Showing posts with label muddy waters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label muddy waters. Show all posts

The Complete Plantation Recordings Review

The Complete Plantation Recordings
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The Complete Plantation Recordings ReviewWhen Muddy Waters made the first recordings here, he was 26 or 27 and had not been playing regularly. He didnt own a guitar and had to borrow Alan Lomax's Martin. You see here your basic Delta and Mississippi blues in full blossom, by a man who was a great player if he could sound like this when he wasn't in practice. People look at Mississippi blues with a distorted mind thinking of it only through the stream of Robert Johnson, when the music and the tradition was much broader.

In the interviews on this recording you can see how lame and ignorant at times the folklorists were, both white and black, Lomax and Work. But you also see a testament to Son House who taught Robert Johnson, Muddy, and a whole layer of bluesmen and who was such a great artist even in his revival 1960s that Muddy would make his band members keep quiet and play close attention when House performed with them at Newport and elsewhere.
However, you also see his roots beyond this. We get to hear a good string band performance with Muddy Playing with fiddler Son Sims and a mandolin player in a blues fiddle band that was typical of what was going on at the time. Muddy explains his decision to start playing music was inspired by Sims and the string band with Sims and the mandolin player was the band he performed with when he got work. Neither Waters nor the liner notes let you know that Waters also played mandolin, and that when Muddy was a teenager in the 1930s, his favorite blues group was the fiddle band The Mississippi Sheiks. Years later, Muddy would explain he walked all day just to hear the Sheiks.
Despite all this history, this is some good blues music to listen to,. More relaxed,and less intense, and of course less masterful than the Chess masterpieces Muddy began putting out in Chicago in the 1940s, but this is still a CD I put on my player with it set to keep replaying it because I want to hear it.The Complete Plantation Recordings OverviewRecorded on Stovall Plantation in Clarksdale, MS by Alan Lomax in 1941 and 1942, these 18 tracks represent the first recordings of a sharecropper named McKinley Morganfield a.k.a. Muddy Waters. And, yeah, there's an unreleased track, and four interviews, but really, for something this historic the less said the better. Just listen.

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The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1969, Vol. 3 (1969) Review

The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1969, Vol. 3 (1969)
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The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1969, Vol. 3 (1969) ReviewI have been collecting the audio discs of "The American Folk Blues Festival" for many years with great anticipation that the mythic video documents would someday be released. Happily those and some new performances are included on this DVD output along with the others in the series. The performances are absolute gems. This disc is a mix of studio and live performances that are so great they bring a tear of joy to my eye. Most of the performers were so rarely filmed that it is a real delight to see them perform. The set list is identified above, but it is worthy of note that the musicians backing up the "A" list track artists are a who's who of blues legends.
I can't pick a favorite cut as they are all wonderful, but to see Otis Rush backing Big Joe Turner, or the ultra rare filmed appearance of Little Walter blowing harp for Hound Dog Taylor (four years before Hound Dog's stellar Alligator debut incidentally), or Buddy Guy's super cool reading of "Out Of Site", or the main man, T-Bone Walker, backing Helen Humes, etc. is a treat beyond explanation. The amazing Earl Hooker and Muddy Waters are bonus track features with Paul Oscher making a very cool appearance on "Got My Mojo Working." Run time is about an hour on this disc.
If you are a fan of music, especially blues, then you need this three volume DVD set, now.
The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1969, Vol. 3 (1969) OverviewTracklistings 1. BIG MAMA THORNTON- Hound Dog 2. ROOSEVELT SYKES- Gulfport Boogie 3. BUDDY GUY- Out Of Sight 4. DR. ISAIAH ROSS- Feel So Good 5. JOE TURNER- Flip, Flop & Fly 6. SKIP JAMES- All Night Long 7. SKIP JAMES- Crow Jane 8. BUKKA WHITE Got Sick & Tired 9. SON HOUSE Death Letter Blues 10. HOUND DOG TAYLOR Wild About You 11. KOKO TAYLOR Wang Dang Doodle 12. SONNY TERRY & BROWNIE McGHEE-Stranger Blues 12. SONNY TERRY & BROWNIE McGHEE- Burnt Child (Afraid of Fire) 14. SONNY TERRY & BROWNIE McGHEE-Gonna Move Across The River 15. HELEN HUMES- THe Blues Ain't Nothing' But A Women BONUS TRACKS: 16. EARL HOOKER- Earl's Boogie 17. MUDDY WATERS- Long Distance Call & 16. MUDDY WATERS-I Got My Mojo Working

