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 asked most casual fans of Tom Petty to look back at his catalog and specify which of his releases were
Tom Petty by himself and which were by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, most wouldn't be able to ace the quiz. Truth is, the differences
were never that major. It made it even more tricky since many of the Heartbreakers would also appear on his "solo" records. I mention this because
you could almost state the same thing for the two "Mudcrutch" releases vs. the rest of Petty's catalogue. Almost.
Not only are 3 of the 5 members of Mudcrutch alumni of the Heartbreakers, but they're the only 3 to appear on every Heartbreaker album. So one
can look at this releases, as well as its predecessor, as a fun diversion by the boys. Mudcrutch was actually the band these three were in before the
Heartbreakers, and the music sounds a bit more rustic, a bit more country, and a bit more hippie. Again, though, upon close listen, it can be a bit hard
to distinguish this record from some of the latter Heartbreaker albums. No, nothing on here sounds anything like Damn the Torpedoes,
but I can definitely hear similarities to 2010's Mojo. I hear a lot of similarities, for example between Beautiful Blue and Trip to Pirate's
Cove from Mojo.
Regardless of what sounds like what else, the music here is top notch. From top to bottom, every song here is infectious, and whereas there might not be anything here
that screams "chart topper", the whole album is infectious and has the Tom Petty flair that his fans will all love. A chunk of these songs feature different members of
Mudcrutch handling the lead vocals, yet the overall feel and vibe is basically the same even if there's a bit of variety in the tunes. Most, if not everything, of what
is here sounds like Petty could have made a few minor changes and passed as a Heartbreaker album. Songs like Trailer and Beautiful World could have easily been hits
for the Heartbreakers with a few electric guitars and some reverb added to the mix. The best song here, is the sad acoustic ballad I Forgive it All, yet the Petty and co.
have also tackled similar songs with positive results as well.
This is one of those albums that probably received more attention than it would since many know the history of Mudcrutch, yet at the same time, one has to wonder if the guys had
turned this into a Heartbreaker album, it could have been one of the best in the gem-filled catalog. This is a fun exercise in self-indulgence.
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