Mudcrutch

[rockymtn devil]

Anyone pick up the debut/reunion from Mudcrutch today? Given it a couple of listens so far and absolutely love it. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers always kept just enough distance between their sound and The Byrds, but that hesitation has gone out the window here. The music is very much steeped in Sweetheart of the Rodeo-era Byrds and doesn't try to hide its desire to be a Roger McGuinn/Gram Parsons album (it even covers a song by each). And, for good measure, they throw in a nearly 10-minute Grateful Dead homage ("Crystal River"), which is VERY jammy, and very cool.

When I first heard that Petty would be playing bass and not his signature Rickenbacker 12-string, I was a little disappointed. But, the jingle-jangle of the Rick isn't missed, and, IMO, its absence helps the album become more of a country-rock album than it would've been otherwise.

There are very little slow-downs on the album, and it's a perfect summer record. Highly recommended.

[YmoBeThere]

Uhhh, I was expecting to see a crutch made from mud...