Sometimes the obvious can smack you in the face. Looking back on Tom Petty's original band, it's not hard to see why they weren't signed, and it's all in the name: "Mudcrutch". What a fucking awful name for a band. It conjures up images that I just don't want to think about... In fact, I'm shuddering whilst I write this. However, once you've got past that, slipped the shiny silver disc into your player of choice and pressed play, all those images are quickly removed. Mudcrutch's pitch perfect blend of country-rock is the perfect antidote to those messy flashes in your mind.Formed in 1970 from the ashes of previous bands, it eventually bled into The Heartbreakers who've been Petty's support band for the best part of thirty years. They reformed in August last year, the album containing tracks that were written both back in the day and since the reformation.It's noticeable that the approach to this album has been to create something a lot simpler and laid back. Petty's voice has never sound so gruff and raw, this newly discovered drawl a breath of fresh air from his recent, more polished, works. If there's one album from his back catalogue that this brings to mind it's 1994's Wildflowers, recorded with uber-producer Rick Rubin.The opening tracks of 'Shady Groove', 'Scare Easy' and 'Orphan of the Storm' give you the basic three types of song you're going to get over the next 14 songs. The gentle country folk of 'Shady Groove', beautifully smooth, eases around you like your favourite arm chair. 'Scare Easy' rocks out a bit more, Petty's aggressive drawl perfectly countered by the piercing guitars and hefty backing drums which cracks into 'Orphan...' , which could best be described as a "ditty". Its semi-religious folk, like a cantering horse over the great Western desert, meandering into some dusty and unknown future.It makes no real difference that the rest of the album follows this three song template. Mudcrutch were never a band that was going to break boundaries. But the real highlight of this album is the sheer joy that seeps through the speakers. It's obvious that the band had such a great time recording this that it becomes infectious. You don't care whether you've heard that particular riff somewhere else before, you're just sucked through a time tunnel back to the 70's.The sprawling epic of 'Crystal River', over its 9 minutes, is like listening to a dream. The shimmering guitars and gentle vocals lull you into another, possibly drug fuelled, world. The sound is like floating over a sparkling stream on a hot summer’s day. 'Lover of the Bayou' is another highlight, it's jangling piano piercing through more shimmering guitars, Petty's voice coming across like he's been drinking for the best part of a week.It's not really a fashionable album this and I guess a number of regular TLOBF readers will be wondering why we're reviewing it. But hey, I've been a massive Petty fan since my teens. Who care's that this is made by a bunch of guys in their 60's, it's just a great sounding album full of joyous times and feel-good vibes. 75%Links Mudcrutch [official site]