Phish hooks the mainstream with "The Story of the Ghost" November 3, 1998 - The DePauw By David Warner Album Review - The Story of the Ghost It seems like the music industry these days is filled with multitudes of bands that are all looking for their place at the top with a trendy, catchy little tune that sounds just like the last one-hit-wonder. It is therefore refreshing to see a band like Phish continuing to make music their way and finding success while doing it. The Vermont-based mother ship of concert jams brings their melodic, soothing style straight from the tour circuit to the studio. In Phish's latest album, "The Story of the Ghost," they have helped to close the gap between the bong-hugging, free-loving, retro flower children and the mainstream music crowd. They have kept their love of the jam, but have shortened the songs (only one is over five minutes) and left out the long solos and divergent riffs. Instead, they have focused on the lyrical make-up of the 14 tracks on this album. The songs have a central focus and a developed song theme, an impressive accomplishment for a band that writes an eight-minute song using only the names David Bowie and UB40. If there's a weak spot in Phish's musical arsenal, it lies in the songs themselves. Phish has always been a self-proclaimed concert-oriented band. Most of the band's early studio albums sound stiff. They lack the free-form independence of the open stage and make the tunes a muddle of half-baked ideas that didn't fully come alive until they were roasted under the stage lights. The "Story of the Ghost" picks up a simpler, song-oriented thread in a most appealing fashion. Still, not everything works. In trying to create a tuneful, graceful and entertaining type of pop music, Phish sometimes falls short. This is probably because this isn't their natural environment. Songs such as "Fikus" and "Shafty" sound more like old Phish fragments or introductions. "Fikus" consists of Mike Gordon singing on a high, raspy voice with little more than a weird drum beat in the background. "Shafty" sounds like some kind of call and response track with Trey Anastasio singing a line only to have a chorus repeat what he said. If these are the only weak points, then "The Story of the Ghost" is truly a resounding success. The jam masters have kept their acid trip sense of humor. Nowhere is this seen more than in "Limb by Limb," a song about (you guessed it) losing body parts limb by limb, all to an almost reggae groove. In "Guyute," "Meat" and "Birds of a Feather," the fluid interplay of the members of Phish is at its peak. They play off each other in the most unselfish way. They don't look for the limelight with individual solos. Instead they overlap their individual talents to create something greater than the sum of its parts. With the release of "The Story of the Ghost," Phish is no longer to be heard only in the misplaced Volkswagen or echoing through a recently cleared bong chamber. The ever-developing band is gaining well-deserved respect and radio airtime. In doing so, they have affirmed their place in mainstream music. It's about time. Article © 1998 The DePauw