Mudhoney. The Lucky Ones

The Lucky Ones is the ninth album by the band Mudhoney. It was released on May 20, 2008.

Mudhoney have never really received the respect they deserve over the years. To the uninformed, Nirvana were the grunge band that started it all, but trace the lineage back, and right at the start of that poorly monikered genre were Mudhoney.

Drummer Dan Peters filled in for Nirvana inbetween Chad Channing and Dave Grohl and original ‘Honey bass player Matt Lukin was a founding member of super sludge outfit Melvins. All in all Mudhoney’s constituent parts have been at the foundations of one the biggest musical movements of the ’90s. As a whole, it would be easy to argue that Mudhoney have been cruelly overlooked in favour of the likes of Soundgarden, Alice In Chains and Pearl Jam.

Recorded in 3 and a half days, this is vibrant rock at its best. It shows that while Mudhoney can create one hell of a cathartic noise, there was always a perfectly formed tune at its heart.

The whole album is a bundle of fuzzed up joy always sounding like Mudhoney at their prime. The sound isn’t new, but then it never really was. Perhaps the most vital point is that this is an album that sounds like a band playing. It hasn’t been lovingly ironed out and stripped of its charms. You can practically hear the strings being hit, the feedback is right there, and Arm’s voice is about as good as it has ever been.

The Lucky Ones is unlikely to garner any new fans for Mudhoney, which is a shame because this is one of the best albums of their career. For those who like their rock raw and full of attitude; this is how garage rock should be done, and there isn’t a band around who do it like Mudhoney.

Tracks:

I’m Now (2:40)
Inside Out Over You (3:25)
The Lucky Ones (4:52)
Next Time (3:01)
And the Shimmering Lights (3:05)
The Open Minds (2:26)
What’s This Thing (2:54)
Running Out (3:28)
Tales of Terror (3:17)
We Are Rising (4:30)
New Meaning (2:39)

Download The Lucky Ones album from Gomusic
Download The Lucky Ones album from M3Sale