Muddy WATERS - The London Muddy Waters Sessions 1971

Muddy WATERS - The London Muddy Waters Sessions 1971
CH-60013

Blues

It's difficult to compare the "London Sessions" recordings of selected blues greats, but this one has to rank with the very best. "Key to the Highway", "Walking Blues" are just a sample of tunes that Muddy trademarked as his standards on this album. Every song may not rate 5 stars, but the composite is. I think Muddy derived great joy in making it, as I have in tuning in to this recording.
**
He headed to England in 1958 and shocked his overseas audiences with loud, amplified electric guitar and a thunderous beat. When R&B began to die down shortly after, Waters switched back to his older style of country blues. His gig at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960 (see At Newport 1960) turned on a whole new generation to Waters's Delta sound. After which English musicians of the likes of Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones expressed a fondness for the new sound, Waters switched back to electric circa 1964. Thereupon expressing anger when he felt that members of his own race were turning their backs to the genre while a Caucasian audience had shown increasing respect for the blues.
However, for the better part of twenty years (since his last big hit in 1956, “I'm Ready”) Waters was put on the back shelf by the Chess label and recorded albums with various “popular” themes: Brass And The Blues, Electric Mud, etc. In 1972 he went back to England to record The London Muddy Waters Sessions with four hotshot rockers•Rory Gallagher, Steve Winwood, Rick Grech, and Mitch Mitchell • but their playing wasn't up to his standards. “These boys are top musicians, they can play with me, put the book before 'em and play it, you know,” he told Guralnick. “But that ain't what I need to sell my people, it ain't the Muddy Waters sound. An if you change my sound, then you gonna change the whole man.”
**
Bass- Rick Grech
Drums- Herbie Lovelle (tracks: A1, B2, B4) ,
Drums- Mitch Mitchell
Guitar- Rory Gallagher , Sam Lawhorn
Harmonica- Carey Bell, Harrington
Piano, Organ- Georgie Fortune , Steve Winwood (tracks: A2, A4, B3)
Tenor Sax- Seldon Powell
Trombone- Garnett Brown
Trumpet- Ernie Royal , Joe Newman
Vocals- Rosetta Hightower (tracks: A1)
Vocals, Guitar- Muddy Waters
**
A1. Blind Man Blues 3:31
A2. Key to the Highway 2:23
A3. Young Fashioned Ways 4:21
A4. I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town 3:55
A5. Who's Gonna Be Your Sweet Man When I'm Gone 5:03
B1. Walkin' Blues 3:00
B2. I'm Ready 4:09
B3. Sad Sad Day 5:17
B4. I Don't Know Why 4:03
**
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Muddy WATERS - "Unk" In Funk 1974

Muddy WATERS - "Unk" In Funk 1974
BLPS 19179

Blues

The nine sides on Unk in Funk (1974) are among the last newly recorded material that Muddy Waters (vocalsguitar) would issue during his nearly 30 year association with Chess Records. Backing up the Chicago blues icon is a band he'd carry with him for the remainder of his performing career, including Pinetop Perkins (piano), Luther Guitar Junior Johnson (guitar), Bob Margolin (guitar), Calvin Fuzz Jones (bass), and Willie Big Eyes Smith (drums). They run through a better than average selection of Waters' classics with newer compositions more or less tossed in, presumably to keep the track list fresh. Although Waters certainly has nothing to prove, he attacks his old catalog with the drive and command of a man putting it all on the line. That same spirit of quality and authenticity shapes his umpteenth overhaul of Rollin' and Tumblin', as Waters' guitar -- the only time he plays on the whole platter -- rekindles his singular sounding fretwork. Demonstrating why they were suitable rhythmic foils for Waters, Jones and Smith's gritty timekeeping perfectly holds down the slinky methodical groove churning beneath the update of Just Had to Be with You. This allows the artist a chance to let loose with some inspired vocal improvisations. The bouncy frolic of Trouble No More and the vintage Chicago R&B vibe of Drive My Blues Away offer the most authentic presentation of Waters then and now. While the newer songs, Katie and Waterboy, Waterboy, reveal that the ol' mule still has a bit of kick in him yet. Electric Man is one of two cuts by Amelia Cooper (Waters' granddaughter) and Terry Abrahamson, typifying the style of self-aggrandizing lyrical plodding over generic blues changes that had marred several of the blues legends' later efforts. All is not lost, however, thanks to some playful interaction between Waters and harp blower Carey Bell Harrington. Cooper and Abrahamson's other contribution -- Unk in Funk -- shares its credit along with talent agent Ted Kurland. Again, while the sentiment is well-intended, the playing is marginalized with little to no substantive territory gained.
By Lindsay Planer. AMG.
**
A1. Rollin' And Tumblin 7:28
A2. Just To Be With You 3:55
A3. Electric Man 3:10
A4. Trouble No More 2:40
B1. "Unk" In Funk 3:22
B2. Drive My Blues Away 2:48
B3. Katie 3:04
B4. Waterboy Waterboy 4:00
B5. Everything Gonna Be Alright 3:35
**
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Muddy WATERS - More Real Folk Blues 1967

