"Safety in Numbers" is a strong studio outing from a band best known for its live shows.

The bottom line on Umphrey's McGee [ tickets ]--which is that it's a group that should be experienced in concert--won't change based on this record. Still, "Safety in Numbers" is a worthy companion to the jam-band's heavily traded live recordings.

Wisely, the band doesn't try to replicate its concert experience on this album. Instead, the musicians try to create something entirely different. "Safety in Numbers" has a definite prog-rock feel, which makes it a not-so-distant cousin to such jam-band recordings as Phish's "Rift" and The Grateful Dead's "Terrapin Station." It's not, however, nearly as good as either of those classics.

The album starts off with the Zappa-esque oddity "Believe the Lie" before finding earthier ground for the comforting "Rocker." The lyrics are often quite cumbersome, trying to create profound meaning from awkward pretzel logic. A representative sample comes from the track "Nemo": "There's only one more way to think about / What everything could have been if it wasn't left unsaid / And every time we seem aware of all that matters / There will always be a memory you forget."

Not surprisingly, the best moments are the instrumental segments, such as the tender "End of the Road," which falls near the album's conclusion. The finest instrumental performance comes courtesy of guest star Joshua Redman, who adds terrific saxophone on "Intentions Clear." Not quite as good--though not bad, either--is Huey Lewis' harmonica work on "Women Wine and Song" and "End of the Road."