Umphrey's McGee releases surprise with a variety of sounds
Published April 10, 2007
Picture a flowing sea of people, swaying and dancing to woozy guitars and funk organs blasted over a giant public address system. Now picture, if you can, on the fringes of that crowd, a morbidly obese hippie chick with dreadlocks hula-hooping to the epic noodling from the band onstage.
This, in a nutshell, was my first experience with Midwest jam-rockers Umphrey's McGee, as I watched their set at last summer's Lollapalooza. Consequently, it also cemented my expectations of any new material that would be on the band's fourth studio album, The Bottom Half. I went in expecting the perfect soundtrack for hippie hula-hooping parties with more spaced-out improvisations, funk-laced organs and feel-good lyrics than one double-album could possibly hold. I expected it to be quality music, as I had heard during their live show but also dangerously close to being a reproduction or a novelty.
The first disc of this double album is a collection of B-Sides from the band's 2006 album, Safety In Numbers. With this disc, Umphrey's McGee proves it can work outside the confines of the "jam band" label, employing diverse and rich instrumentation and a variety of influences. The title track employs chirpy flutes, breathy easy-listening horns and epic Latin-tinged solos sprinkled into the track's funk and reggae-based rhythm. The result is a distinctive flavor combining jam band sensibilities with orchestral arrangements.
While the track reflects the band's funk influence, "Bright Lights, Big City," with its claptracks and scratching guitars, is perhaps the farthest cry from the band's traditional sound and is more reminiscent of the synth-laden pop of the 1980s. Diversity runs big on The Bottom Half. The album transitions immediately from the dance pop of "City" to the tinkling bluegrass pianos of "Great American," the perfect track for a back-country road trip.
When the band sticks to its roots of traditional jam rock, the results aren't half-bad either. The demure, poppy "Memories of Home," shuffles along to guitarist Jake Cinninger's sweetly sentimental lyrics.
The second disc of The Bottom Half is comprised mostly of alternate takes (sometimes two or three versions of one track) of songs from Safety In Numbers. It is here that the band's breadth of music overpowers depth at times. Although some of the results are good, some feel gratuitous. For example, the a cappella version of "Words," which begins the second disc, is stellar, full of rich, haunting harmonies and reflective of a well-executed creative choice on the part of the band. But there didn't need to be two alternate versions of "Words" on the same disc.
But like I said before, there are some excellent moments on the second disc, reflecting real musical risks and new directions for the band. The gritty, minimalist funk of the previously unreleased "Alex's House" creates an eerie contrast to Brendan Bayliss and Cinninger's gentle vocals.
Just as the nature of the outdoor rock festival has changed from an exuberant, drug-addled showcase for musical greatness in the name of free expression and the counterculture to an exuberant, drug-addled showcase for musical greatness made possible by the sponsorship of AT&T, so must the nature of the jam band. On The Bottom Half, Umphrey's McGee proves it has the guts and creative capabilities — provided it can bypass the album filler and retain the truly wonderful tracks — to be a jam band for the new millennium.