Umphrey’s McGee’s impressive new studio album, Asking For A Friend, is available now to stream/download. The 14-song release is also available as a 45RPM vinyl double LP.
Umphrey’s McGee’s 14th studio album, Asking For A Friend was recorded over the last two and half years at sessions that took place in Chicago, Nashville and Niles, Michigan. The band, whose summer tour continues tonight, has so far performed just four of the album’s 14 tracks live in concert.
The members of Umphrey’s McGee – guitarists Brendan Bayliss and Jake Cinninger, keyboardist Joel Cummins, drummer Kris Myers, percussionist Andy Farag and bassist Ryan Stasik – curated a playlist of songs helped inspire what became Asking For A Friend. The musicians shared with JamBase their reasons for selecting the 12 songs on the playlist, detailing how they were influential to the recordings on the new album.
For additional insight into Asking For A Friend, listen to a recent JamBase Podcast interview with Bayliss discussing the album and more. Scroll down to see what songs by other artists inspired the new record and why they were meaningful to the members of the band.
No Surprises – Radiohead
Brendan Bayliss: “I Don’t Know What I Want” has elements of Radiohead’s “No Surprises,” especially the second half of the song where it starts simple and soft with some falsetto vibes that build with the intensity as the guitar builds towards the crescendo.
X&Y – Coldplay / Message In A Bottle – The Police
Kris Myers: I approached this album with a bit more of a studio session drummer approach, which usually means to play less fills, chops, etc. I wanted more streamlined drum takes with a steady flow of simplicity, almost akin to Coldplay’s “X&Y” during the choruses of “I Don’t Know What I Want.”
There are, however, a variety of specific sections where the drums can be more featured and soloistic — a feature that’s very reminiscent of our writing style. Those more expressive sections have more of a [The Police drummer] Stewart Copeland-esque approach, like the verses of “I Don’t Know What I Want.”
War On War – Wilco
Joel Cummins: I felt inspired to add a lot of texture and melody to “So Much.” I took some inspiration from Wilco’s album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and in particular the song “War On War” with its melodic coda. YHF is filled with a plethora of soundscape experiments, it felt appropriate to add a little more sonic depth to the “So Much.”
Fearless – Pink Floyd / Polly – Nirvana / Time For Me To Fly – Reo Speedwagon
Jake Cinninger: The [“Dayville Monarchy”] verses have that Pink Floyd, ambient spacey sound using major chords. I went to a half step which is unusual to put two major chords next to each other… Syd Barret-like. All that weird half-step major which is also Nirvana-like, Kurt Cobain used a lot of those half-step structures. And then it goes into that big chorus, which is like REO Speedwagon. Predicable big chorus, the kind that sounds good in a big room.
Chui Nui – Kaidi Tatham
Andy Farag: Tracks like “Chui Nui” by Kaidi Tatham inspire me to play layered perc on tracks like “Fenced In.”
One Sunday Morning – Wilco
Brendan Bayliss: Our manager/janitor Kevin Browning asked me if I’d ever written a song that had the same repetitive progression like “One Sunday Morning” by Wilco. “How About Now” was my response.
Let ‘Em In – Wings
Jake Cinninger: In my brain I’m starting to hear a drumbeat and that piano line, which reminds me of church bells, almost like the feel in Wings’ “Let ‘Em In.” I was going after that Wings sound, that’s why it’s called “New Wings.” I’m feeling this Paul Mccartney mid-70s radio vibe.”
Three Little Birds – Bob Marley
Ryan Stasik: “Three Little Birds,” I know no matter what, it’s gonna be all right. So yes, I am not worried. Thanks, Bob. Enjoy our new record.
Sedan Delivery – Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Brendan Bayliss: “It’s Not Your Fault” was inspired by Neil Young & Crazy Horse. The whole Rust Never Sleeps album, really. But specifically “Sedan Delivery” because it bounces back and forth between a rocking heavy part and a softer melodic section.
Listen to Umphrey’s McGee’s Songs That Inspired Asking For A Friend playlist below (and “Sedan Delivery” on YouTube since Neil Young is not on Spotify):
