A sepia-toned journey into the heartland of American music, Shuffle is the album Mundy probably couldn’t avoid making any longer. Not so much a covers album, as an interpretative snapshot of just some of his primary influences and continuing love of all things Americana, it’s a revelation in more ways than one. Some of these songs are well-known and loved; Paul Simon’s ‘Kathy’s Song’ John Prine’s’ gorgeous ‘Angel From Montgomery’ and Neil Young’s incendiary protest anthem ‘Ohio’ being just three. Others, including former Replacement Paul Westerberg’s ‘It’s A Wonderful Lie’ and Gillian Welch’s gospel ballad ‘Rock Of Ages’ are well worth hearing. More recent fare such as Lucinda William’s chaotic ballad ‘Drunken Angel’ and Sparklehorses’ ‘Painbirds’ sit comfortably alongside age old gems such as Hank William’s obscure-ish, ‘Lost On The River’ and the Jimmy Roger’s tune ‘Peach Pickin’ Time In Georgia’. (If these songs, as the title hints, were what came up randomly when Mundy hit the shuffle button on his Ipod - you can only conclude that the man has impeccable taste.) Not one of Warren Zevon’s best known songs ‘Reconsider Me’ (performed here with Gemma Hayes’ velvety tones adding gorgeous vocal textures) is a another gem along with Bob Dylan’s whimsical Blood On The Track- era ‘Buckets of Rain’ and Gram Parson’s lovely ballad ‘Juanita’. Of course it’s all impeccably performed with some of Ireland’s finest musicians helping out with hilarious linter notes by Patrick McCabe.
Over thirty years ago Freddie White introduced a generation of Irish music fans to the music of Randy Newman, Lowell George and others with his debut live album. With Shuffle Mundy may have repeated the exercise.