Muddy WATERS - More Real Folk Blues 1967

Blues

The companion volume to the first Waters entry in the series is even more down home than the first. Featuring another brace of early Chess sides from 1948-1952, this release features some essential tracks not found on The Chess Box. With the bludgeoning stomp of "She's Alright" featuring Elgin Evans's kickass drumming and the moody introspection of "My Life Is Ruined" to be counted up among the numerous highlights, this is a fine budget package that Muddy (and lovers of early Chicago blues) fans certainly shouldn't overlook.
By Cub Koda, All Music Guide.
**
Jimmy Rogers- Guitar
Ernest Big Crawford- Bass 
Muddy Waters- Guitar, Vocals 
Little Walter- Harmonica
Elgin Edmonds- Drums
**
01. Sad Letter Blues 3:05
02. You're Gonna Need My Help I Said 3:10
03. Sittin' Here And Drinkin' (A.K.A. Whiskey Blues) 2:37
04. Down South Blues 2:57
05. Train Fare Home 2:50
06. Kind Hearted Woman 2:37
07. Appealing Blues (A.K.A. Hello Little Girl) 2:52
08. Early Morning Blues 3:11
09. Too Young To Know 3:16
10. She's All Right 2:32
       Drums - Elgin Evans
       Guitar - Jimmy Rogers
11. My Life Is Ruined (A.K.A. Landlady) 2:41
       Drums - Elgin Evans
       Guitar - Jimmy Rogers
12. Honey Bee 3:23
**
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Muddy WATERS - Real Folk Blues 1966

Muddy WATERS - Real Folk Blues 1966
LP 1968 Issue-MAR S-3217

Blues

Released in 1966, at the height of the popularity of the blues among young white audiences, this aptly-titled 12-track compilation delivers exactly what it promises. Recorded at the legendary Chess Studios at 2120 S. Michigan Ave in Chicago between 1947 and 1964, this collection captures the best work of singer-guitarist Muddy Waters (McKinley Morganfield), possibly the greatest of the Chicago-style (meaning electric and most often accompanied by a full band) blues performers. Muddy is here backed by such legends as pianist Otis Spann
and harmonica player Little Walter.
**
Muddy Waters- (Vocals, Guitar);
Jimmy Rogers, Pat Hare, Pee Wee Madison, Sammy Lawhorn- (Guitar);
Otis Spann, Sunnyland Slim- (Piano);
Little Walter- (Harmonica);
Willie Dixon, Andrew Stephenson, Ransom Knowling, Big Crawford- (Bass);
Francey Clay, Odie Payne- (Drums).
**
A1. Mannish Boy   2:53
A2. Screamin' and Crying   3:03
A3. Just to Be With You   3:12
A4. Walking in the Park   2:39
A5. Walking Blues   2:53
A6. Canary Bird   2:42
B1. The Same Thing   2:40
B2. Gypsy Woman   2:32
B3. Rollin' & Tumblin'   2:57
B4. Forty Days & Forty Nights   2:50
B5. Little Geneva   2:45
B6. You Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had   2:55
**
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Muddy WATERS, J. WINTER & James COTTON - Breakin’ It Up, Breakin’ It Down 1977

