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Trey Anastasio
Shine
(Columbia)
First Appeared in The Music Box, March 2006, Volume 13, #3
Written by John Metzger
Is it terribly surprising that on Shine, the fifth studio effort to
bear his name, Trey Anastasio delivered a streamlined, 12-track, 50-minute slice
of slickly produced, pop-oriented rock? Not really. As far back as 1989, when he
capped Phish’s Lawn Boy with the joyful elasticity of Bouncing around
the Room, it was readily apparent that he had a knack for crafting
irresistible melodies. As its career progressed, the group increasingly made
concessions to mainstream, commercial radio, the most notable of which were
featured on its final two outings Farmhouse and Undermind. Were it
not for his former band’s quirky tendencies, a hit single might have been within
his grasp.
In essence, then, Shine is merely the culmination of Anastasio’s
journey, though, in hindsight, that might not prove to be such a good thing. For
starters, the album boasts the first set of lyrics that he penned without
outside assistance, and it clearly shows. Although Phish was never known for the
depth of its material, Anastasio’s writing dips into cliché far too frequently, and given the set emphasizes songs over jams, there’s
nowhere to hide its most embarrassing turns of phrase. Then again, there are
plenty of pop songs that have endured almost in spite of their lack of
substance.
Therefore, the biggest problem with Shine undoubtedly stems from
Anastasio’s chosen producer Brendan O’Brien. After deftly guiding the creation
of early works by Pearl Jam and Rage Against the Machine, O’Brien squandered his
credibility by becoming ridiculously good at manufacturing mega-selling albums.
It isn’t his record, however, that is at fault; it’s his method of operation.
Stripping away any semblance of originality, he reduces his subjects’ material
to generic mush. In varying degrees, he has done it to Train (Drops of
Jupiter); he has done it to Bruce Springsteen (The Rising); and now
he has done it to Trey Anastasio.
That’s not to say that Shine is totally bereft of merit, and buried
beneath its glossy sheen, there definitely is a better (though still far from
perfect) outing that is struggling to break free. Not only does Anastasio manage
to sneak numerous inspired guitar passages into the otherwise bland
arrangements, but he also succeeds in retaining his melodic sensibility, thereby
casting a warm glow upon the sterility of the affair. Sure, there are times when
he regurgitates the past: Tuesday’s recurring riff is drawn straight from
Phish’s Free; Sweet Dreams Melinda is undeniably reminiscent of
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Sweet Home Alabama; and the vocals on Invisible
smash Smile-era Brian Wilson against The Who’s The Kids Are Alright,
while its upward spiral of guitar is decidedly Garcia-esque in tone. To his
credit, however, Anastasio transforms each of these nicked ideas into something
that he can call his own. Nevertheless, O’Brien slathers the album in so much
glitter that he jettisons its organic essence and loses any semblance of its
character. As a result, he makes Shine’s finer moments sound utterly
inconsequential.  ½
Shine is available from Amazon.com.
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Shine [DUALDISC] is available from Amazon.com.
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2006
The Music Box
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