Umphrey’s McGee didn’t settle upon a tracklist for their London Session album until the day came to record it, says frontman Brendan Bayliss.
And he believes the results are all the better for not having been overthought.
The band managed to secure a 12-hour slot at Abbey Road Studios last year to lay down the album, which was released in April.
Bayliss tells Songfacts: “We had to acknowledge the time constraints. We went in hoping to get five songs done. We knew we had to work with songs we already knew – we couldn’t really try to write or arrange much in the moment.”
A list of ideas had been emailed between the band members, but he reports: “We really didn’t talk much about it until the night before. And even the day of, things changed.”
The sessions resulted in the launch of a 10-track album, including a cover of the Beatles’ I Want You (She’s So Heavy). Bayliss previously recalled how, the moment they arrived in Abbey Road’s iconic Studio Two, they asked to be shown the corner of the room used most by the Fab Four.
London Session tracklist
Bad Friday
Rocker Part 2
No Diablo
Cut The Cable
Out Of Order
Glory
Plunger
Comma Later
Eat
I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