Muddy WATERS, J. WINTER & James COTTON - Breakin’ It Up, Breakin’ It Down 1977

Blues 

Muddy Waters' work on Chess Records from the late 1940s to the early 1970s is truly amazing. He was the most powerful blues artist and one of the best songwriters. Many fans think he was in decline in the mid-1970s when "Breakin' It Up, Breakin' It Down" was recorded. This concert document should dispel those thoughts. It might have taken Muddy longer to build up a head of steam, but when he got rollin', he was as "mannish" as ever. With old pal James Cotton blowing away on harp and Johnny Winter (who ignited Muddy's revival by producing his later records on Blue Sky Records) as his co-stars on the 1977 tour, Muddy was pushed to the heights he regularly reached in his 1950s and 1960s heyday ("Pinetop" Perkins on piano, and Bob Margolin on guitar also shine). The live version of "Can't be Satisfied" - the second cut on the disc - is as strong as any live recording in his career. I saw this band at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. and the three stars were on fire and having a whale of a time. When I bought "Breakin' It Up, Breakin' It Down," I thought, "there is no way this recording will be as good as I remember the show." But not to worry, it's all here and hearing it again made me smile at the memories of Muddy, James, and Johnny pouring out electric blues. A rousing "Got My Mojo Working" (the encore) finishes things up nicely. Someone once said, "In Muddy Waters' hands 'the blues' is a misnomer."
By  Morgan Broman.
**
This cd is a new release of a concert tour in 1977 with Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter and James Cotton. I vacillated for days before I bought this. I have deducted, that listening to the thirty second sound bites, are worthless, especially when making a decision on electric blues. In 30 seconds, the guy might not even be done tuning his guitar! I'm going to attempt, to help you, not to have to go through, the anguish, that I went through, before I made the decision to buy this cd. First of all, you can tell how much these three guys like each other. Since this is a live performance, you hear them kidding each other throughout each song. One guy sings: "Your mother ought to know..." And one of the guys not singing lead, is yelling: "Yea tell em!" or you hear enthusiastic screams like: "Ow!" "Yea" "Do it James!" "Do it Johnny", etc. I personally think James Cotton, and his mind blowing "harp" (For you non-experienced blues neophytes, that's his harmonica! Please make a note of that!) steals the whole show. That magic harp of his, is either screeching, scratching, waling, and always cooking. If I were to try to draw a verbal picture for you, of the type of blues these fella's are playing, I'd say, think about an old black and white detective movie, and you're inside a bar, smoke is slowly circling its way to the ceiling, and in the background you hear the blues. That's the kind of blues on this cd. James Cotton, when he's not blowing the "harp", showcases a voice, that sounds like its seen, a lot of cigarettes, a lot of whiskey, a lot of women, and left it with the blues. This entire cd, is old-time "roadhouse", feeling good, blues. There are 11 songs, totaling just under sixty minutes. This is a classic taste, of old-time jamming, ELECTRIC BLUES, with the "harp", being the pulse, that never misses a blue beat! Buy this!
By  Rick Shaq Goldstein.
**
Muddy Waters– Guitar
James Cotton– Harmonica, Vocal
Johnny Winter– Guitar
Pinetop Perkins– Piano
Bob Margolin– Guitar
Charles Calmese– Bass Guitar
Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith– Drums
**
01. Black Cat Bone/Dust My Broom 5:55
02. Can’t Be Satisfied 3:47
03. Caldonia 6:57
04. Dealin’ With The Devil 7:50
05. Rocket 88 2:09
06. I Done Got Over It 5:59
07. How Long Can A Fool Go Wrong 5:53
08. Mama Talk To Your Daughter 5:53
09. Love Her With A Feeling 5:47
10. Trouble No More 4:09
11. Got My Mojo Workin’ 4:59
**
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M. Waters, J. Winter, J. Cotton & P. Perkins - Tower Theater,Upper Darby, PA. 1977

M. Waters, J. Winter, J. Cotton & P. Perkins - Tower Theater,Upper Darby, PA. 1977
and B. Margolin.

Blues

Listening to Muddy Waters, James Cotton, and Johnny Winter on tour in 1977 - just after Winter produced Muddy’ Grammy winning Hard Again comeback album - is like watching Big Papi, Manny, and Varitek mash a baseball around Fenway.

