Search - Umphrey's Mcgee :: Live at the Murat

Great intro to Umphreys, but barely scratches the surface on

jubster | Seattle | 10/20/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Quick artsy summary of Umphreys if you're new to them. Umphreys Mcgee are to music like David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest is to books. They're maximalist and progressive in how their large oeuvre layers time signatures, musical styles, key changes, references (and covers) of other songs, bands, or popular culture. On first listen some folks may dismiss their assault of "fast as possible" solos and song exploration as pointless 80s hair-rock-noodling, yet many would argue their approach to music is very contemporary, modern, and intelligent all while catchy and fun. That being said, there's going to be two schools of thought on this one.



For folks yet to hear what this improvisational behemoth actually does in it's marathon song explorations, it's an overwhelming intro, just as Infinite Jest would explode the brain of a casual reader. Umphreys is a live band for this reason, as their music is best measured by multiple concerts, and one live album barely scratches the surface of their catalog of hundreds of original songs. I'd actually send neophites to the stellar DVDs (Live at Lake Coast shows a growing band on the warpath, Wrapped Around Chicago shows a more polished and theatrical performance). Hearing these live concerts is still 5% of their live stimuli overload, and this is quite an atypical show to start with. Visually, you can see the band using their self-developed set of hand gestures to signal musical changes in the middle of a song, or how they use the light show and soundboard as band members. It's like hearing the soundtrack to Cirque Du Soleil without seeing the acrobats, maybe musically great, but missing the bigger picture.



For Umphreys fanatics who have already fallen for them, this is a fun but quirky live release. It's misleading to call this their "first live album", as the band makes every one of their concert recordings available for paid download online in quite good quality (and have hundreds of recordings free on [...]). What sets this apart is that the sound quality rises even further above the umlive releases, they handpicked some uncommon songs (or alternate arrangements), and they chose to release highlights from 2 concerts instead of one night. The boosted sound quality gives alot of depth to the stellar rhythm section (who are on fire on "Electric Improvisation", "Angular Momentum", and...well Meyers just is ALWAYS on fire!). The In the Kitchen stretch is a fun exploration of a normally simple catchy song. There's ALOT of crowd participation that is unique to these shows, including funny moments. I generally find the 2nd disc as the better of the two worth more repeated listens.



Overall, five stars for the stellar live album, but unlike the review by Hudson Valley Slim, I think Umphreys still has yet to release their definitive Live album like the Who's Live At Leeds [Deluxe Edition] (7 star), either to be released down the road or to be found in the umlive releases. In the meantime, get the dvds and see as many concerts as possible, and pick up cds like this as an artifact and milestone of their brilliant output."

The Whole Is Better Than The Sum Of Its Parts - And Then Som

Rick Brewer | St. Pete, FL | 01/18/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Great live disc from a great band. Don't miss this one. The musicianship is outstanding. These guys can play! Umphrey's is finally beginning to get the recognition they deserve - check out the review of their new disc "Mantis" in Entertainment Weekly. Consumate musical alchemists."