Throw new Phish album back until music matures January 12, 2003 - The Beacon Journal by Dave Ferman Album Review - Round Room For those who follow jam-band rock, New Year's Eve brought a minor miracle: Phish ended a two-year hiatus with a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden. For a long time there, nobody knew if the Vermont quartet, the most beloved jam band to emerge in the '90s, would ever play again. The new Round Room, then, is the first step to the band again dominating its field, and it promises what so many of the band's other studio CDs have not delivered: long jams, man. Cut during tour rehearsals, it was done quickly, with the band cooking up nearly two dozen songs in just about two weeks. The idea, of course, was to find the spontaneity and chemistry that has made the band's shows so legendary. And to be sure, Round is a breezy, upbeat and enjoyable CD, and numerous songs, including the opening Pebbles and Marbles and the concluding Waves, clock in at over eight minutes each. There is, in other words, jamming aplenty. But to what end? What the CD is sometimes lacking, frankly, is structure. Look beyond the surface pleasures, and what emerges is a CD with several baldly mediocre compositions. It's one thing to do a record quickly -- the Stones and the Beatles recorded classic records in less than a week -- and something very different to put out music that feels undercooked. And that's the best description for a number of the songs here. They feel unfinished, their ideas not fleshed out enough, their arrangements unenticing. And as far as the jamming goes, well, the above applies. Pebbles is a promising beginning but there's a certain sloppiness, a lack of the music going anywhere even as it goes on, that permeates some of the longer sections. As a result, Round Room is a CD with numerous promising ideas, but fewer fine moments. That's not to say they're not there. Pebbles, the title track, Seven Below, 46 Days and Waves could all grow into memorable live versions. There is a sense of occasion here. On a good night, Phish's improvisational rambles are great fun, even if you're not stoned, and it's nice to have the band back among the living. It's just that this is not all it could have been. Copyright © 2003 The Beacon Journal