Rock Phish July 28, 1996 - Sunday Times By Robert Sandall Back home in America, Phish have been dubbed the new Grateful Dead'', because they attract a vast nomadic following and play lengthy sets in a mellow soft-rocking style that does, on occasion, put you in mind of the late Jerry Garcia and friends. The musical reality revealed on this new compilation (drawn from five previous albums) shows Phish to be a more disciplined and eclectic outfit, less reliant on noodly improvisation and wobbly singing than the Dead. The mood of most of the tracks here is sunny and good humoured, but the means by which the band achieves it are quite striking: unpredictably funky rhythms and unexpected chord shifts keep even the longest tracks on their toes. The manic bluegrass picking on Scent of a Mule sounds distinctly un-Appalachian, and the deviantly funky saxes that spill across Split Open and Melt are a reminder that this quartet of Deadophile longhairs are also big fans of jazz maverick Sun Ra. That said, the guitar work-outs are nearly always too long and the gorgeous harmony choruses too short, but, in the main, Stash rocks. © 1996 Times Newspapers Limited