Mudcrutch 2 (2016)
1. Trailer
2. Dreams of Flying
3. Beautiful Blue
4. Beautiful World
5. I Forgive it All
6. The Other Side of the Mountain
7. Hope
8. Welcome to Hell
9. Save Your Water
10.Victim of Circumstance
11.Hungry No More
If you gave the average Tom Petty fan a pop quiz on which albums were officially credited to Petty solo and which ones flew under the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers banner, most wouldn’t exactly pass with honors. And honestly, who could blame them? The dividing lines were always a little fuzzy—especially since most of the Heartbreakers ended up playing on the solo records anyway. The same haziness applies to the two Mudcrutch records. While technically operating under a different name, you’re still hearing the same core team at work. Three-fifths of this band—Petty, Mike Campbell, and Benmont Tench—are the same trio that anchored every single Heartbreakers album. If this is a side project, it’s one with extremely familiar fingerprints.
That said, 2 does manage to carve out its own niche, albeit gently. The sound is slightly earthier than a typical Heartbreakers release—more Laurel Canyon than Gainesville garage. There’s a looser, rootsier tilt to these songs, evoking dusty landscapes and unhurried drives rather than arena-ready anthems. Still, the connective tissue to Petty’s latter-day work is strong. At times, the resemblance to Mojo (particularly the swampy languor of Trip to Pirate’s Cove) is hard to ignore. Beautiful Blue, in fact, could almost pass as a sequel.
None of this is a knock. The songwriting is sharp throughout, and there’s a consistent, easygoing charm to the whole record. The vibe is communal—several tracks feature lead vocals from other band members—but the overall tone remains unmistakably Petty. A few songs, like Trailer and Beautiful World, feel like they’re just a few studio tweaks away from becoming full-on Heartbreakers cuts. And I Forgive It All, the hushed acoustic standout, is one of the most hauntingly beautiful things Petty ever recorded—proof, if anyone needed it, that his quieter songs could still cut the deepest.
If there’s a complaint to be made, it’s that the album might have been even more widely embraced had it carried the Heartbreakers name. But that’s splitting hairs. The Mudcrutch moniker allowed Petty and crew to sidestep expectation and indulge themselves a bit, and the results speak for themselves. This isn’t just a fun detour—it’s one of the stronger albums from the final stretch of Petty’s career. Fans will find plenty to love, regardless of the name on the cover.
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