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Pat McGee Band - Save Me Review
by David Demarest


I thought that everyone had already heard of the Pat McGee Band. If you're a live music fan you've either heard them play or seen advertisements of their upcoming performances at your favorite venue, because these guys have been everywhere. Logging hundreds of thousands of miles on the road and thousands of shows before ever signing a major record deal, the Pat McGee Band managed to sell over a hundred thousand copies of their self released albums the old fashioned way: Winning over one fan at a time, live.

But lets make sure that everyone's on the same page here. The Pat McGee Band is originally an east coast band, formed in 1996 out of Virginia before setting out to conquer first the east coast, then America, and perhaps next The World. But you won't hear that from them. Band founder Pat McGee still seems somewhat overwhelmed to find the rock and roll life he's dreamed of materializing before his eyes. Modest and soft spoken in person, Pat's band made its reputation on high energy live performances from a six-man band that sometimes had trouble finding space on the stage for everyone. (That's a keyboardist, two drummers, and three full time guitarists, including Pat on lead vocals.) From the shows grew the fan base, and from the fan base has ultimately come the major record deals and the radio play and widespread distribution.

Of course, even as the success comes, the music had remained true to its roots of feel good rock. Pat McGee Band music stands on a base of intelligent and heartfelt lyrics, overlaid with the almost orchestral intertwining of drums, guitars, and keys. With so many musicians at work at once, there is sometimes a tendency for feet to get stepped on, but even with their improvisational jam breaks during live shows, the PMB sound always seem to come through as intended for the audience.

So you've got strong lyrics, strong musicianship, and an uplifting live performance- what more do you need? For sure, Pat McGee Band fans will not be disappointed in their newest release Save Me. Including 16 songs and a DVD track showcasing the fan driven music video for "Must Have Been Love", the album will satisfy the long time fan, while showcasing the band's signature sound for the new fans.

While there is not a truly weak song on the album, instant favorites tend to be the radio friendly "Beautiful Ways", along with "Must Have Been Love", and "Annabel". A downside of the newly available studio time the band has enjoyed is that in some places the album sounds a bit over-produced. However, this glitch is neatly sidestepped by the last five tracks on the album, which are presented in acoustic format, giving the listener a more intimate view of songs already presented in studio polished form.


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Pat McGee Band - Save Me

Label:Kirtland Records
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