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Play the Blues Review

Play the Blues
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Play the Blues ReviewThis is a spirited rendition of the work of Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, two of Chicago's leading lights in the blues world. Junior Wells' harmonica playing and Buddy Guy's guitar work set a sound foundation for this CD. This was a re cording spearheaded by Eric Clapton as his Derek and the Dominoes album was being finally mixed. And we are fortunate to be able to listen to the results.
Backing instrumentals are played by the likes of Clapton, Dr. John (on piano), and J. Geils (guitar), among others.
Some cuts illustrate their work. "A Man of Many Words" is a clean sounding, contemporary blues song. This does not look back toward the delta or the early Chicago sound. Clapton's guitar playing is interesting and spirited (although maybe a bit overdone). The vocals are smooth. Some nice wording:
"I know I rap long and know I rap strong,
Come on mama let me turn you on."
"T-Bone Shuffle" is one of T-Bone Walker's songs. Here, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells do a nice job with their cover. The sound is simpler than with "A Man of Many Words." The ensemble playing is very good. Vocals, again, are nice, as they play with lines like:
"Tell me what the reason
You keep on teasin' me."
"This Old Fool" is another fun cut. J. Geils joins with guitar here. Buddy Guy sings against a really insistent beat, with the rhythm section playing splendidly. Magic Dick's harmonica adds to the whole sound. There is a great blues sensibility to this song. The end of the song features some fiery guitar work.
So, this is a nice view of the work of Buddy Guy and Junior Wells. The session that was recorded here is lively and has a spontaneous feel to it. Well worth listening to.
Play the Blues Overview

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Definitive Collection Review

Definitive Collection
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Definitive Collection ReviewEver notice that you're seeing more and more of these "best of" collectons out there now? Now there is UMVD's "The Definitive Collection" of numerous artists from that same unforgettable era featuring 20 or more top tunes of the featured artist crammed onto one disc. Sometimes these single-disc collections fail to make the grade because of so much essential material that ends up being left off for reasons of space alone and the rest of it is the same predictable fare. An exception in this case would be this: Muddy Waters' Definitive Collection. This collection runs through Muddy's premiere years featuring his swampy, slide guitar sound and musical style then continues through the '50s and early '60s when he began to make his significant impact on blues music and eventually would be regarded as one of the most highly respected names in blues music. So many of his best tunes like "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I'm Ready", "Forty Days and Forty Nights" and "Got My Mojo Working" were covered by so many bands so many times that these tunes are really timeless and have becomes standards in blues. You really do get and stay interested for the entire length of the album. It is a little slow to start, but it picks up quickly and the bulk of the action happens with tracks 8-18. "Crosseyed Cat", recorded in 1976, is something you really got to hear. It is swampy, raw and tough. A 6 minute jam session, basically. This "Definitive Collection' lives up to its name overall, and is absolutely essential for the blues fan if the 2-disc anthology is a bit much.Definitive Collection Overview

