Joy is the title of Phish's fourteenth studio album, released for sale on September 8, 2009. The production of this studio album not only saw the band back together after it was dissolved for four years but also re-united the band with producer Steve Lillywhite, who produced their 1996 release, Billy Breathes. Noting that the band just marked their 25th anniversary, Rolling Stone describes the album's songs as something akin to an anniversary or birthday party song, with guitarist Trey Anastasio singing 'Happy happy, oh my friend/Blow out candles once again', in its first cut, "Backwards Down the Number Line", musically the most reminiscent of the late Jerry Garcia's sound. Rolling Stone's reviewer continues to say, however that anniversaries often press the celebrants to look backwards in time, with mixed emotions, adding another dimension to the lyrics in Joy, (mostly by Anastasio and Tom Marshall) making this record deeper than any previous Phish album to date.

Track listing

Phish announced the official tracklisting for Joy on their website on June 24.

1. "Backwards Down the Number Line" (Anastasio, Marshall) - 5:37
2. "Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan" (Anastasio, Herman, Marshall) - 4:40
3. "Joy" (Anastasio, Marshall) - 4:24
4. "Sugar Shack" (Gordon) - 4:04
5. "Ocelot" (Anastasio, Marshall) - 3:36
6. "Kill Devil Falls" (Anastasio, Marshall) - 5:29
7. "Light" (Anastasio, Marshall) - 5:02
8. "I Been Around" (McConnell) - 1:57
9. "Time Turns Elastic" (Anastasio) – 13:30
10. "Twenty Years Later" (Anastasio, Marshall) - 5:03

The first single, "Time Turns Elastic", originally a multi-movement work for strings, guitar, and vocals released as an album earlier in the year by Trey Anastasio, was released only for iTunes download on May 26, 2009. The album's second single, "Backwards Down The Number Line" was released at iTunes and began radio rotation on August 17th, 2009.

Beginning Thursday, September 3rd, the entire album was available for preview on the band's MySpace page.

All ten songs were performed live during the band's 2009 summer tour.

Boxed set, Party Time

It was announced on 10 August 2009 that Joy will be available for pre-order in several different formats, including CD, vinyl and the "Joy Box," which, in addition to the Joy CD, "will include ten individual Limited Edition posters designed for each of the album’s 10 songs, a complete second album entitled Party Time, and a DVD capturing live performances from the first half of Phish’s summer 2009 tour – including footage from the 2009 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival and the tour’s opening date at Fenway Park in Boston."

Party Time tracklisting

1. "Party Time" (Fishman) 2:43
2. "Alaska" (Anastasio, Marshall) 7:16
3. "Windy City" (McConnell) 5:20
4. "In a Misty Glade" (Anastasio, Marshall) 2:51
5. "Gone" (Anastasio) 4:10
6. "Only a Dream" (Gordon) 4:10
7. "The Birdwatcher" (Anastasio, Marshall) 2:16
8. "Let Me Lie" (Anastasio, Marshall) 3:57
9. "If I Told You" (McConnell) 3:53
10. "Splinters of Hail" (Anastasio) 3:33
11. "Can't Come Back" (Gordon) 4:38
12. "Shrine" (Anastasio, Marshall) 1:54
13. "Liquid Time" (Anastasio) 4:23

Personnel

Phish

Trey Anastasio - guitars, vocals

Page McConnell - keyboards, vocals

Mike Gordon - bass, vocals

Jon Fishman - drums, vocals

References

1. http://www.phish.com/news/index.php?year=2009#story444
2. http://www.phish.com/news/index.php?year=2009#story439
3. http://www.phish.com/releases/detail.php?ID=82
4. http://www.phish.com/news/index.php?year=2009#story438
5. http://drygoods.phish.com/Product.aspx?cp=773_21803&pc=PH116COMBO