Mercy is the twelfth studio album by guitarist and songwriter Trey Anastasio, released on March 11, 2022. It is his first fully acoustic album and was produced by Bryce Goggin and Robert Stevenson.
Two songs from this album - "Hey Stranger" and "Mercy" - were re-recorded by Phish for their sixteenth studio album, Evolve, released in July 2024.
Background
Mercy is Anastasio's second album recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, after 2020's Lonely Trip, and is seen as a companion to that album. He has said that he intends to implement the songs on the album into Phish's repertoire in the near future.
Anastasio felt that the songs needed to be heard in sparse arrangements, saying in the liner notes:
On the album, Anastasio used a custom-made acoustic guitar by Adam Buchwald of Circle Strings commissioned by Phish keyboardist Page McConnell as a birthday gift. Some songs on the album include more than one guitar part, overlaid on top of an existing part, with Anastasio explaining:
Track listing
Personnel
Trey Anastasio – all instruments and vocals
References