When a band sports the name of its lead singer, such as is the case with the Pat McGee Band, it is evidence enough that the creativity is lacking.
The Pat McGee Band began in March of 1996 in Richmond, Va. when McGee, lead singer and guitarist, found John Small, the bass player, in the spring of 1995. That fall McGee landed percussionist Chardy McEwen and in the spring drummer Chris Williams joined the band. Another guitarist, Brian Fechino, joined the band after some sporadic jamming at some of their concerts, when his solo schedule coincided with its touring. Keyboardist Todd Wright joined the band after hearing some tracks on its new album, Save Me.
While McGee had recorded a solo album in 1995 called From the Wood, in 1996 (before Fechino and Wright would become full members) the Pat McGee Band began recording its first album, Revel, which was then released in 1997. The band now has four full-length albums, including its latest, Save Me.
Since its creation in 1999, the band has been touring non-stop, beginning in New York with the CD release of its second album, General Admission. Since then the band has been touring for four years, doing up to 250 shows a year for a devoted fan base.
Pat McGee loves the atmosphere when they play live. “We feed off each other live. We never know where our live shows will lead us,” he said on his band’s website.
The band’s new album, Save Me, is something of a repetition of earlier albums, with the common themes of love, loss and heartbreak at the forefront. The group holds on to boy-band roots, where McGee croons about past pains or new loves. Fortunately, the band members can harmonize well and can play their instruments in coordination. Not much else is going for them.
In one of the group’s hit songs, “Beautiful Ways,” McGee sings about an imminent heartbreak due to happen with the one he is with. It follows the formula of up and down notes, as well as the guitar strumming a few chords gently in the background as he sings, “It’s occurred to me that you won’t be hanging around / I guess I don’t mind ’cause you always put me down.” The song could be entertaining if it weren’t for the fact that there seems to be no musical creativity. The band seems to repeat the same four beats, the same four chords, and McGee seems to keep mumbling the same five lines.
In yet another hit song, “You and I,” the guitar opens with slow, melodic, repetitive strumming before McGee and the percussion slowly phase in. The song revolves around the desire for love to continue. While the song is slow and melodic, it is also repetitive, not having enough substance to really keep the listener interested. McGee’s voice starts to croak toward the end, making the song seem drawn out, even though it only has about two stanzas that don’t repeat themselves.
“We made a real return to our rock roots. This is a real guitar-driven record with a major emphasis on songwriting,” McGee said on his website. Unfortunately, none of this is evident on Save Me.
Grade: C
