Mudhoney
Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge

In 1991, Mudhoney released "Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge," their second full-length (the historic debut "Superfuzz Bigmuff" from 1988 is a mini). It was precisely released in July, and thanks to its good success, the group was on track for international fame. Unfortunately, two months later, with the advent of the acclaimed "Nevermind" and "Ten," the 60,000 copies sold of "Every Good Boy..." were overshadowed by the millions of albums sold by Nirvana and Pearl Jam.

A pity: Mudhoney, who are among the most representative and primordial figures of the Seattle scene, have always deserved better fate. Maybe because their music has never been accommodating or particularly catchy, maybe because the four, incorrigibly carefree and anarchic, never had the charisma of generational spokespersons like Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder, the fact is that Mudhoney never achieved even a quarter of the success of the more famous Seattle bands. Yet, without taking anything away from previous works, "Every Good Boy..." is a remarkable album because it shows a touch of maturity beyond their past works. Firstly, they expanded their range of instruments: it’s thus possible to hear an organ in three songs (Generation Genocide, Who You Drivin' Now, Check-Out Time), a harmonica in two (Move Out, Pokin' Around), a greater presence of slides (along with the harmonica confirming that blues is part of their repertoire), of clean and acoustic rhythmic guitars in the background. Furthermore, their style, although unmistakable, sounds more varied from the very first notes, since the brief instrumental intro Generation Genocide is almost a dark prog piece, with that odd time signature cadenced and martial, with that sepulchral riff played simultaneously by organ and guitar, with that frantic ending at times reminiscent of the more frantic Van Der Graaf Generator: it's undoubtedly the most atypical track on the setlist, but it shows that the group has opened up to multiple influences, yet revised and corrected with the typical biting and pleasantly insolent flair.

The second track, Let It Slide, is a classic Mudhoney number, a brazen garage rock'n'roll, but the rest of the compositions present small innovations applied to their sound, which until then was almost exclusively oriented towards the Stooges and the wildest sixties garage: hence, you can hear more melodic temptations (Good Enough, Move Out, Check-Out Time), references to Sonic Youth (Something So Clear, Don't Fade IV), pauses in punk territories (Thorn, Into The Drink and even Pokin’ Around, despite the addition of harmonica) and hardcore (Shoot The Moon), even some surf reminiscences (Fuzzgun '91). Anyway, the debt to the Stooges isn’t extinguished: Who You Drivin' Now really seems like one of their songs, and the presence of the organ is of little impact, and Broken Hands also reminds us of them, with that simple chord sequence developing in an ascending climax of power and tension, with that theme starting quietly almost to form a perverse ballad before exploding into walls of guitars and final noise.

"Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge" is a great work, and after listening one naturally wonders why they never became famous. Mark Arm and company never aspired to sell millions of copies and receive platinum records, yet their music, so genuinely obscurantist and raucous, is one of the most interesting facets of grunge. If at their time, modest epigones of the so-called "Seattle Sound" like Stone Temple Pilots found success (not to mention all the bland Strokes-similar bands currently infesting the charts!), why not give some to natural and authentic bands like this one?

Two words above all else can qualify Mudhoney: unjustly underestimated.