Phish - The Story of the Ghost November 20, 1998 - The Virginian-Pilot by Jeff Maisey Album Review - The Story of the Ghost Following their most commercial album, 1996's ''Billy Breathes,'' Phish brings the creative process back home, doing what they do best - improvise. Ten of ''The Story of the Ghost's'' 14 tracks came out of extended jams recorded as one-takes. From hours of instrumental improvisational, song-length snippets were chosen as moody soundscapes for the band to sing over. Tom Marshall - Phish's Bernie Taupin - provided the lyrics from a book of his poems. If there is a best song, it is ''Guyute,'' a fantasy-filled piece that returns Phish to the ornate realm of art-rock. The fusion of classical and rock returns us to the age of Gentle Giant and early Genesis. One song will be familiar to concertgoers. The hippie-funk of ''Birds of a Feather'' is captured with the same energy as when played live. And that is the magic of this disc: Everything sounds like Phish performing live, but with the quality of the studio. In many ways this is the kind of album the band had to make. Another contrived ''Billy Breathes,'' with its pop-radio qualities, would not have sat with fans. ''The Story of the Ghost'' is Phish's finest recording to date, and will undoubtably win over a few skeptics. © 1998 Landmark Communications, Inc.