Freed from the sometimes corny playfulness of Phish, the world-class jam band who took up most of Trey Anastasio’s time before they went on what looks like being a prolonged hiatus back in 2000, the singer/guitarist gets serious about groove, mood, and songwriting on his solo debut. With a brassy nine-piece band and interactive percussion, "Alive Again" and "Push On ’til the Day" conjure the romance, intrigue, and spiritual overtones of world-music exoticism without the clutter and cultural clashes that marred much of Paul Simon’s similarly conceived world-beat pop. The pining piano-driven ballad "Flock of Words" isn’t a satire, and the pretty backwoods chamber music of "Ray Dawn Balloon" comes with no ironic strings attached — a pleasant surprise for anyone who’d grown tired of Phish’s often relentless need to turn their chops-heavy jams into inside jokes. Anastasio gets looser and more experimental on the second half of the disc, splicing together live and studio recordings to create the greasy Band of Gypsies funk workout "Money, Love and Change." Dogs bark, water bubbles, melodies evaporate, and Anastasio’s cleverness unfurls in 11 minutes of blissfully aimless musical wanderings. Apparently, you can take the boy out of Phish, but you can’t take the Phish out of the boy.

(Trey Anastasio performs this Friday, June 14, at the Tweeter Center. Call 617-931-2000.)