UMPHRY’S McGEE: Safety In Numbers

Cover	Release	Style
	2006-04-03	jam rock
	Label
	SPV / InsideOut
	Website
	Umphrey’s McGee
	Contact
	-
	Playing Time	Cat. N°
	54:58	SPV CD 085-48832 / IOMCD 244
	Review by	Rating
	Edwin	70
nederlands	Review
Umphrey’s McGee is one of several American jam rock bands that are trying to get a foothold on the European market. With the release of their previous album, ‘Anchor Drops’, they managed quite well. I thought that was a great album, mixing elements from prog, funk, jazz, country, pop and other styles. I awarded it with 8,5 points out of 10. Then band’s new cd, ‘Safety In Numbers’, is quite a different album. Yes, it also features this mix of different styles and fine musicianship (the drumming in particular is excellent). But the ‘jam’ part of their music is hardly evident. These are streamlined songs which rarely show the musicians’ jamming skills. When they lash out (like at the end of ‘Liquid’, they really sound great. There are quite a few songs that I really like. Opener ‘Believe The Lie’, for example and the emotional ‘Rocker’ (which is anything but a rocker, by the way) really show the band is very good at songwriting. ‘Ocean Billy’, the subtle ‘Nemo’, ‘Words’ and the instrumental ‘End Of The Road’ are also very good. Not a bad album by any means, but not on the same level as the wonderful ‘Anchor Drops’.
Musicians
Brendan Bayliss: Guitar, vocals Jake Cinniger: Guitar, Moog, synthesizer, vocals Joel Cummings: Keyboards, vocals Andy Farag: Percussion Kris Myers: Drums, vocals Ryan Stasik: Bass
Tracklist
Believe The Lie Rocker Liquid Words Nemo Women Wine And Song Intentions Clear End Of the Road Passing Ocean Billy The Weight Around
Discography
Greatest Hits, Volume III (1998) Songs For Older Women (1999) One Fat Sucka (2001 - live) Local Band Does OK (2002) Live From The Lake Coast (2003 - dvd) Anchor Drops (2004) Safety In Numbers (2006)


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