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Tattoo You (Reis) Review

Tattoo You (Reis)
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Tattoo You (Reis) ReviewWith the old Virgin 1994 remaster and this new 2009 Polydor version 'both' clocking in at exactly 44:26 minutes, I immediately had my suspicions about this latest rehash masquerading as something new for soppy Stones fans like me and a million others. But this 2009 Polydor CD is a FANTASTIC IMPROVEMENT in sound over its 1994 predecessor - it really is...
If I were to nail down what's different - it would be the BASS and DRUMS. They're suddenly so clear now - and in some cases like "Worried About You" - it's truly startling how good they sound. In fact if feels like every single track has been uplifted out of its former rhythm section muddiness. The clarity and punch is great on everything really. STEPHEN MARCUSSEN and STEWART WHITMORE at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California did the transfers and they're to be praised for their work...
As you've no doubt already read, "Tattoo You" was a ragbag of outtakes from previous albums with a few new tunes thrown in - Rockers on the A with Ballads on the B. Yet it worked - I played it to death on release - loved it - especially the soulful Side 2.
Unfortunately, the new packaging is a bit of a joke. The 'furry boot' inner sleeve that came with the original LP is reproduced in a paltry gatefold inlay, but there's no lyrics (there's a European LP that has a lyric sheet insert - they could have used that). The startling Christian Piper tattooed 'Three Paintings' are reduced to a point where the credits on the green-coloured rear sleeve are barely legible. The inlay beneath the see-through CD tray is blank - wow - push the boat out boys! But much worse - and like so many Stones LPs - guest musicians who contributed incredible work at the time are now not mentioned on reissues at all. So with all that in mind, here's a detailed breakdown to get a better lay of the land...
1. Start Me Up [begun in 1975, returned to in 1978 as a "Some Girls" possible]
2. Hang Fire [another "Some Girls" outtake, features IAN STEWART on Piano]
3. Slave [This is an Extended Version - see PS below]
4. Little T&A [Lead Vocals and Bass by Keith Richards, Ian Stewart on Piano - T&A is street slang for certain parts of a woman's anatomy]
5. Black Limousine [the only track on the album co-credited to RONNIE WOOD, it features Mick Jagger on Lead Vocals and Harmonica with Ian Stewart on Piano - backing track dated as far back as "Exile" in 1972]
6. Neighbours [features' both' the legendary SONNY ROLLINS and BOBBY KEYES on Saxophones]
7. Worried About You [features BILLY PRESTON on Piano, WAYNE PERKINS on Lead Guitar and SOLO and OLLIE BROWN on Percussion]
8. Tops [features MICK TAYLOR on Guitar with NICKY HOPKINS on Piano; a Mick Taylor "Exile" outtake - wasn't given a writers credit - sued and won]
9. Heaven [co-producer CHRIS KIMSEY plays Piano on this]
10. No Use In Crying [features Nicky Hopkins on Piano]
11. Waiting On A Friend [features Mick Taylor on Guitar, Sonny Rollins on Saxophone and JIMMY MILLER of "Sticky" fame on Percussion]
The clarity of the guitar solo on "Slave" is awesome as is the swirling magic of "Heaven", but best of all is the beautiful axework by Wayne Perkins on the Side 2 opener "Worried About You". I think it's the best guitar solo on a Stones album anywhere and its clarity now is fabulous.
To sum up - I know the packaging and presentation leave a lot to be desired, but as I listen to the lovely Piano tinkering of Nicky Hopkins on "No Use In Crying" and the three lads harmonising on Backing Vocals - I don't care - I love it. The sound is wonderful and a major improvement over what went before.
The buggering truth is that once you hear these remasters, you're screwed - you'll have to have them all... Damn!
Despite niggles, it's recommended - big time.
PS: there's an anomaly worth noting...
When "Tattoo You" was originally released on Vinyl and Cassette in August 1981 (Rolling Stones CUNS 39114 in the UK and COC 16052 in the USA), the 3rd track on Side 1 "Slave" clocked in at about 3:20 minutes. So when the first ever CD version of it came out on CBS in 1989 it naturally reflected that timing.
However the May 1994 Virgin remaster put out an anomaly without telling anyone - their CD version was inexplicably extended to 6:31 minutes - that error is repeated here - and very much to the benefit of fans because the "Extended Version" of "Slave" is sensational. With the legendary Sonny Rollins playing on Saxophone and Billy Preston on Keyboards, the lengthy mix now sounds like "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" Part 2 from "Sticky Fingers". A huge chunky guitar riff throughout, great Jagger vocals, Sax wailing - it absolutely rocks (apparently there's a version with Jeff Beck on guitar in the can somewhere too).
What should have happened here of course is that the original LP timing be used on this CD - with both the Jeff Beck mix and the Extended Version put on as bonus tracks at the end, but that's for another day and another reissue...Tattoo You (Reis) Overview

