Rocker with 'no more worlds to conquer' continues to roll

'Hip Sounds' by Bill Nutt
Wednesday September 03, 2008

Bill Nutt is the host of "The Nutt-House," Sundays from 6 to 8 p.m., on WNTI, 91.9 FM, and www.wnti.org.

Petty ever weeps -- as Alexander the Great is reputed to have done -- because he has no more worlds to conquer.

Consider what Petty has accomplished in his career. Commercial success? Check. Critical acclaim? Check. Written songs with Bob Dylan? Check. Performed with at least one Beatle? Check. Member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Check. Played at the Super Bowl halftime show (without either lip-syncs or wardrobe malfunctions)? Check.

Sure, he's had his share of woes, including well-publicized fights with record labels. But by any reasonable standard, Petty enjoys a measure of fame and achievement that would be the envy of any rocker. At this point in his life, he could pretty much write his ticket.

So what has he chosen as his most recent project? A reunion of his first band, Mudcrutch, which formed in Gainesville, Fla., in the early 1970s. Let the head-scratching begin.

More than three decades after they headed to Los Angeles in search of a record deal, the members of Mudcrutch - Petty on bass, Mike Campbell on guitar, Benmont Tench on keyboards, Randall Marsh on drums, and Tom Leadon on guitar - finally have their debut album. Whether this self-titled CD is worth that long a wait is almost irrevelant. What matters is that "Mudcrutch" is as amiably loose as anything Petty has released - under any name.

Mudcrutch only released two singles in the early 1970s: "Up in Mississippi" and "Depot Street." The latter was a nifty little "love-on-the-wrong-side-of-the-tracks" number that surfaced on the Tom Petty box set, "Playback," and it clearly pointed in the direction that Petty would pursue with his Heartbreakers.

Admittedly, the individual players in Mudcrutch haven't been sitting on their respective hands since the Nixon presidency. Campbell and Tench, who still play with Petty as original members of the Heartbreakers, are regarded as among the most proficient sidemen in rock. Tom Leadon (whose older brother Bernie co-founded the Eagles) played with Linda Ronstadt, among others.

Long years of experience aren't necessarily a guarantee that the work will be engaging. But happily, the Mudcrutch CD is a blast, beginning with a rendition of the bluegrass standard "Shady Grove." From there, the band stretches out on a batch of originals sprinkled with the stray cover (notably a cooking version of "Six Days on the Road," one of the great trucker songs of all time).

If "Mudcrutch" could be compared to anything that Tom Petty has done in the past, it would be the second Traveling Wilburys album - not the first, with its radio-friendly singles, but the second, with its cheerfully ragged arrangements and spontaneity.

By all means, Petty, Campbell and Tench should keep their day jobs. But let's hope they don't wait another 30 years to reconvene Mudcrutch.

Rocker with 'no more worlds to conquer' continues to roll

This message has been edited. Last edited by: witilinki,

Thanks for finding and posting that! It's a pretty recent article too, which gives me hope that perhaps there is more Mudcrutch is the works for something this fall after all, as Randy Marsh has previously stated. I hope so!

You're welcome, Girl.

And, glad to see things are coming along for you in California.

quote:

By all means, Petty, Campbell and Tench should keep their day jobs. But let's hope they don't wait another 30 years to reconvene Mudcrutch.

ha ha They work during the day? lol

I was amazed that we got to go to a small club and enjoy that setting. That had to be one of the most amazing feat in and of itself.

What a great time. I hope everyone gets a chance to go like I did.

Flowergoddess found this. Now it's just time to tap your foot at least, don't you think?

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=33172839

Watching that just plain makes me happy. Those smiles are so infectious.

^ Yeah they are!!

Nice article by Bill Nutt, but I have a different view on several aspects of the article.

Nutt's statement about Tom Petty having performed with "at least one Beatle" is kind of misleading. We all know that TP worked with George Harrison as a member of the Traveling Wilburys. Tom also performed at least several times with Ringo Starr ("I Won't Back Down" sessions as well as on the song "Wah Wah" in Concert for George).

Tom Petty's collaborations with other artists such as Johnny Cash (Grammy winning album Unchained) and Roger McQuinn (Back To Rio)are also are noteworthy. The basic premise of the article, "no more worlds to conquer," may underestimate Tom. Future collaborations with additional notable artists are certainly possible, and something that Tom seems to enjoy.

quote:

Originally posted by indian who shot out the lights:
Nutt's statement about Tom Petty having performed with "at least one Beatle" is kind of misleading. We all know that TP worked with George Harrison as a member of the Traveling Wilburys. Tom also performed at least several times with Ringo Starr ("I Won't Back Down" sessions as well as on the song "Wah Wah" in Concert for George).

"At least" one means it can be no less than one (one being guaranteed) but it CAN be more than one. Nothing misleading about that.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: witilinki,

I kind of cringed when I saw the words "no more worlds left to conquer" in the review...

Even with the Emmy awards, Gold records, Rolling Stone covers, etc. over the course of Tom's career, and with all the venues he has played, the boundaries of music itself are endless and even TP&HB are going to have trouble exploring all of that territory!

So in short, I think there is still plenty left to 'conquer'.

They may have more to conquer, but I don't think they care. I think a lot of this recent conquering has been a case of, "DANG this is fun! Wait...what? Oh...we had a hit record with that! Cool!"