Search - Subdudes :: Miracle Mule

Listen Once - Buy Twice - one for your best friend! (Studio

Caslo Cranston | New Orleans, LA USA | 11/09/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hurricane Katrina smashed into the gulf coast near Waveland, Mississippi on August 29, 2005. In the immediate aftermath - New Orleans residents, with a heavy sigh of relief, thought their prayers had been answered 'til the water started rising in the streets.

Much of New Orleans, built below sea level, was inundated following catastrophic breaks in the protective levees. The water rose to 15 feet in some areas and drowned 3/4's of the city.

Submerged in the awful brine was a good friend's extensive CD library that seemed to have faired better than his LP collection.

"These can be saved," I told him.

When he left the next day for Cleveland, his newly adopted home. --- I began to realize the scope of my elected task- a tedious cleaning of hundreds of CD's that may have well been left on a trash pile.

In the process of archiving the undamaged CD's I came across a disk that the Itunes database did not recognize. It was an advance CD of the Subdudes' Miracle Mule. The song order did not seem quite right so I was forced to listen to all of the the tracks hoping to guess the order of the songs.

What I found was surely more than I expected.

The Radiators, Cowboy Mouth and Better than Ezra have long been New Orleans hometown favorites, yet have never seemed to consistently manifest the divine confluence of pop lyric and melody.

Prepare yourself for the Subdudes - strange name great sound. You may never be able to find a copy of the Advanced Miracle Mule CD but the commercially available Miracle Mule is still quite exceptional - only missing one song. Reminiscent of the soulful style of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, the Miracle Mule CD gives you a taste of what makes Louisiana musicians more than exceptional.



Update:



I have since collected almost all of the Subdudes releases - Annuciation, Behind the Levee, Poverty & Primitive Streak -and have had the opportunity to hear them play live at Jackson Square in New Orleans.

In my opinion Miracle Mule is their best effort!!!



caslo"

Superb Performance

A. Krauss | Somers, New York United States | 05/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After undergoing a bit of a listening hiatis with respect to the Subdudes music (roughly in relation to the groups disbanding), I heard these guys playing live last week on our local PBS radio station (WFUV). They played 3-4 songs from this CD and I could tell from the getgo this was something special. Well, I ran right out that day and bought the CD and was not disappointed. Indeed, its virtually a perfect performance and the recording quality is pretty darn good - - nice and clean ! As one other reviewer said, the first tune is nice, but does not compare with what lies ahead. There is a nice mix of ballads (which are simply gorgeous) and some edgier tunes. All in all, a well balanced CD. I am not a great fan of Accordian, which can IMHO irritate if over done, but on this CD its use is understated, tasteful and melodic. Get the CD, you can't go wrong. My only gripe is I would love to have heard even more background vocal harmonizing, because that on the CD is fantastic."

MASTERPIECE!

Frank Gonzales | Willits, CA United States | 05/02/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Anyone who's ever listened to these guys know how fun thier music is to listen to...great harmonies, wonderful jazz/rock/blues instrumentation (with just a hint of zydeco), wonderful free-style innovation. Of all their CD's (all of which are high quality) MIRACLE MULE is my favorite. I think many will agree it's their best. The first cut, "Morning Glory" is a nice start, but doesn't begin to clue the listener in to what lies ahead. The wonderful longings of "If Wishing Made It So" gently stretches the offerings, pulling you in all the more. By then you're hooked. Their mellow pieces, like "Brightest Star" or "The Rain" are so smooth that you want to repeat them over and over. "It's Been Known to Touch Me" is a wonderfully inspirational surprise without being burdonsome. Without covering all the cuts, let's just say the rest is pure fun. By the time you reach cut #13, "Miracle Mule", you're in the mood for this funky little fun-tune, and can forgive them for their tiny bit of self-indulgence...and may even enjoy it! This is a pure masterpiece...if you like the 'dudes, you'll love Miracle Mule."