'Joy' Isn't Off-the-Hook Phish, but It's Still Pretty Catchy

No band's success is less related to the popularity of its albums than Phish's. Even if the recently reunited jam-band heroes never record another note in the studio, they could sell out amphitheaters for decades.

Sure, the same could be said for Bruce Springsteen and U2, but it was the hits on such albums as "Born to Run" and "The Joshua Tree" that helped propel them to that status. Phish has no smash singles or classic albums. Ask a die-hard fan for a favorite and you'll probably get an answer like "June 18, 1994."

The Vermont-based quartet is the ultimate band "you gotta see live to appreciate, man." So does that make the new "Joy," its 11th full-length studio recording and first in five years, irrelevant?

Yes and no. The album will no doubt be just a footnote in the band's career, especially with hundreds of officially licensed live-show albums available. It's almost a footnote within its own release: Stores will have it Tuesday, but Phish fans who have ordered a $75 box set coming out in October through the band's Web site will be able download "Joy" now while they wait for not only the hard copy, but also a complete second album, a live DVD, a hard-bound booklet and 10 posters.

If the superfans buy "Joy" out of loyalty but quickly go back to devouring bootlegs, the new album at least serves as a reminder that there's another side of Phish -- one that isn't about noodly jams, improvisation and three-hour sets. "Joy" is a concise, breezy rock record, one on which songwriting takes precedence over experimentation. There are some extended guitar solos and a bit of genre-jumping but for the most part it's . . . conventional?

"Backwards Down the Number Line" is a classic slice of '70s album rock, with frontman Trey Anastasio crafting a tune that sounds a lot more like a song by the Eagles or Jackson Browne than something from a band known for psych-reggae-prog-jazz fusion. "Kill Devil Falls" is similarly straightforward, bringing some NRBQ-esque boogie into the mix. When played in concert these songs might be extended, reworked or turned inside out. On CD, there's not much to wrap your head around, and it's kind of nice. A hit of acid isn't the ideal accompaniment; a cold beer will do just fine.

Not that Phish should forsake the jamming anytime soon. The band members may be more adept pop tunesmiths than they are given credit for, but even if going conventional is a curveball in the Phish universe, an album of standard rock-and-roll is still just that.

The title track could have been written by any number of bar bands looking for a generic anthem, complete with the "We want you to be happy!" refrain. And as crisp as the guitar solos are, it's easy to tell when each one is coming and where it's going.

The centerpiece of "Joy" comes near the end of the album in the form of a 13 1/2 -minute epic, "Time Turns Elastic." It twists, it turns, it changes tempos, it swells, it recedes; it's exhausting. It also showcases what makes the band unique and why devoted fans will seek out the shows with three hours' worth of these moments instead of this album. But if there's such a thing as casual Phish fans, "Joy" is the album for them.

DOWNLOAD THESE: "Backwards Down the Number Line," "Kill Devil Falls," "Time Turns Elastic"