Imagine Sting doing Jam Band. That’s what I hear in Umphrey’s McGee and their newest release, Safety in Numbers. On “Believe the Lie,” I hear Sting’s voice, clear-toned yet chanting out with a reggae man’s syncopation—the reggae rhythms more apparent in the Police days. However, it’s the Sting of today, too, because unlike the Police days when it just came fully electric, Umprhey’s also includes those more organic, floating sections of Sting’s solo work (such as The Soul Cages) which you can hear on “Words.” Add to this that there’s some great blues rock guitar on “Nemo” and hints of the Allman Brothers on “Intentions Clear” (while guest saxophonist Joshua Redman brings out a Flecktone flavor), and what you have are the diverse, sometimes sprawling, funk-folk-roots rhythms of a Jam Band. Unsurprisingly, Umphrey’s McGee sound like a band versions of what label mate Keller Williams does by himself.
Thank you to Umphrey’s McGee and SciFidelity Records for the review copy.
