Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There are cover versions and then there are real humdingers, songs that have been given such a new lease of life that they buzz with a new purpose that thrills the musical soul. Many musicians and boy bands can recreate the sound of a much loved anthem, the pop classic, the standard bearer of a generation who knew the song inside out and adored it but somehow it gets rehashed by the latest so called boy band and the song somehow loses its power. Then there are The Bad Shepherds and the incredible folk twist they bring to music which illuminates that power and gives it a new meaning.

The first two albums, Yan, Tyan, Tethera, Methera! and Hook or By Crook were sensational and now after a three year wait Mud, Blood and Beer continues this journey into a world in which music reaffirms what it stands for, to be new, to be bold and ear catching, to give a real hope in a world that is sometimes underpinned by the plastic, the dull and the banal.

For the Bad Shepherds, this new flock of songs carries the spirit fully of the two previous albums but there is something more, something darker and capturing the period in which the world finds itself in. The music is framed by the thought that somewhere along the line the world has taken a turn in which it might not recover, the senses being plagued by self-doubt and ridicule of those who find it amusing to destroy the slightest ray of talent in a challenging mind.

With songs such as The Stranglers’ classic No More Heroes being performed as if in a mournful repose rather than the bitter anger that the listener may readily associate to it, the sense of finality to the Madness track Our House replacing what was a remembrance of youth and the crowning glory of Ian Dury and The Blockheads’ song What A Waste filling the air around the speakers as if a regretful testament to the forgotten youth of modern Britain, the dreams and aspirations destroyed by current neglect. This isn’t just an album by Adrian Edmondson, Troy Donockley and Andy Dinan, it is statement that music is not just a healer but a reflection of the world as many see it.

With other incredible renditions on the album such as The Jam’s Going Underground and Talking Heads’ seminal Road To Nowhere making an appearance, as well as couple of brand new tracks by the band, Mud, Blood and Beer is not just an album to enjoy, it is a reminder that music is fluid, able to change and grow without being turned into a sideshow, without losing its soul.

Ian D. Hall