Vida Blue: Vida Blue : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Phish keyboardist Page McConnell's all-star group, Vida Blue, digs deep into a Seventies-era rock-funk-jazz-fusion candy jar, pulling out a handful of seven groovy, playful and technically awing tracks. Begun as a side project during Phish's hiatus, Vida Blue (who adopted their moniker from a Seventies baseball pitcher) are a stellar trio composed of McConnell, Funky Meters drummer Russell Batiste, and bassist Oteil Burbridge, who has logged time with the Allman Brothers Band. The groove alone on the psychedelic track "Most Events Aren't Planned" -- with its gel-like keyboard effects -- is enough to hook Phish fans, as well as loyal followers of Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters. Vida Blue show off their improvisational chops on the playful "Where's Popeyes" and the serene "Final Flight." Recorded in one week in the heat of New Orleans, Vida Blue is hypnotic and soothing -- a serene nightscape of shooting stars and floating keyboards.

KERRY L. SMITH
(June 25, 2002)