Horseshoe Curve

Trey Anastasio | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 24, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Red Int / Red Ink
• ASIN: B000RHRGLW
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,337 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #8 in Music > World Music > Caribbean & Cuba > Cuba > Rhumba
  • #28 in Music > World Music > Caribbean & Cuba > Cuba > Mambo

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This review brought to you by the letters F, U, N, K, and sometimes Y, August 10, 2007

By 

eleventy-one - See all my reviews

This review is from: Horseshoe Curve (Audio CD)

Trey Anastasio's website describes the instrumental album "The Horseshoe Curve" as having an Afro-Cuban influence. This style has apparently been an influence on much of Trey's previous work, too, including Phish. I'm not familiar with Afro-Cuban music, being held hostage by American popular culture for most of my life, but one thing is certain... toe tapping is a universal impulse!

Something about this album has grabbed me. Listening to it, I am immediately reminded of "Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles: Live!" or of James Brown's "Love Power Peace" (both of which I highly recommend). It's as if those two cds were sitting on a dashboard, melted together, and somehow erased of all vocals. They are probably the closest things to "The Horseshoe Curve" in my dusty stacks of cds, but undoubtedly Trey's influences go way deeper.

The foundation of "The Horseshoe Curve" includes hypnotic bass lines and endless layers of percussion. Trey and his guitar act as an equal member to the band heavy with horns, flute, and keyboards. The songs contain funky melodies with improvisational jams over, under, and in-between. Performed in common time, much of the music is instantly accessible. Tempos vary and there are elements of swing throughout. The playing is flawless, yet paradoxically has a very loose, one-take type of feel. This is typical of most music Trey has been involved with and it's always appealing.

One thing must be said; this album is not always a showcase for electric guitar. The instruments best suited for the given parts are the ones that were chosen. Sometimes the guitar is buried deep in the mix, used only for subtle effect. Often, it's used as a rhythm instrument. The guitar does take a significant share of lead melodies and improv solos though, and Trey's signature digital delay has definitely not yet been stomped to death. Only the brief final track, "Porters Pyramids," contains no guitar at all.

The album's pinnacle, in my opinion, begins on the fourth track, "The 5th Round." Trey seems to channel the upside-down Strat and fuzzbox and Marshall stacks of the immortal Jimi for five-minutes of feedback, wah-wah, and delay. The fury eventually transitions neatly into "The Horseshoe Curve," which contains more-subdued sounds and showcases a rather mean jazz flute. This title track builds slowly, through the addition of instruments and oomph, and Trey mimics and accompanies the flute before bringing back just a hint of the guitar from the previous track. There is a tasty piano solo and eventually a fade. Throughout these two tracks, an audience can be heard, but the liner notes read that the album was recorded in Brooklyn's "Trout Recording" and in Trey's studio, "The Barn." Perhaps the starting point for the two songs was part of a recorded show, or perhaps the sound of the audience was added in for effect. It doesn't matter; whatever Trey did, it works.

Other highlights are the fantastic sax solos in "Noodle Rave" (what sounds like tenor and alto) and especially in "Burlap Sack & Pumps" (bari and tenor). The funky track "Tube Top Tony," with its catchy guitar melody and key changes, does it for me every time, too. Listening to the album with headphones reveals a lot of tiny details... percussion, unidentifiable sounds, even voice. Often, repeated listening is required to fully absorb and appreciate the album's many quirks.

It should be assumed that not all fans of Phish will enjoy "The Horseshoe Curve," but it strangely sounds very much like something Phish could have done. Put down the air guitar for a bit, it's time to learn air trumpet!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shut up and play your guitar--sort of, January 31, 2010

By 

kireviewer (Sunnyvale, Ca United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Horseshoe Curve (Audio CD)

This CD was released in 2007, but is supposedly made up of material recorded years earlier. The CD is around 45 minutes long and the sound quality is excellent. My copy came in a cardboard case (I think they call it a digipack). I don't know if it still does.

This made up of "big band" instrumentals, featuring a lot of horns and less guitar. They remind me of Frank Zappa's jazz stylings, but with more of a Phish flavor. This album is nothing like a Phish album, but you can certainly hear the Phish influences in the music. Some of the tracks just seemed so familiar to me when I first played this CD...it was almost as if I had heard them before. I don't agree with the reviewer who said that the music is funky. It is more jazzy.

But, the best thing about this CD is that there are no vocals, meaning there are no really bad song lyrics. Anatasio's other solo studio albums featured some wonderful music, with some very bad songs. And it wasn't just the lyrics that were bad, it was also the song structures.

I like songs and Anatasio's voice is not bad. It is just so many of his songs are horrendous. He does on a occasion have very good songs, but those are in the minority.

Frank Zappa released a series of LPs called "Shut Up and Play Your Guitar". Zappa recognized that some fans just want to hear him play. But, Zappa also wrote very good songs, for the most part.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not so Phishy, December 7, 2007

By 

Carl N. Bloom (Carbondale, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Horseshoe Curve (Audio CD)

I was a little wary of buying a Trey Anastasio solo album, as I always though of Phish as a hit and miss band. Inspired by listening to Oysterhead, I decided to give it a try, and I was very happy to hear that Trey is moving into new areas and opening up his creativity to something like jazz fusion. It is an interesting mix of horns, guitars and beats that keeps this CD pumping, and its complexity is wonderful. Especially good tracks include the first one, Streets of San Fran, as well as the 5th Round and Noodle Rave. I'm glad Trey doesn't sing--not because I don't like his voice, but because it allows the music to carry the album, and that it does. I look forward to going back and picking up more of his solo work based on this solid CD.