by Dave Sleger
Tears for Beers' third album combines their penchant for traditional material as heard on Tears for Beers with the overt Celtic-rock style displayed on their previous record Cracky Bones. What sets this recording apart from many Celtic-rock albums is their selection of songs. While some of the most frequently performed traditional songs are included like &Athol Highlander,& &Star of the County Down& and &Drunken Sailor& Tears for Beers thankfully chose several more obscure pieces like &Fire Maringo,& &Cruel Sister& and &Cold Frosty Morning& making Mud Water Dance less predictable than many Celtic-rock collections. Instrumentally, they are among the finest performing this style of music - Lars Jenson on banjo, bouzouki and pipes, guitarist Roland Schneider, accordionist Bert Ritscher and new fiddler Stefan Baumann carry the melodies flawlessly while the rhythm section of bassist Stephan Gerdau and drummer Uwe Willmann compliment their playing admirably.