Puddle of Mudd releases new album with classic covers

It’s almost hard to believe, but it’s been ten years since the release of Puddle Of Mudd’s debut album Come Clean. Over the past decade the band have sold over 6 million albums worldwide and collected nine Top 20 rock hits including seven, which went straight to #1 on the charts. Puddle Of Mudd’s impact at rock radio over the past decade is undeniable.

For their upcoming fifth studio album, the band decided to dig back into their own past for the songs that turned them on to becoming musicians in the first place. The result is: re:(disc)overed – an album which finds Puddle Of Mudd tackling these classic rock songs as only they know how.

“This record was a lot of fun to make,” commented lead guitarist Paul Phillips. “They were all songs and bands that we have been a fan or fans of forever. When choosing these songs, we really looked for ones that were both inspiring and challenging. We chose some that may be unexpected to some just so we could push the Puddle envelope a bit. We really wanted to stretch our legs on this one. It gave a chance to try some things that we have never really done on our records.”

The new album includes such classics as AC/DC’s “TNT,” Steve Miller’s “The Joker,” Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” the Stevie Nicks/Tom Petty duet “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” (which Puddle Of Mudd recorded with BC Jean), Neil Young’s “Old Man,” and the first single, The Rolling Stones classic “Gimmie Shelter.”

“We all collaborated over three months or so and compiled a huge list of songs that we eventually weeded down to 14 tracks,” commented lead singer Wes Scantlin. “For me, it was very important that I could identify with all of them lyrically. A lot of them really struck a nerve. Old Man by Neil Young and Rocket Man by Elton John definitely hit close to home. As I've become an adult, I've realized that I have become my old man. I seem to have inherited the same traits as him, whether they are good or bad. I've been listening to that one forever and now I'm living it. As for Rocket Man, I feel it is a beautiful metaphor for living life on the road. We are spacemen so to speak. No one knows what it's like out on the road. The fame, travelling, fans, etc...It's like outer space to most until you've lived it.”

Another standout track on the album is Puddle’s take on Billy Squier’s “Everybody Wants You.” Billy Squier himself has already heard the track and remarked, “Sounds like these guys have got the right idea.”

“Our goal in interpreting these songs was to pay more tribute rather than reinvent,” Phillips added. “These are all classics that are perfect in every sense, so who are we to mess with that? We just wanted to represent them in their true form and add a little of our sound to them. We cut everything with very few takes and tried to keep it very live like those old seventies records. We didn't want to Pro Tool the hell out of it.”

Track Listing
1. Gimmie Shelter
2. Old Man
3. T.N.T.
4. Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around
5. The Joker
6. Everybody Wants You
7. Rocket Man
8. All Right Now
9. Shooting Star
10. Funk
11. D’yer Maker