ThePhanastasio

Rubber Jungle Records (2006)

Track Listing:
1. Home (Anastasio, Marshall) - 2:54
2. Dark and Down (Anastasio) - 5:12
3. 18 Steps (Anastasio) - 6:54
4. In Spirals (Anastasio) - 2:54
5. Discern (Anastasio, Herman, Marshall) - 5:41
6. Low (Anastasio) - 3:28
7. Words to Wanda (Anastasio, Marshall) - 5:03
8. Agnes (Anastasio) - 2:00
9. Rose Alone (Anastasio) - 4:01

Trey Anastasio, guitarist / vocalist for well-known jam band Phish, is primarily recognized for his work with the Vermont four-piece and for the enormous arena shows played by the band. Trickling underneath the radar, however, is a Trey Anastasio separate from his work with Phish, a solo artist more likely to be seen playing The House of Blues than Madison Square Garden. From this facet of Trey Anastasio's musicianship, you're likely to hear much more ambitious, original work (see such pieces as "Time Turns Elastic" written for guitar and orchestra for a good example) often utilizing orchestral elements not often explored in Phish. You're also more likely to hear songs with words and lyrics penned completely by Anastasio himself, although there are still several collaborative efforts with long-time friend Tom Marshall on any Anastasio effort. In fact, were it not for his signature guitar tone and vocals, it would be difficult to believe that he is the same person as the jam band Anastasio most people are familiar with.

In 2006, Anastasio released the album Bar 17, and as a bonus for fans who pre-ordered the album, included the EP 18 Steps, nine tracks which were considered "out-takes" from the Bar 17 recording sessions. As a result, physical copies of the album are scarce, although it remains available for download via Phish's website. While 18 Steps itself was intended as more of a B-Side or bonus to fans who pre-ordered, the EP itself certainly has a character and charm all its own.

With the opening acoustic tune "Home", the EP begins quite strong. Melodically and instrumentally, "Home" is a beautiful acoustic track, and is lyrically more mature and poetic ("So hollow / This darkness could be filled / With poetry") than what fans of his work with Phish expect from Anastasio.

In stark contrast to "Home", the second track, "Dark and Down", immediately explodes with screaming guitar. The vocals and overall delivery of material remains more on the down-tempo side, but the guitar is what really drives this song. Moreso than "Home", "Dark and Down" does almost feel as though it does belong on a B-Side collection. Melodically and lyrically, the song falls a little short, yet the instrumentation remains more on the strong side.

The title track is probably overall the strongest piece of material on the EP, and is extremely enjoyable. Having listened extensively to the solo material of Anastasio, this may be one of the strongest (if not the strongest) overall songs he's written completely solo. The transitions into different sections of the song are interesting, making listening to the song a very worthwhile use of approximately seven minutes. Every piece falls into place perfectly, making this an absolutely superb track.

"In Spirals" is another strong track from the EP. Also written solely by Anastasio, this is the second fully acoustic song on the EP. There are some rather nice lyrics in this one as well. One which stands out: "And the past is receding / In spirals / If only I could see." Overall, it's a pleasant acoustic track in which Anastasio utilizes a multitude of harmonics in his playing to make it a very pretty song indeed.

"Discern" is one of the tracks for which Anastasio utilizes a larger band and has a far more orchestral feel. The opening is lovely, full of rich brass tones. Following the extended opening of the song, Anastasio comes in on guitar, putting forth some very splendid music indeed. The lyrics themselves are a bit more simplistic than I'd like, but the focus of this song is certainly the music itself. It's understandable how the song was not able to be fit into Bar 17, as it's more of its own thing than a piece that can easily be put into a neat package with other tracks.

The next track, "Low" almost has a pop-rock sound, and is quite different from the other offerings on 18 Steps. It is by no means a compositional masterpiece, but it is quite catchy. It definitely has the feel of the sort of track that can really get the listener bobbing their head and smiling along. It's not one of the stronger pieces on the EP, and almost seems to go overboard at times. There are points where there is too much happening, and it devolves into almost being a complete train wreck. It is, however, respectable in its right.

"Words To Wanda" is one of the weakest offerings on the album, suffering from the overkill that bogged "Low" down with none of the pop rock charm to salvage it. The slightly out of tune vocal layering in points is almost painful to hear, but it is at least interesting to listen to. This is the kind of track which could probably have been reworked to be more listenable, but it's still not horrible in the form in which it appears on the EP.

The eight track on the EP, "Agnes", is the only fully instrumental offering. It's a beautifully arranged acoustic piece with some interesting and twangy guitar at points. There's some very nice playing from Anastasio on this one, although it doesn't feel strong enough to actually be an album track.

The final track, "Rose Alone" is another acoustic track, and a very pretty one at that. While not particularly vocally or lyrically strong, the song itself is quite gorgeous overall and has a very sad vibe.

Ultimately, 18 Steps exceeds expectations as a mere compilation of scrapped material, but there were certainly weak points. The good does outweigh the bad, so if you can get your hands on a copy of this, I recommend it - and not just because of the rarity of the physical copies.