| Mudcrutch | 
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| Artist: Mudcrutch
Label: Warner Bros.
Category: Music
List Price: $18.98
Buy New: $7.29
You Save: $11.69 (62%)
New (60) from $7.29
Avg. Customer Rating:  75 reviews
Sales Rank: 46
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 455868
UPC: 093624987338
EAN: 0093624987338
ASIN: B0015FHDS6
Release Date: April 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Country-Rock Gem May 1, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Mudcrutch - Mudcrutch (2008)
This album comes as a pleasant surprise. Who would have thought that a rock legend of Tom Petty's stature would resurrect a long-forgotten, unknown band from his early woodshedding years? It would be like Bruce Springsteen getting Steel Mill back together or Billy Joel reuniting Attila.
But whether it was a case of nostalgia for his youth or just a desire to play together with some old buddies, Mudcrutch could end up being the "reunion of the year."
Except for a couple of obscure singles and an early version of "Don't Do Me Like That" that wasn't released until many years later, Mudcrutch never recorded an album until now. And what a debut it is too. This could be the most vital music Petty has made in a long time - which is not to take anything away from his recent recordings. But working with these musicians (of which Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell are of course longtime members of the Heartbreakers, the band Mudcrutch morphed into back in the mid-70`s) has clearly inspired him in a big way. All of his contributions on here can stand alongside his older material.
This album sounds like a long-lost country-rock gem, circa 1971. The sound of the late-period Byrds was obviously a huge influence on this album. Not only do Mudcrutch do a spirited cover of "Lover of the Bayou" (from 1970's (Untitled)) but even some of the original songs have titles that sound like they could have come straight from the Clarence White version of the Byrds - "Topanga Cowgirl," "Bootleg Flyer," "June Apple" and "Orphan of the Storm" are all of late-60's L.A. vintage. But there are also other influences on here, including "Crystal River," which sounds like the Byrds if Neil Young and Jerry Garcia had sat in with them and traded guitar solos with Roger McGuinn. Throughout the course of the album, I also hear traces of the Flying Burrito Brothers, 50's music and bluegrass.
First single "Scare Easy" is an instant Petty classic. If there is any justice left in the world, this song will become a big hit. This is probably Petty's most memorable single in at least a dozen years. Of course, it's hard to predict how any album or single will sell these days. The state of radio is more fractured than ever. But it should be a popular download, if nothing else.
The traditional song "Shady Grove," which features co-lead guitarist Tom Leadon sharing lead vocals with Petty, sounds alot like "Matty Groves" by Fairport Convention. Or perhaps Fairport borrowed from "Shady Grove" in the first place? Anyhow, it's a great album opener.
They really stretch out on the spacy "Crystal River" to brilliant effect. A great chorus, excellent guitar playing by Campbell and Leadon and Benmont Tench proves why he is one of the most underrated piano players in rock `n' roll. Tench also takes a rare writing and singing turn on the short, enjoyable "This is a Good Street." Leadon (whose brother Bernie was an early member of the Burrito Brothers, as well as The Eagles) contributes "Queen of the Go-Go Girls," which sounds like some forgotten late-60`s country-rock gem.
The old trucker classic "Six Days on the Road," rocks along nicely. "Oh Maria" has a sweet, laid-back feel to it and the instrumental "June Apple" sounds like a tribute to the late, great Clarence White. It also features some excellent organ work from Tench.
This album, which was recorded in two weeks, has a raw, unpolished feel to it, which really suits these songs. Petty, who plays bass for the occasion and sings superbly, is clearly having fun here. They all are. This sounds like a well-seasoned bar band playing for the love of it, without worrying whether the album will sell a million copies or not. It took them over 30 years to finally make a record. Let's hope there's more magic where this came from.
FINE MUDCRUTCH April 30, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Being a big fan of Petty and his Heartbreakers,Wilbury's,had to give this album a listening and did like it a lot.I'm in my thirties,but well aware of 60's rock. Unaware of his pre-Heartbreaker days,though,am a new comer to the name Mudcrutch.A nice mix of original and cover songs of folky rock.From beginning to end,petty and the boys hit you with real well produced songs.Shady Grove,Scare Easy,Orphan of The Storm,The Wrong Thing to Do,Topanga Cowgirl and Bootleg Flyer highlight this rich effort of American songs.If you like Tom Petty,there is no reason not get this album.It had trademark Petty styles.It's very Pettyesque with different styles thrown in.
A solid 4.5 for rich American rock!!!
 MUDCRUTCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! April 30, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
How can I describe the sheer brilliance and inspiration that this music holds? This is my favorite album of the past 10 yrs and it only gets better with every listen. The songs are timeless and the performances are pure, live and of the moment. Tom Petty once again shows that his gut instinct is razor sharp. Bringing back his original band from Florida was not something he had to do. He did it for the love of the music and his old friends. I saw them 3 times on their current Tour and it's a slam dunk every time. Mike Campbell is in top form, Benmont Tench is on fire, Tom Petty is a killer Bass Player, Randall Marsh is a wonderful drummer and Tom Leadon is a great singer and guitarist. Lets hope they make another record before another 33 years goes by!!
Petty and Mudcrutch, with a Wilbury Twist April 30, 2008
98 out of 104 found this review helpful
I'm amused at the way people say things like "worth the 30 year wait," as though people have been holding their breadth for a Mudcrutch reunion. The truth is, this doesn't sound much like the original Mudcrutch, as can be heard on the box set Playback. The original Mudcrutch sounded a lot like the early Heartbreakers, and for good reason: the core of the band, Petty, Campbell, and Tench, were working together. The reunion of Mudcrutch is actually a much more democratic band. Petty was and remains the leader, but he lets Leadon and Marsh take more of the spotlight here. The songs are more countrified and traditionalist, and the album is mixed in a way that allows every instrument its own space, so all five personalities show through very clearly.
What this reminds me of is not so much the original Mudcrutch or Heartbreakers - but the Traveling Wilburys. The Wilburys existed because the musicians involved wanted to enjoy making music in a loose environment, to play without the pressures of their exisiting careers, and to enjoy playing as friends, and that's exactly what we've got here. The best part of this album is the sound of five friends making music for all the right reasons.
It's not a perfect cd. Some of the songs kind of blur together, "Crystal River" is a bit overlong at nine and a half minutes, "Queen of the Go-Go Girls" is kind of weak, and the melody of "Oh Maria" is too much like "Lost Children" from The Last DJ. Still, the criticisms pale in comparison to the virtues: Mike Campbell remains the absolute best guitar player out there, always playing the perfect part for the song. Tench still has that perfect touch on the keyboards. And Leadon and Marsh are no slouches themselves, more than acquitting themselves among their legendary former bandmates.
There are some really good songs here. "Scare Easy" is strong latter-day Petty, and "The Wrong Thing to Do" has lyrics that are absolutely vintage Petty. The main highlights of the album, for me, though, come towards the end. The cover of "The Lover of the Bayou" is probably the closest to what the original Mudcrutch was all about. The Petty-penned "Topanga Cowgirl" is the best on the album, and the Petty/Campbell "Bootleg Flyer" is also a good swinging rocker.
It's clear, especially after having seen the documentary Runnin' Down a Dream, just how much the act of making music means to Petty and the other members of the band. Ultimately, it's this love of making music that made this album happen, and it's that spirit that elevates it from being just some side project. As with the Wilbury CDs, it's the intangible sense of joy that comes through the most, making this another strong entry in the brilliant Petty catalog.
Well worth the 30 year wait April 30, 2008
16 out of 20 found this review helpful
Tom Petty, once and for all, proves he is one of the nicest guys in rock. After all, who do you know would call up old friends you'd lost touch with over 30 years and say "let's make a record." Which is, basically, what the three-decades-in-the-making "Mudcrutch" is. Drummer Randall Marsh and Guitarist Tom Leadon (brother of Eagle Bernie Leadon) join Heartbreakers Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell for a reunion that is Petty's loosest record since he sat in with The Traveling Wilburys.
Recorded over 10 days and arranged on the fly, "Mudcrutch" owes a lot to Gram Parsons and the Grateful Dead (think American Beauty or Workingman's Dead), with an easy groove that sounds warm and friendly. Petty switches over to his old instrumant, bass, allowing Campbell and Leadon to trade leads. Both Leadon and Tench get a lead vocal shot (used to great effect on the opener, "Shady Grove") and the whole album has the flow of a band that has been together for a long time. Which is peculiuar, considering that they last played together in the mid-seventies.
The album also is reminiscent of the best Grateful Dead in that four of the songs are choice covers. Country/Boogie band staple "Six Days On The Road" (tying back to the Flying Burrito Brothers, who also covered it) gets a workout, as does Roger McGuinn's "Lover of The Bayou." Then once these guys finally find a groove they can really lock into, they chow down and make the delicious swirling jam of "Crystal River." It's the centerpice of "Mudcrutch" and alone justifies getting the CD.
Add that there are plenty of other great songs here (Tench's "This is a Good Street" being a personal favorite), "Mudcrutch" joins The Racountours' harder rocking Consolers Of The Lonely as the kind of loose free-flowing rock records recorded on the quick and sounding all the better because of it.
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