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The Very Best Of John Lee Hooker Review

The Very Best Of John Lee Hooker
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The Very Best Of John Lee Hooker ReviewEvery once in a while, a budget disc comes along that is surprisingly good. Such is the case with Rhino Records release of "The Very Best of John Lee Hooker." On this release, Rhino combines 16 stand out tracks and some nice liner notes which briefly describe the man as well as the origin of each of the tracks. The selection of songs range from Hooker's signature "Boogie Chillen'" recorded in 1948 through "Terraplane Blues" recorded with slide man Roy Rogers in 1987. This is not a comprehensive collection nor was it ever intended to be. Instead, you get a flavor for a younger John Lee Hooker and his amazing guitar work. The recording quality is excellent especially considering the age of the songs. Well worth the purchase.The Very Best Of John Lee Hooker Overview

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Living Proof Review

Living Proof
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Living Proof ReviewThis triumphant album opens with the song "74 Years Young." The song begins quietly as Buddy looks back at his life. But when he hits the bridge he lays down a savage guitar solo that: a) owes as much to Link Wray as it does to the blues and b) displays what 74 years young really means. This song is followed by another autobiographical song where he tells the story of his early life in Louisiana where, as a child, he taught himself to play a two-string guitar. Again, a blistering lead is the musical centerpiece. Track three, "On The Road" is a more "conventional" blues work-up, horns and all. Another fantastic track, where, after the fade at the end, one can hear a band-member saying "Yeah" in appreciation. Track four is the duet with B.B. King. It's pure magic. And the coda, where Buddy and B.B. speak to one another, is just about as moving a moment as one can find in recorded music. In the duet with Carlos Santana, Buddy shows he can do Latin rhythms side-by-side with the master. And so it goes for an hour or so, one great track after another.
Frankly, I can find possibly only one track, "Too Soon" that might be just a tad too tame or formulaic. But this is followed by the terrific final fours songs on the album, which include "Let The Door Hit Ya" and "Guess What" (both with Buddy in full sexual swagger). So one possibly formulaic song in an hour's worth of new music is a something I will take any day of the week.
An argument could be mounted that this is Buddy's career defining album. At 74, his skills are still intact and he remains a consummate songwriter, with something new to offer, both in his lyrics and certainly in his music.** It is kind of a wonder that people like Buddy, and the lesser know and somewhat older Hubert Sumlin, can still excite you with high level performances.
The production, at least on the vinyl pressing, is outstanding. I don't know if, or how much, compression will appear on the CD, but this is an album that was clearly recorded pretty much live in the studio, with probably few, if any, overdubs; so the sound is organic and real. Consequently, it benefits from being heard in the analog domain of vinyl. Plus, the vinyl may end up being some sort of collector's item as all the music appears on the first three sides leaving the fourth side blank so it can be devoted to a really cool etching in the vinyl of a portion of the guitar on the back of the LP cover. My only complaint about the vinyl release is there are no liner notes to show songwriting credits, song personnel, etc. But, at this price, for a double LP which is a very quiet pressing, this is a very small complaint.
The pre-release rumors here in Chicago were: "You got to hear this one when it comes out." Boy, were the rumors right!
** 10/24/10 At the time I wrote this review, as indicated above, I was without songwriting credit. Now that I have learned the songwriting credits, this sentence requires modification. Buddy shares songwriting credit on five of the twelve tracks on this album with drummer/producer, Tom Hambridge. On six of the seven the remaining tracks, Hambridge shares songwriting credit with either Gary Nicholson or Richard Fleming (Who also receives songwriting credit on two of the Guy/Hambridge compositions.). One song is credited to Hambridge alone.Living Proof Overview

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Best Of Chess: Original Versions Of Songs in Cadillac Records Review

