Under the Sound Umbrella

Under the Sound Umbrella is the second album from The Dude of Life, a childhood friend of Phish leader Trey Anastasio and a lyrical contributor to many of Phish's early songs. This was the first album released by the Dude of Life in almost five years.

The album features guest appearances from Phish members Anastasio, Mike Gordon, and Jon Fishman. "Tow Truck Driver" is a collaboration between the Dude of Life and Anastasio.

The Dude's backing band on the album is The Great Red Shark.

The album has been out of print since 2000.

In writing about the album, William Ruhlmann at Allmusic said that it has "quirky lyrics that border on novelties" with a style reminiscent of the Beatles and David Bowie.^[1]

Track listing

"Beware Of The Dog"
"Francella"
"Tow Truck Driver"
"Come On Up To My Room"
"Puppydog Named Madness"
"Paparazzi"
"Scuba Dive"
"Pete Rose"
"Sound Umbrella"
"What You Do To Me"

Personnel

The Dude of Life: vocals
Trey Anastasio: guitar
Dan Archer: guitar
Cliff Mays: guitar
Mike Gordon: bass
Aaron Hersey: bass
Paul Gassman: bass
Phil Abair: keyboards
Mark Thors: keyboards
Brian Bull: piano, cowbell
Jon Fishman: drums
Jim Weingast: drums
Erica Lynn Gruenberg: background vocals^[2]
Maura Murphy: background vocals^[2]

References

^ Ruhlmann, William. "Under the Sound Umbrella". AllMusic. Retrieved August 5, 2018. He writes quirky lyrics that border on novelties, such as "Tow Truck Driver," in which the singer describes shooting the man who towed his car off his front lawn, and "Paparazzi," which advises that, if you become famous, you should let them take your picture because you can't outrun them. The Dude sets such sentiments to music that is sometimes reminiscent of late-period Beatles (those rock songs that John Lennon wrote for The Beatles, Abbey Road, and Let It Be) and early David Bowie (Space Oddity, Hunky Dory), and sometimes just generic rock and funk. Derivative? Sure. A spin-off of a more popular entity? Okay. But the Dude is not without his own odd perspective on things. Look, it would not be entirely accurate to say that he is to Phish what Warren Zevon was to Jackson Browne, but .... You get the idea.
^ ^a ^b CDUniverse web site, retrieved December 4, 2011

[1] Ruhlmann, William. "Under the Sound Umbrella". AllMusic. Retrieved August 5, 2018. He writes quirky lyrics that border on novelties, such as "Tow Truck Driver," in which the singer describes shooting the man who towed his car off his front lawn, and "Paparazzi," which advises that, if you become famous, you should let them take your picture because you can't outrun them. The Dude sets such sentiments to music that is sometimes reminiscent of late-period Beatles (those rock songs that John Lennon wrote for The Beatles, Abbey Road, and Let It Be) and early David Bowie (Space Oddity, Hunky Dory), and sometimes just generic rock and funk. Derivative? Sure. A spin-off of a more popular entity? Okay. But the Dude is not without his own odd perspective on things. Look, it would not be entirely accurate to say that he is to Phish what Warren Zevon was to Jackson Browne, but .... You get the idea.

[CDU-2] CDUniverse web site, retrieved December 4, 2011

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