For her new album, Joni Mitchell has chosen to look back upon one of her most interesting musical periods, in my opinion. Shine reminds me a lot of her mid-70's albums like Hejira or Don Juan's Reckless Daughter. Time will tell how well this stands up to her classic material, but it sounds very good so far.
Trey Anastasio moves in a whole new direction on Shine, his first album for Columbia Records. The former Phish guitarist, singer and songwriter continues to evolve and this time around he's exchanged the grooves and full band arrangements that made his 2002 solo debut so exciting for a leaner more pop and rock oriented sound. Definitely gone are the long, noodly jams that brought Phish to jamband acclaim.