Album of the Day

Mudcrutch was an up-and-coming Gainesville, Florida band that moved to L.A. in the early 1970s and cut one single on Leon Russell's Shelter label before splitting up – and sending members Tom Petty, Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench onto much bigger things. Surprisingly enough, Mudcrutch reformed long after Petty and the Heartbreakers had conquered the rock world, releasing their first album ten years ago this month. MUDCRUTCH revels in the Southern and country-rock that originally inspired the quintet, though the extra decades of experience add both ease and polish to the performances; the band sounds like they're having a blast. Petty's songwriting skills shine on such tracks as “Scare Easy,” “Oh Maria” and “The Wrong Thing To Do,” and though his voice is the most prominent, the instrumental work here is equally impressive (particularly Tench's keyboards). You might not know to pick up MUDCRUTCH if famous names weren't involved, but one listen to the music and you won't want to put it down.