Umphrey’s McGee made headlines recently, when they announced the forthcoming release of The London Session, an album reportedly recorded at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London, England. As the story goes, Umphrey’s spent one twelve-hour session in the renowned studio last summer, laying down ten tracks for the London Session release.
However, as the band released the album for live streaming yesterday via Pandora Presents, one audiophile fanatic noticed something that put a twist in the band’s alleged tale. Kenneth Woodrow, an amateur audio engineer, has accused the band of fabricating the story, and actually recording the tracks at a studio in Brooklyn.
Woodrow explains, “When I heard Umphrey’s new album, I knew it couldn’t have been recorded in London for a number of reasons. First of all, the audio quality is too crunchy. The Abbey Road sound is very refined, while the London Session sounds like something a guy named Gideon made on his laptop. It’s too beardy.”
He continues, “And another thing… the guys don’t have British accents at all! You’d think that an album recorded in London would have some British colloquialisms, like the loo or mind the gap. C’mon Umphrey’s, you should know better.”
Interestingly, when pressed about the issue, Umphrey’s management confirmed the truth. “We didn’t want anyone to know, but Abbey Road actually turned us down. They said ‘Look, we’ve had The Beatles. We’ve had Pink Floyd. Do you think we’re really going to let some guy named Joel Cummins in here?’ We were humiliated, so we decided to make it all up and hope no one would notice.”
If you look closely, you can see the Brooklyn Bridge in the background of the “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” video recorded at what is now believed to be You’ve Never Heard Of Us Studios in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
[Via April Fools!]