CD reviews

 New album: Mudcrutch

Mudcrutch

 3 1/2 stars

Mudcrutch is the name of the band Tom Petty was in before he formed the Heartbreakers. Petty has reformed the band and recorded a loose Roots 'n' Roll album that has the looseness of his foray into Traveling Wilbury-land.

Granted, two members of the Heartbreakers were also in Mudcrutch, but subtle changes are changes nonetheless. Reverting to their original lineup, Petty is back on bass, and with longtime Heartbreakers Mike Campbell (guitar) and Benmont Tench (keyboards) in tow, the band is rounded out by original Mudcrutch members Tom Leadon (guitar) and Randall Marsh (drums).

While Petty has never made a bad album, his most recent releases have seemed a bit stiff. That stiffness has been replaced with an uber-loose band vibe that relies more heavily on the personality of the players than the songs themselves.

The band picks up where they left off, and they are in early '70s-country-rock mode. Leadon is the brother of original Eagle Bernie Leadon. So in a way, Mudcrutch was an extension of the country rock vine that was taking hold in 1971. The band even recorded a cover of the Byrds "Lover of the Bayou" for good measure.

The bulk of the originals on the album were written by Petty, while Tom Leadon contributes "Queen of the Go Go Girls," a lazy brother-in-law of a song that would have wafted through countless honky-tonks in another time.

"Mudcrutch" the album, while not monumental, is easily digestible and a nice departure for an established artist.

 Classic CD: There's a Riot Goin' On

Epic Records

Sly and the Family Stone

 5 stars 

When this album was released in 1971, Sly and the Family Stone were one of the biggest bands in the world. The band had its Reese's Cup moment when somebody dropped their rock in the band's soul and a brilliant hybrid was created: music with the power of rock and the dance appeal of soul. Throw in some timely lyrics and you have a monumental album.

The most enduring single from the album has to be "Family Affair," as it is still plucked for films by directors such as Quentin Tarrentino. While this track is more subdued than most of the band's material, its warm groove and tight vocals still sound great coming out of a stereo - or in a pinch those puny iPod headphones.

The front cover pretty much tells you that the album deals with the state of the country at that time. The pot smokers of the late '60s had now moved on to harder stuff, thus magnifying the legitimate paranoia of the day.

Sly Stone was no different. The party was over, and the only folks hanging around were the ones who didn't have anywhere to go.

Not long after the release of this album, Stone entered a drug haze that took nearly two decades to recede. Word is that the band is hitting the road this summer.

There are a lot of fun moments on the record, but it mainly serves as a well written epitaph to a movement that was on its last legs.

 Jon Dawson's CD reviews appear Thursdays in The Free Press. Cast your vote for your favorite drummer and read about what happens when chocolate and peanut butter mix at Jon's blog, jdawson.encblogs.com.