yes, jsut put a check in the box that says "use small icons", this will make the taskbar icons smaller which in turn makes the taskbar itself skinnier but the start button stays the same size (so it looks almost like vista)
i hate the new taskbar! it is almost usable once i change the settings like mentioned, but it still bugs the crap out of me the way the minimized windows are mixed in with launcher icons if they are going to change it, they should at least give us the option to make it classic style