Bottom feeder

B-Sides don't make an A album, and that's a scientific fact. So I've seen this band somewhere in the ballpark of 40 times, and I heard that their new album drops pretty soon. I should be psyched, right? The last show I caught they were sounding better than ever. \nUmphrey's McGee's latest album, The Bottom Half, is a double-disc composed of B-Sides from the band's Safety in Numbers sessions as well as outtakes, alternate mixes and some banter from the band. Disc one has many tracks that fans would recognize as a part of Umphrey's live repertoire for some time, as well as a couple of new songs. The second CD offers a look into the recording process of the band as well as a few new tunes, a cappella tracks and other bits and pieces that found the studio floor. The album's artwork was provided by Storm Thorgerson, who is well known for his album designs of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy as well as an endless list of other A-list artists. Thorgerson does an excellent job of playing on the theme by using women with onions as their bottom half. \nWhile Safety in Numbers showed how far the band had come in terms of songwriting and maturity, the new album goes back to some of the face-melting and progressive songs that many Umphreaks have come to know and love. Many of the tracks on the first disc show what the band has shown before -- an incredible talent for taking their songs that can become monstrous jam vehicles and turning them into well-produced, complex studio songs. The album's single, "Bright Lights, Big City," is very playful and has many synth sounds dancing around the band's almost disco-like tune. The addition of horns to "Higgins" shows immediately in the intro and gives the song a nice swing feeling. Another highlight is the first disc's final track, "Divisions," a song that has long been an epic standard of Umphrey's shows. The complexity of the song and layers of guitars play out beautifully in the studio version.\nThe second disc provides an interesting view into the decisions that the band went through while in the studio. It offers alternate mixes that give the audience a slight twist on many favorite tracks from Safety in Numbers. We're also given some new songs, including "Alex's House," a fun track that shows off the band's harmonies, but also has the raw qualities of the studio recording process.\nWhile there are definite highlights to this double-disc release from the Umphrey's, there is a reason that many of these tracks were the B-Sides and the mixes that were ultimately not used. This album is indeed The Bottom Half, the 'top half,' if you will, was the last album.