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The London Session – Album Review

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Written by: Matthew McGuire

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Abbey Road Studios is located at 3 Abbey Road, St John’s Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It has hosted music acts such as: The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Mary J. Blige and now Umphrey’s McGee.

The London Session, A Day at Abbey Road Studios is Umphrey’s McGee ninth studio album. Manny Sanchez has worked extensively with the band in the past, and helped with production this album.

Umphrey’s McGee members include: Brendan Bayliss (guitar, vocals), Jake Cinninger (guitar, vocals), Joel Cummins (keyboards, vocals), Andy Farag (percussion), Kris Myers (drums, vocals), Ryan Stasik (bass, no vocals).

“Basically, you call in every favor you’ve been holding onto.” – Brendan Bayliss

Sanchez pushed for the band to record in London, and Bayliss reviews the complexity behind securing the recording space.

The hottest bands in music are cutting albums in London right now. Mary J. Blige’s latest album is set to be released at the Tribeca Film Festival, and her management noted to value of producing work with London, and Abbey Road Studios.

Umphrey’s McGee has a stacked summer schedule of touring in front of them for 2015. They will have several individual and festival appearances to showcase their latest masterpiece for live audiences.

There is a vinyl edition of the album with the bonus track ‘In the Kitchen (Live From Brooklyn Bowl London 6.19.14’ for diehard fans. Currently I have been listening to ‘Bad Friday’ on repeat for the last 20 minutes. The guitar on the track reminds me of ‘Bright Lights, Big City’ from The Bottom Half album.

The London Session has only been out for a few hours, and so far the response has been positive online. The band only had 12 hours to record the album. Usually a band has several days to rerecord sections of the album, but Umphrey’s McGee made the most out of the time they had in the studio. (It took me two hours just to write this review).

‘The Rocker Part 2’ features a more aggressive tone, with progressive guitar solos and a hard hitting baseline. Kris Myers, Andy Farag and Ryan Stasik drives the band to new heights and beyond with their work on The London Session.

During my first listen, I noticed the band has went with a heavy guitar presence for this album. Mantis, featured more keyboards work by Joel Cummins. The London Session’s first two tracks are excellent tools for guitar players to use as practice. It does lack the power of the bass and keyboardist during these tracks. ‘No Diablo’ evens out the aggressive tone with a Beatles inspired vocal approach featuring harmonicas from Brendan, Jake and Joel.

Their collective energy on ‘No Diablo’ reminds me of ‘Women, Wine and Song’ from the band’s fourth studio album, Safety In Numbers.

‘Cut the Cable’ continues a relaxed rhythm with a passionate and ivory pleasing keyboard sections, as well as acoustic guitar solos.

One of my critiques to the album is the continuity structure. After hearing how Robert Randolph’s point of view on recording an album, I see the importance of giving the entire album a direction, and how to create a a singular message behind an album. The band did only have 12 hours to work with, but I would like to see them go back and write songs that challenge problems, helps solve them, and package it with one core message. As musicians, Umphrey’s McGee is the best in the rock industry. The one area they could strengthen is their songwriting production.

I have not seen, but would love to know the order in which the band recorded each song. During my first listen, I noticed the first two songs had a lot of energy, and as the album plays on the energy has dropped, but I wonder if the band recorded the songs in the order in which the songs appear on the album, or if they are using the album track list as a mirror to a live performance. ‘Out of Order’ is an excellent example of the band showing off their instrumental skills, and letting the music do the talking. After interviewing TAUK this past September, some of the musicians in that band feel that lyrics get in the way of the art behind producing complex music.

‘Glory’ and ‘Plunger’ are tracks that I have heard before, and have grown to love in a lot of ways. It reminds me of being knee deep in mud at Summer Camp, and not caring how much mud covered my body, but more of how amazing it felt to see Umphrey’s McGee doing what they love live on stage.

The vibes pick up and cool down for ‘Comma Later’ and ‘Eat’. These tracks showcase a wide range of energy, from heavy hitting, to a soft approach, as well as progressive nature found in most tracks produced by the band.

This grandeur album concludes with ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy).’ A song by the Beatles, from their album Abbey Road. It is fitting that the band has selected this song for a cover on the album. Their remastering of the track takes the Beatles original track and gives it a Umphrey’s McGee makeover.

Umphrey’s McGee is one of the most progressive and ruthless acts in the music industry. They continue to excite audiences worldwide with the impressive collection of music that they continue to reinvent over the years.

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