it’d be this one.

Traveler – Really nice tune, good guitar and a fine way to end it. It also had a bonus track where if you wait a minute you get a short horn/string-heavy reprise of the lyrics from Scabbard. Not exactly worth the wait but I do like Trey bringing the hidden track back.

#23

A couple really cool videos. The first is Trey looping some craziness with a new guitar and talking about the new album.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnbBNc-hMoM&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox3hp1Vd61A&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

#24

Great shit…Trey playing a Jag :smiley:

#25

I listened to the vinyl last night and I definitely enjoyed the album. Comes witha free mp3 download as well, that definitely helped sell me. I also ordered Original Boardwalk Style on record and it sounds amazing so far.

#26

^I did the same with Boardwalk Style where I got it with Traveler…still have to listen to it. Still digging the new album…great stuff.

#27

I have the vinyl Original Boardwalk Style & Horseshoe Curve; they’re both a lot of fun. Not sold on the new one though somehow. Maybe I’ll eventually get it next time I’m all hopped up on Phish.

#28

Anyone else see THIS video? I think it’s much better than “Valentine”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksV8YKnwW8Y&feature=plcp[/youtube]

#29

^really like that… especially with all the extra weird layers of extra sounds laid over the album version of the song.