Mudcrutch "Mudcrutch"

 

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#981 in the series) is the debut self-titled album by Mudcrutch.

I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve never been the biggest Tom Petty fan.  Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s OK, I do like him. I’ve seen him and really enjoyed the show. (Althought I liked the opening band the del Fuegos better)  I’ve liked some of this work but I think the best thing he ever did was his original single “American Girl” and that was 1976.

But…. however, I really liked his Mudcrutch album!

Here’s what Mudcrutch was all about. They were Petty’s first band formed in 1970.  The band did include a number of future Heartbreakers. They released a single and never amounted to all that much however, years later, after fame and fortune had fallen upon Tom, he decided to get the old band back together and this was the result.

Here’s the lineup, Tom Petty on vocals and BASS guitar. Mike Campbell on lead guitar,  Benmont Tench on keyboards, vocals.  Randall Marsh on drums and Tom Leadon on rhythm guitar and backing vocals.

Tom Leadon is the brother of Bernie Leadon.  You of course know Bernie from the Flying Burrito Brothers and some other band named after a popular American bird.

Mudcrutch was recoreded live in the studio. I really endorse that type of recording, especially for good, old fashioned straight forward music like this. Yeah, it might be hard for some bands to pull that off. It was a perfect choice for Mudcrutch.  It’s a shame that more acts don’t use that method. I’m sure it would save bands a ton of cash on studio time finances as well.

What are some of the highlights you ask? Id say they include the traditional “Shady Grove.” (Think the Dillards on The Andy Griffith Show.) and “Lover of the Bayou.”  This was an old Byrds song that was always very hard to find.  In fact, I’m pretty sure they only place to find it was on an old live album.  “Topanga Cowgirl,” ” Bootleg Flyer” and “Scare Easy.”

Mudcrutch debuted at #8 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart.

It was produced by Tom Petty, Mike Campbell and Ryan Ulyate.

The band did a short tour and released a follow up live EP later in 2008 called Extended Play Live.

— Larry Carta

Track listing

1. “Shady Grove” – Traditional 3:58
2. “Scare Easy” – Tom Petty 4:35
3. “Orphan of the Storm” – Petty 4:07
4. “Six Days on the Road” – Earl Green, Carl Montgomery 3:28
5. “Crystal River” – Petty 9:29
6. “Oh Maria” – Petty 3:43
7. “This Is a Good Street” –  Benmont Tench  1:54
8. “The Wrong Thing to Do” –  Petty  4:10
9. “Queen of the Go-Go Girls” –  Tom Leadon 3:42
10. “June Apple” – Traditional 2:25
11. “Lover of the Bayou” – Roger McGuinn, Jacques Levy 4:32
12. “Topanga Cowgirl” – Petty 3:54
13. “Bootleg Flyer” –  Petty, Mike Campbell 3:48
14. “House of Stone” –  Petty 3:00
15. “Special Place (iTunes Bonus Track)” 4:41

Personnel

• Tom Petty – bass guitar, vocals
• Randall Marsh – drums
• Tom Leadon – guitar, vocals, lead vocal on “Queen of the Go-Go Girls”, co-lead vocal on “Shady Grove”
• Mike Campbell – guitar, mandolin
• Benmont Tench – keyboards, vocals, lead vocal on “This Is a Good Street”

Here’s the entire album