Mudcrutch used to be an answer to a trivia question about former bands of famous musicians. Now, approaching the halfway point of the year, they might well be the answer to what’s the best album of 2008.
In 1974 the Gainesville, Florida band had outgrown the college town and felt it was time to seek fame and fortune. They like so many before and after headed to Hollywood for their shot at the big time. They cut a single, but it didn’t pan out well, and the band broke up. Out of those ashes came a little band known as Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, which included Mudcrutch members Mike Campbell on guitar and Benmont Tench on keyboards.
Decades later with nostalgia stirred up, Petty decided to reconvene the band at his place in Malibu not knowing what to expect. They hadn’t played with drummer Randall Marsh in 30-plus years, and Petty’s guitarist/childhood friend Tom Leadon a bit longer as he left the band before they headed to California, following his brother Bernie who co-founded The Eagles. Tench had never played with Leadon, coming in as his replacement. Petty returned to playing bass and shared singing duties.
Mudcrutch delivers what sounds like a well preserved lost classic, and if the recording didn’t sound so clean, no one would have doubted the album came from another time. They capture the county/rock/folk sound that was prevalent by artists in the canyons and clubs of mid-‘70s Los Angeles back in their day.
The album opens with “Shady Grove,” an 18th Century folk song given a modern bluegrass sound as Petty and Leadon trade vocals about leaving behind the “sweetest girl in town.” It signals the listener should lose expectations because even though the band is 60% Heartbreakers, it won’t sound that way. However, “Scare Easy” finds Petty in familiar-sounding territory as Tench’s organ and Campbell’s guitar augment his voice, but it’s only temporary as he quickly heads out to the country with “Orphan of the Storm.”
“Six Days on the Road” was made famous by country music singer Dave Dudley, but California has certainly influenced the band as the song’s quick pace sounds like flying down Pacific Coast Highway in a convertible. It’s given an early rock and roll treatment with guitar and killer piano playing that brings to mind legends Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Article comments
1 - JC Mosquito
It's sitting in the lower section of the Hot 100 after spending a week near the top. It's good enough - nothin' fancy, though. We'll see where Petty's recently reissued greatest hits ends up right away here.
2 - Josh Hathaway
Well done, Sir Bicho. I've loved this one since I got it, too. It's one of the best of this year, no question about it.