Best Of Chess: Original Versions Of Songs in Cadillac Records
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Best Of Chess: Original Versions Of Songs in Cadillac Records ReviewThis is a great CD, with re-mastered versions of the original blues songs featured in the film, Cadillac Records. These are the real thing, blues written and performed by by Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James, Little Walter, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley. And the quality is very good, thanks to remasters of old tapes laid down in the 40s, 50s and early 60s.
Known at the time as "race records," these original blues tunes by people we now call African-Americans set the stage for early rock n roll and for white rockers like Elvis Presley to score huge hits with songs like My Babe, one of Little Walter's signature tunes. Eventually some of the black singers had cross-over hits. For instance, At Last by Etta James got decent airplay on mainstream stations, but more often than not it was the white bands that made it big. This was especially in the South, where white and black audiences were segregated by law and many clubs refused to book black performers.
The stars of Cadillac Records (Beyonce and Mos Def, for example) do fine versions of these songs in the film, but there really isn't anything like hearing the original recordings. I recommend buying this disk and the film soundtrack and listening to them together. It's a great experience and it's also satisfying to know that Muddy and many of the Chess artists are finally getting the broad recognition they deserve.
Best Of Chess: Original Versions Of Songs in Cadillac Records OverviewThe 2008 movie Cadillac Records is the story of Chess Records.The Best of Chess is the original versions of the songs used in the Cadillac Records movie starring Beyonce, Mos Def, Solange, Jeffrey Wright, Raphael Saadiq and others. Cadillac Records chronicles the history of Chess Records, the pre-eminent blues label of the 1950s and 1960s co-founded by Leonard Chess and his brother Phil. Featured songs in Cadillac Records by Etta James (played by Beyonce Knowles), Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), Little Walter (Columbus Short), Willie Dixon (Cedric the Entertainer), Chuck Berry (Mos Def), Howlin' Wolf (Eamonn Walker) and more.

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King of the Slide Guitar Review

King of the Slide Guitar
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King of the Slide Guitar ReviewThis reissue of the original 50-track "King Of The Slide Guitar" box set, with an additional 14 tracks, is magnificent. It presents every song Elmore James recorded for the Fire, Fury and Enjoy labels in the early 60s, with great sound and a few interesting rarities and alternate takes.
You'll need to hear Elmore's earlier recordings as well, of course (available on the fine "The Classic Early Recordings" box set, ASIN: B000000W62), but the fact that a few of his best early songs weren't re-recorded for Bobby Robinson's labels, and thus are missing from this collection, doesn't really detract anything from its greatness.
There are still so many blues classics here it's unbelievable - "Dust My Broom", "It Hurts Me Too", "The Sky Is Crying", "Shake Your Moneymaker" and "The Twelve Year Old Boy" are the best-known, obviously, but the rest of this material is not sub-par in any way...every song is good, most are great, and a lot of them are just magnificent, some of the most powerful electric blues you'll ever hear.
The brand of fiery electric blues that Elmore James played more than forty years ago packed an incredible punch. It is supremely gritty (in spite of the urbane arrangements featuring piano and saxophone), and Elmore had one of the greatest, most intense and expressive voices you'll ever hear. His slashing slide guitar playing has made him more influential than any other single guitarist.
"King Of The Slide Guitar" also includes several terrific instrumentals, like the smouldering "Up Jumped Elmore" and the dance-friendly boogie "Bobby's Rock". And even though most of the approximately fifty different songs aren't well known outside the circle of fanatical Elmore James-fan, there is an incredible number of high-quality cuts here.
The tough raver "Rollin' & Tumblin'" easily matches anything Cream or the Yardbirds ever did, "Done Somebody Wrong" is virtually hard rock, and the slide leads and saxophone fills on the funky "Can't Stop Loving My Baby" all blend together to create the kind of blues song you normally only dream about.
This wonderful collection of music can easily match any of the great Chess box sets, and that is saying something! Elmore James and the Broomdusters rock incredibly hard on their definitive reading of Robert Johnson's "Dust My Broom", and they smoulder on the ultimate slow blues, James' own "The Sky Is Crying".
There are so many excellent songs here that rarely or never show up on various Elmore James-compilations: "Got To Move", "Person To Person", "Strange Angels", "You Know You're Wrong", "Hand In Hand", "I've Got A Right To Love My Baby", "She's Got To Go"...well, just get it, allright?King of the Slide Guitar Overview

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