I downloaded “Joy” this evening, and I’m excited to give it a listen. Dude, I may even have to buy my children “Joy” t-shirts.

It seems like reception to the album has been very positive, including this Associated Press review from today.

I have to do a little calling out on the first paragraph of that story, though.

The finicky fans of Phish have never been much satisfied with the Vermont jamband’s studio offerings — if they were, they wouldn’t go to such extremes to catch the band live.

Hmmmm. That’s bullshit.

Here’s a sort of related thought from the Washington Post’s recent write up.

No band’s success is less related to the popularity of its albums than Phish’s.

Well, that’s less bullshit, I suppose, but not entirely accurate either. A friend of mine worked at Elektra Records back in the day. I think I remember him telling me that one reason Elektra liked Phish was that their records consistently sold a decent amount (can’t remember what). Not gigantor, but consistent. I also remember friends of mine who worked in the record biz telling me that one key to getting signed was the proven ability to sell tens of thousands of records. Phish had that ability. So in that sense, the popularity of the band’s albums has indeed been related to its success.