AMG Review of Mudcrutch Extended Play Live

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

Mudcrutch's supporting tour of their belated 2008 debut was brief, spanning only a handful of dates in California in spring of 2008, so it's only logical that the accompanying tour souvenir of that CD is also short and sweet: an old-fashioned EP instead of the multi-format CD/DVD/Blu_Ray release that's all the rage in 2008. Fans might gripe about its abbreviated length, but the four tracks on Extended Play Live are all top-notch, showcasing everything the band does well: there's the swampy rock of "The Wrong Thing to Do," the country-rock & roll of "Bootleg Flyer," the epic 15-minute jam of "Crystal River," and a rip-snorting tear through Jerry Lee Lewis' "High School Confidential." It's enough to entertain and enough to make any fan wish that Mudcrutch decided not to be quite so old-fashioned this time around and give the fans a full show instead of an EP.