Though well into his 60’s, Waters sounds as fresh and vibrant as he did on all those classic Chess recordings from the 1950s. Because the band assembled includes James Cotton, Pinetop Perkins, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Winter, Brookline’s Bob Margolin, and Charles Calmese on bass, the Chicago blues groove sounds as solid as a slab of granite. The weave of piano, harmonica, and slide guitar supported by Waters’ trademark heavy emphasis on the backbeat makes this a timeless recording. Then add Texas slide blazer, Johnny Winter, and this is an hour of blues heaven.
According to Sony, this concert of previously unreleased material was part of a 1999 storage bin discovery of recording tapes from the 1970s and 80s. The cuts here come from three shows in March 1977.
For anyone who thought that by 1977 Muddy was just a shell of his former Chess self, listen to this 65-year-old street corner rappin’ on “Caledonia.” Louis Jordan couldn’t do it any better.
The night begins with the band in top form on the medley, “Black Cat Bone/Dust My Broom.” Winter blasts his 1959 Firebird into the slide-o-sphere on the opening “Black Cat Bone.” The call –and-response between he and Cotton keeps the song in orbit until Muddy hijacks it into “Dust My Broom.”
Muddy then strips the band “down to nothing” to play “Can’t Be Satisfied,” the song that skyrocketed Muddy and Chess Records onto the scene. Waters first recorded it on Stovall’s Plantation in Clarksdale, Mississippi for Alan Lomax in 1941 and later, in 1948, it caught the ear of Leonard Chess. Muddy’s singing down home - back porch style - while Winter is pickin’ and slidin’ on the National. Follow that with the aforementioned “Caledonia” and it’s Chicago blues heaven.
From there, the musical triumvirate equally shares the blue spotlight. For slow blues fans, Cotton and Winter duet on “Dealin’ With The Devil,” before Cotton himself cruises on “Rocket 88” Winter then delivers three blues classics, Guitar Slim’s “Done Got Over It,” Lowell Fulson’s “Love Her With A Feeling,” and J.B. Lenoir’s “Mama, Talk To Your Daughter.”
The disc ends with Muddy returning to command “Trouble No More” and the ubiquitous “Got My Mojo Working,” both culled from the March 6, 1977 show at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, PA. The crowd apparently knows that no Muddy show was ever complete without “Mojo,” and its traditional sing-a-long. From the applause, I’m guessing he was also up and dancin’ with Cotton, a la Newport 1960.
Every song on Breakin ’ItUp,Breakin’ It Down is a precious piece of the spirit of Muddy Waters. Recorded with his all star, 1970s band - ignited throughout the hour by Johnny Winter’s incendiary slide guitar - and accompanied by two pages of guitarist Bob Margolin’s pinpoint liner notes, this is an essential record for every blues fan.
**
Muddy Waters- Vocals and Guitar;
Johnny Winter- Vocals and Guitar;
James Cotton- Vocals and Harp;
Bob Margolin- Vocals and Guitar;
Pinetop Perkins- Vocals and Piano;
Willie "Big Eyes" Smith- Drums;
Charles Calmese- Bass.
**
CD: 1

01. Opening 0.53
02. Hideaway 7.24
03. Juke 03 2.16
04. Last Night 9.14
05. See See Baby 6.02
06. Rocket '88 06 1.48
07. How Long Can A Bell Ring 07 5.31
08. Slow Blues Jam 9.51
09. I Done Got Over It 09 7.04
10. Crosscut Saw 5.43
11. Talk To Your Daughter 5.49
12. Band Intros
CD2:

01. 2nd set opening 01 2.12
02. Muddy Waters Intro 3.06
03. Hoochie Coochie Man 6.35
04. Blow Wind Blow 04 6.19
05. Walkin' Thru The Park 6.19
06. Deep Down In Flo rida 6.32
07. Blues Had A Baby 4.27
08. I Can't Be Satisfied 3.15
09. Trouble No More 09 3.15
10. Howling Wolf 6.58
11. Mannish Boy 5.44
12. Got My Mojo Workin 5.44
13. Oh, Baby 13 3.05
14. Walk Off Music 1.40
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