Mud, Lies & Shame

Last updated
Mud, Lies & Shame
Mud, Lies & Shame.jpg
Studio album by
Wild Seeds
Released1988
Genre Rock, pop
Label Passport
Producer Howard Benson
Wild Seeds chronology
Brave, Clean + Reverent
(1986)		Mud, Lies & Shame
(1988)		I'm Sorry, I Can't Rock You All Night Long: 1984–1989
(2001)

Mud, Lies & Shame is the second album by the American band Wild Seeds, released in 1988. [1] [2] The first single was "I'm Sorry, I Can't Rock You All Night Long". [3] The band supported the album with a North American tour. [4]

Contents

Production

The album was produced by Howard Benson, who helped Wild Seeds capture a radio-friendly sound. [5] [6] The band added singer Kris McKay prior to the recording sessions; she took the lead vocal on "All This Time". [7] Most of the songs were written by Michael Hall, who considered the album to be pop music; former guitarist Bo Solomon wrote "Virginia". [8] [9] [10] "Debi Came Back" is about a man who fantasizes about the return of a high school flame. [11] "I'm Sorry, I Can't Rock You All Night Long" notes that romantic and sexual relationships often don't compare to descriptions in rock lyrics. [12] "I Have Died a Thousand Times for True Love" employs a Bo Diddley beat. [13] "You Will Be Married to a Jealous Man" is a duet between Hall and McKay. [14]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [15]
Robert Christgau B [16]
Omaha World-Herald Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [17]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [14]

The St. Petersburg Times called the album "a second helping of witty, winning guitar anthems" and praised Hall's "clever wordplay and strong affection for rock 'n' roll's past and present". [8] The Washington Post said that Wild Seeds "rock pretty conventionally, but Hall's twists provide enough traction to keep its second album ... from getting stuck." [7] The Philadelphia Inquirer labeled Wild Seeds "a solid rock band from Austin whose songs linger one or two steps from the blues and country." [18] The Toronto Star stated that Mud, Lies & Shame "mixes Texas border music with a rollicking bayou-meets-the-Bowery beat, sweetened by Hall's fanciful lyric sense." [11] The Vancouver Sun likened Hall's songs to "the best of Green on Red, Guadalcanal Diary, the Long Ryders, the Beat Farmers and the Modernettes." [19] Rolling Stone liked that McKay "has most of the irrepressible instincts of ... Maria McKee, but none of her infuriating pretensions." [14]

Trouser Press said that the album "applies slightly slicker roadhouse production to another smart and elegant collection of songs." [20] AllMusic deemed it "more than just your run-of-the-mill college pop stop". [15]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Debi Came Back" 
2."I'm Sorry, I Can't Rock You All Night Long" 
3."You Will Be Married to a Jealous Man" 
4."I Have Died a Thousand Times for True Love" 
5."Long Train Gone" 
6."Like a Fall" 
7."Jack's Walking with the King" 
8."Ramblin'" 
9."If I Were a Storm" 
10."Virginia" 
11."All This Time" 

References

  1. ↑ Levy, Joe (April 26, 1988). "Love the Night Away". The Village Voice. Vol. 33, no. 17. p. 82.
  2. ↑ Simels, Steve (May 1988). "Best Recordings of the Month". Stereo Review. Vol. 53, no. 5. p. 97.
  3. ↑ MacCambridge, Michael (March 14, 1988). "The beat goes on". Austin American-Statesman. p. B7.
  4. ↑ Duffy, Thom (February 21, 1988). "Best Patrol Bets". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 20.
  5. ↑ Miller, Michael L. (February 19, 1988). "Sound Advice". The Columbia Record. p. 8B.
  6. ↑ Wynn, Ron (February 13, 1988). "Wild Seeds play small, think big". The Commercial Appeal. p. C4.
  7. 1 2 Jenkins, Mark (March 9, 1988). "The New Old-Time Rock 'n' Roll". The Washington Post. p. B7.
  8. 1 2 Okamoto, David (February 21, 1988). "Fertile ideas sprout from Wild Seeds". St. Petersburg Times. p. 2F.
  9. ↑ Burrus, James (February 16, 1988). "Wild Seeds' latest album lacks a hard-edged sound". The Daily Tar Heel. p. 10.
  10. ↑ Ward, Ed (2011). Powell, Austin; Freeman, Doug (eds.). The Austin Chronicle Music Anthology. University of Texas Press. p. 76.
  11. 1 2 MacInnis, Craig (March 25, 1988). "Ex-critic puts money where his mouth is". Toronto Star. p. E9.
  12. ↑ Sullivan, Jim (May 12, 1988). "Wild Seeds Mud, Lies & Shame". Calendar. The Boston Globe. p. 6.
  13. ↑ Toombs, Mikel (June 10, 1988). "Wild Seeds will bloom here again". The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. D1.
  14. 1 2 3 Guterman, Jimmy (April 21, 1988). "Records". Rolling Stone. No. 524. p. 113.
  15. 1 2 "Mud, Lies & Shame Review by John Dougan". AllMusic. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Wild Seeds". Robert Christgau. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  17. ↑ Healy, James (March 20, 1988). "Austin's Wild Seeds 'Not Average Band'". Entertainment. Omaha World-Herald. p. 15.
  18. ↑ Milward, John (March 18, 1988). "Precision Band". Features Weekend. The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 28.
  19. ↑ Mackie, John (June 17, 1988). "Wild Seeds sprout fresh approach". The Vancouver Sun. p. E3.
  20. ↑ Schoemer, Karen. "Wild Seeds". Trouser Press. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
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