Get Your House In Order
by: Mudcat
Mudcat
Get Your House In Order
30 Miles Up
By James Calemine
Music Maker trustee Mudcat recorded 16 songs with no overdubs in September 2006 at Zero Return Studios in Atlanta. Ten of the compositions are originals. Several of the other tunes were crafted by fellow Music Maker artists, Curly Weaver and Cootie Stark. These recordings turned out to be Get Your House In Order.
Mudcat employs the usual suspects--Eskil Wetterqvist (drums), Dave Roth (bass), and Lil Joe Burton (trombone) as his band. This group continues to diversify and expand their sound with each new release.
This CD is divided into three parts. The first six songs comprise Part One; the next five--part two. The last five songs on the CD contain "Bonus Tracks". The title track opens with Daniel "Mudcat" Dudeck's gritty slide, and soon a New Orleans riverboat flavor of brass and a dry kick snare appear.
"Whiskey Angel" carries a Mudcat lick that reminds one of what Blind Willie McTell would've sounded like if he went electric. With this release, Mudcat continues his exploration of different styles in American music traditions. "Don't Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down" represents Mudcat's positive messages that run through his songs.
"Agradezco a Dios" conjures images of drinking rum at an iron table under the cool summer stars in Barcelona...or Costa Rica...Mudcat's Hawaiian slide dileneates music cultures. "Cold Rainy Day" highlights Mudcat's low slide playing that ranks him as a formidable guitarist who has entertained people all over the world. His travels secrete into his songs.
"Odious Plot" sounds like a country blues hymn that would fit on any Louvin Brothers album. This contends as one of Mudcat's finest compositions. "Take Peace In your Heart" could've fit on any 70s city funk film soundtrack on merits of the song's groove alone. "The Pistol Song" crosses Lightning Hopkins and Hank Williams in this late night barroom drama...musical grains of the JBs linger within the melody.
"Woman In Love" sounds like ragtime street jazz. The final track plays like a reprise that fades like a street gypsys strolling down the avenue into the summer night. Mudcat's music always provides a great way to travel.