[UPDATED] Umphrey’s McGee Announces Mashup Album ‘ZONKEY’

Umphrey’s McGee first began offering original mashups of multiple songs during their Halloween concert at The Warfield in San Francisco in 2008. The sextet has kept up the tradition over the years and today revealed plans to issue ZONKEY – a new studio album made up entirely of mashups arranged by UM and set for release on November 11.

The 12 tracks on ZONKEY were recorded incorporating UM originals and parts of songs from across many genres and generations of popular music. Some of the concoctions feature such pairings as Ween with Motörhead, Talking Heads with Bob Marley, Rage Against The Machine with Beastie Boys, Radiohead with Beck and Umphrey’s with The Verve.

“ZONKEY clearly pays homage to some of our favorite artists and songs,” said keyboardist Joel Cummins. “While we’ve tried to reproduce the spirit of the original compositions and recordings, we’ve also tried to have some fun with the structure as we’ve often combined seemingly dissimilar musical elements to create a new vibe altogether.”

Pre-orders for ZONKEY will begin being accepted this Friday, September 9. The band promises to drop the first mashup track from the LP tomorrow, so stay tuned.

ZONKEY Tracklist

1. National Loser Anthem – [“National Anthem” (Radiohead) + “Loser” (Beck) + “In The Air Tonight” (Phil Collins)]
2. Life During Exodus – [“Life During Wartime” (Talking Heads) + “Exodus” (Bob Marley) + “City of Tiny Lites” (Frank Zappa) + “25 or 6 to 4” (Chicago)]
3. Can’t Rock My Dream Face – [“Rock With You” (Michael Jackson) + “Can’t Feel My Face” (The Weeknd) + “Dreams” (Fleetwood Mac)]
4. Sad Clint Eastwood – [“Sad But True” (Metallica) + “Clint Eastwood” (Gorillaz)]
5. Electric Avenue To Hell – [“Highway To Hell” (AC/DC) + “Electric Avenue” (Eddy Grant) + “The Triple Wide” (Umphrey’s McGee)]
6. Ace Of Long Nights – [“Ace of Spades” (Motörhead) + “It’s Gonna Be a Long Night” (Ween)]
7. Sweet Sunglasses – [“Sweet Dreams” (Eurythmics) + “Sunglasses at Night” (Corey Hart) + “Electric Feel” (MGMT)]
8. Strangletage – [“Stranglehold” (Ted Nugent) + “Sabotage” (Beastie Boys)]
9. Come As Your Kids – [“Kids” (MGMT) + “Come As You Are” (Nirvana) + “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” (Dead or Alive)]
10. Frankie Zombie – [“Thunder Kiss ’65” (White Zombie) + “Relax” (Frankie Goes to Hollywood) + “Have a Cigar” (Pink Floyd)]
11. Bulls On The Bus – [“Bulls On Parade” (Rage Against the Machine) + “Mark On the Bus” (Beastie Boys)]
12. Bittersweet Haj – [“Hajimemashite” (Umphrey’s McGee) + “Bitter Sweet Symphony” (The Verve)]