Trey Anastasio

Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio's solo albums tend to explore areas that he avoids with his usual henchmen—which, considering his old band's eclecticism, is saying something. Officially, Anastasio's solo career began with the total-improv freakouts of 1996's Surrender to the Air (now out of print) and continued with two interesting but nonessential collections of demos and home-studio experiments, only one of which, One Man's Trash, remains in print. But for most intents and purposes, Trey Anastasio is the real beginning of our story, showcasing his singing, songwriting, and guitar- playing talents; songs with deceptively tight arrangements that often gambol into jazz-rock fusion territory (see Nicholas Payton's hot licks on "Last Tube").

Plasma captures Anastasio live with a 10-piece band, ditching some of his studio albums' complexity and replacing it with lengthy but rewarding jams. Much of the material on the all-instrumental Seis de Mayo was originally performed by Phish, but the tunes are rearranged for a variety of ensembles, including (on the closing "Guyute") a full orchestra. Ambitious but far from pompous, it's both an intriguing detour and, now that Phish is history, an indication of a possible future main route. (MAC RANDALL)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide