Page McConnell & Trey Anastasio - December (2020)

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Page McConnell & Trey Anastasio - December (2020)

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Phish keyboardist Page McConnell and guitarist Trey Anastasio released December, a collection of six duo performances recorded at The Barn in Vermont earlier this month.

The pair previously joined forces this fall for a series of duets that premiered before three of Trey’s The Beacon Jams livestream concerts. While “Brian And Robert,” “Waste” and “Evening Song” were performed in videos aired ahead of The Beacon Jams, the duo picked six different Phish gems for inclusion on December.

December, which was produced and mixed by Bryce Goggin, begins with “If I Could,” a song Phish recorded for 1994’s Hoist. The pair stick with the acoustic guitar and grand piano format for Farmhouse bonus track “Mountains In The Mist,” “Wingsuit” from Phish’s Fuego LP and the title track off 2009’s Joy.

Anastasio played electric on December’s final two tracks, “Miss You” and “The Squirming Coil.” The former comes from Phish’s 2016 studio album, Miss You and features a gorgeous solo by Trey with Page mirroring his melodies. December ends with a 15-minute rendition of Lawn Boy classic “The Squirming Coil.”

The guitarist and keyboardist deliver a stripped-down rendition of the composed section of “Coil” before the spot where McConnell usually closes the tune with a piano solo in concert. Page and Trey then embark on what seems to be an improvised segment in which McConnell uses various keyboards including electric piano and Anastasio puts various effects to work. The duo hit on various soundscapes with the standout a bluesy progression that is more akin to “Funky Bitch” than “Coil.” Eventually, McConnell and Anastasio return to “The Squirming Coil” territory to end the song.