Pottery Pie Review by Mark Deming
Following the breakup of Jim Kweskin & the Jug Band in 1967, Geoff & Maria Muldaur found themselves free to pursue new musical directions, and their first album together, 1968's Pottery Pie, found them abandoning the whimsical old-timey sound of Kweskin's group for something fresher and more contemporary. However, their fondness for the blues and some of the more playful and esoteric avenues of American musical tradition hadn't faded a bit. Consequently, Pottery Pie is an album that seemingly defies genre or categorization, beyond the loose-limbed determination of the participants to have a fine old time, even when their music sounds sorrowful. There are no original tunes on Pottery Pie, but the Muldaurs put their own stamp on everything here, from the bluesy strut of "Catch It" and the playfully sexy spin on Bob Dylan's "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" to a sweetly sad take on "Georgia on My Mind" and a pair of reworked hymns that are deeply affecting in their simplicity and grace. The vintage jazz influences that Geoff & Maria explored with Kweskin surface on "New Orleans Hopscop Blues" and "Prairie Lullabye," but the presence of a funky rhythm section and Amos Garrett's signature guitar licks effortlessly transport the songs into the '60s. And their take on the old Tropicalia chestnut "Brazil," sincere on the surface and deeply twisted underneath, is a wonder to behold and worth the price of the album all by itself. (Terry Gilliam used the track in his film Brazil, and has said its oddball tone helped inspire the movie.) Geoff & Maria Muldaur's personal and professional relationship was not destined to last, and Pottery Pie was the first of only two albums they would make together. But plenty of acts have long and successful careers without creating anything with the adventurous charm of Pottery Pie, and it remains a left-field masterpiece.