Phish, Round Room February 2, 2003 - Sunday Mercury By Martyn Leek Album Review - Round Room Stateside retro rockers Phish are being touted as the natural successors to The Grateful Dead with a love of live improvisation that makes their gigs lengthy and unpredictable. Put them in the recording studio, however, and they suffer collective claustrophobia. Of the dozen tracks here, only Pebbles And Marbles, Walls Of The Cave and Waves - each of which weighs in at ten minutes or so - do the trick, blending jazz-tinged rhythms with blues and soft-rock sensibilities. Shorter songs suffer badly by comparison, although Little Feat soundalike 46 Days - at six minutes a mere babe in arms - briefly raises the game. Copyright © 2003 Birmingham Post & Mail Ltd