Just a few days after receiving the announcement of the release of Umphrey’s McGee’s latest studio album, “The London Session: A Day at Abbey Road Studios” arrived in my in-box, I was thrilled to see a digital download version of the a fore mentioned album in the same in-box. Thank you UM for recognizing the opinion of this lowly scribe.
Naturally, without hesitation, I downloaded the 10 tracks of UM-ness and began to taste each one like I was sipping imported wine or a nice craft beer. This album did, in fact, come from overseas. As the story goes, the band had 12 hours to kill in London and, because they’re Umphrey’s McGee, took it as a chance to fulfill a band dream of recording at Abbey Road. They entered in the morning and that night, walked out with an album. Mind you, the album is full of previously recorded material, so no actual writing had to take place. Rather they took the chance to let the history of the space flow through them and pump out new and unique versions of some great UM standards. So, without further ado, here’s my take on “The London Session.”
Track 1: Bad Friday (First time ever recorded)
Nothing like jumping right out of the gate with a familiar Umphrey’s Sound. This version of “Bad Friday” is pretty much how I think of UM sounding LIVE. Little bit heavy, little bit dance, a lotta bit UM. It definitely sets you in a good place for what’s to come next.
Track 2: Rocker Part 2
Sticking to where “Bad Friday” left off, while diving a little deeper into the UM bag of tricks, “Rocker Part 2” shows you a little more of what Umphrey’s McGee is all about without deviating too much from the norm. At this point, it’s sounding like a LIVE album that just happened to be recorded at a studio. To reference the bands own label, nothing too fancy. Tasty, but nothing I’ve not heard before from this band.
Track 3: No Diablo
Now here’s where things begin to settle down and wake up the taste buds. An acoustic version of “No Diablo” from their latest release, Similar Skin. One of my personal favorites in the UM cornucopia of tunes, this toned down “No Diablo” comes with just as much heat as the juiced up version but with a certain naive charm that only an acoustic guitar can bring.
Track 4: Cut the Cable
Sticking with tunes off of Similar Skin, next up is the heavy rockin’ “Cut the Cable” only…it’s not hard rockin’ at all. It is a delightful acoustic version with hints of the band’s name and Irish heritage poking through. Hardly recognizable as what I’m used to as “Cut the Cable” but certainly delicious to the musical taste buds.
Track 5: Out of Order
According to the liner notes, this was recorded in one take. Drifting back into full on UM style, Out of Order is a great musical wandering through tempo and meter. Truly a musical journey into realms that only a one take jam session could deliver. Not many acts could sit and deliver such an orchestral piece of jam like this one. Ups, downs and full on balls to the wall…nicely done.
Track 6: Glory
After listening to Out of Order, you may need a cigarette. Glory is that cigarette. A short little instrumental 4 minute number that never really pushes you beyond what you want or need. Great piano parts by Joel Cummins and a short but welcome guitar jam. Right place, right time…I’d say so.
Track 7: Plunger
Also recorded in one take, Plunger gets you right back into the thick of it after that nice Glory break. Lots of what you’d expect from UM. When I close my eyes and think of what Umprhey’s McGee sound like live…yep, this is pretty damn close to it. I can’t imagine another take doing much good. You got it right the first time!
Track 8: Comma Later
There, of course, had to be one track on here that threw back a dance beat and Comma Later is that one. Break out the polyester leisure suit, platform shoes and disco flair for this one. Now, I’m not dissing it, because, I can get into that groove really quickly. With sprinkles of UM-ness, Comma Later will definitely have you thinking about the balcony at Studio 54.
Track 9: Eat
I picture somewhere in the 10th hour of the 12 hour marathon recording session, Eat was birthed. If you’ve ever listened to the uber-weird stuff that Pink Floyd did before Syd Barrett left the band, King Crimson in their hey day, Genesis when Phil was still behind the drum kit or early Black Sabbath…yeah, that’s about it. Prog-weirdness at it’s finest.
Track 10: I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
You can’t record at Abbey Road without paying respect to those who first occupied the space. I Want You (She’s So Heavy) is right off the Beatles’ album Abbey Road…fitting. Umphrey’s certainly does justice to one of the Beatles’ classic (and very prog-ish) jams. I’m sure John and George would approve. Maybe after hearing this, McCartney will collaborate with UM now!
