The Bottom Half
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (March 2015) |
| The Bottom Half | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 3, 2007 | |||
| Recorded | 2005–2006 in Chicago, IL | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock | |||
| Length | 51:01 | |||
| Label | SCI Fidelity | |||
| Producer | Umphrey's McGee and Kevin Browning | |||
| Umphrey's McGee chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
The Bottom Half is the fifth album from progressive rock group Umphrey's McGee recorded during the band's 2005/2006 sessions of their previous studio effort Safety in Numbers. The first disc contains complete songs that were initially left off the Safety in Numbers album, while the second disc features demos, outtakes, and b-sides from the sessions. Like the previous album, the artwork was done by Storm Thorgerson. The first single from the album is "Bright Lights, Big City," written by Mother Vinegar frontman Karl Engelmann, who is also a member of Ali Baba's Tahini with Umphrey's guitarist Jake Cinninger.
The album was released on April 3, 2007.
Track listing
[edit]Disc One
[edit]| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Bottom Half" | 5:49 |
| 2. | "Bright Lights, Big City" | 3:43 |
| 3. | "Great American" | 3:11 |
| 4. | "Higgins Sir" | 0:28 |
| 5. | "Higgins" | 6:51 |
| 6. | "Memories of Home" | 4:21 |
| 7. | "Atmosfarag" | 4:38 |
| 8. | "Red Room" | 3:35 |
| 9. | "Intentions Clear" | 4:55 |
| 10. | "Home" | 3:28 |
| 11. | "Divisions" | 10:02 |
Disc Two
[edit]- Words (a capella version)
- Great American / Believe the Lie
- Believe the Lie
- Time Eater
- Never Cease
- Rocker
- Ready Noodles
- Higgins (instrumental version)
- The Heart of Rock 'N' Roll
- Fresh Start
- The Browning Special
- Ocean Billy
- Intentions Clear
- What Else?
- Alex's House
- End of the Road
- Red Room Disco
- Rocco
- WWS
- The Weight Around
- Liquid
- Atmosfarag
- Words (chorus)
- Memories of Home
- Browning Family Creed
- Biscuits & Gravy
- Words (Intro)
- Words (Instrumental)
Artwork
[edit]The sleeve's designer Storm Thorgerson said: "This design was originally rejected by Jane's Addiction (the fools!) and was resurrected at short notice by a band called Umphrey's McGee from Chicago, God bless 'em. We had completed the design despite rejection from Jane's, and UM needed something in a hurry and thought this suitable for their humour and album title, The Bottom Half."[2]
Chart performance
[edit]| Chart | Provider(s) | Peak position |
Certification | Sales/ shipments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billboard Top Heatseekers (U.S.)[3] | Billboard | 7 | Not certified | N/A |
| Billboard Top Independent Albums (U.S.)[4] | 22 |
Personnel
[edit]- Brendan Bayliss - guitar, vocals
- Jake Cinninger - guitar, Moog, synthesizers, vocals
- Joel Cummins - keyboards, vocals
- Ryan Stasik - bass guitar
- Kris Myers - drums, vocals
- Andy Farag - percussion
- Béla Fleck - banjo
- Chris Hoffman - cello
- Joshua Redman - saxophone
References
[edit]- ^ Whitman, Andy. Bottom Half at AllMusic. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
- ^ Storm Thorgerson and Peter Curzon (2007). Taken by Storm: The Album Art of Storm Thorgerson. Vision On. ISBN 978-1846096679.
- ^ "Umphrey's McGee Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ "Umphrey's McGee Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
