Big Shot in the Dark

Big Shot in the Dark is the fourth album by the American band Timbuk 3, released in 1991. "Mudflap Girl" was released as a single.

Production
 Big Shot in the Dark was Timbuk 3's first album as a four-piece band. Courtney Audain played bass and steel drums, and Wally Ingram served as the drummer/percussionist. "The Border Crossing" was inspired by the fall of the Berlin Wall. Evan Johns played guitar on "Mudflap Girl".

Critical reception
The Chicago Tribune called Timbuk 3 "a distinctly American band both in its spare, rootsy rock sound and its thematic obsession with the American dream gone awry." The Calgary Herald deemed the album "Timbuk 3 at its twangy, idiosyncratic best."

Kenneth Bays of AllMusic wrote: "On their fourth album, Timbuk 3 officially became a foursome ... there's a newfound sense of instrumental adventurousness all around. (49 Plymouth' employs a lute, while an instrumental version of 'Sunshine' is played on steel drums)... Big Shot in the Dark has a bluesy, droning quality throughout, a vibe that would be amplified further on Timbuk 3's 1994 EP Looks Like Dark to Me''."

Track listing

 * All songs written by Pat MacDonald, except where noted.
 * 1) God Made an Angel
 * 2) Sunshine
 * 3) Two Medicines (Barbara K. MacDonald)
 * 4) The Border Crossing (Barbara K. MacDonald)
 * 5) Big Shot in the Dark
 * 6) Mudflap Girl
 * 7) Dis•••land (Was Made for You & Me)
 * 8) Wake Up Little Darlin'
 * 9) '49 Plymouth
 * 10) The Little Things
 * 11) Sunshine (Instrumental)

Personnel

 * Timbuk 3
 * Pat MacDonald: Vocals, Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Harmonica, Lute, Sampler
 * Barbara K. MacDonald: Vocals, Electric Guitars, Violin, Percussion, Keyboards and Programming
 * Courtney Audain: Bass, Keyboards, Steel Drums, Various Other Percussion
 * Wally Ingram: Drums, Percussion, Handclaps


 * Additional Personnel
 * Liz Harrah: Organ on track 1
 * Evan Johns: Lead and Slide Guitar on track 6
 * Gary Moon: Hand claps
 * John Treanor: Washboard on tracks 3, 4, and 9


 * Production
 * Arranged and produced by Pat and Barbara K. MacDonald
 * Recording by Gary Moon; technical assistance by David Roach
 * Mixed by David Tickle (The Bunker, Malibu)
 * Mastered by Alan Yoshida at The Mastering Lab