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Muddy
Waters- Hard Again
Original Release Date: 1977
Muddy Waters/Vocals
& Guitar, Johnny Winter/Guitar, James Cotton/Harp, Pinetop
Perkins/Piano, Bob Margolin/Guitar, Charles Calmese/Bass,
Willie "Big Eyes" Smith/Drums
1.
Mannish Boy (Diddley/London/Waters) - 5:23
2. Bus Driver (Abrahamson/Morganfield) - 7:44
3. I Want to Be Loved (Dixon) - 2:20
4. Jealous Hearted Man (Morganfield) - 4:23
5. I Can't Be Satisfied (Morganfield) - 3:28
6. The Blues Had a Baby and They Named It... (McGhee/Morganfield)
- 3:35
7. Deep Down in Florida (Morganfield) - 5:25
8. Crosseyed Cat (Morganfield) - 5:59
9. Little Girl (Morganfield) - 7:06
Review
(by Tommy
Chung)
Muddy
Waters is undoubtedly the King of
Urban Blues. Apart from Robert
Johnson, Muddy Waters is the most important and influential
Bluesman in Blues History. He is the
one who defined the Chicago Blues sound and epitomized the
spirit and soul of Delta Blues and Urban Blues.
He lived in an age when his contemporaries and rivals included
people no less than Howling Wolf,
Elmore James, Sonny Boy Williamson, Little Walter.
But Muddy always sits on his throne and was never truly threatened.
Muddy
Waters traveled from the Delta to Chicago in 1934 looking
for a better life. In Chicago, he worked in paper factories,
worked as a truck driving and did all sorts of odd jobs to
earn a living. When finally got his band together and found
his touch, Muddy turned a new page in Blues history. The most
prominent feature of Muddy Water's music is that he retained
the Delta feel in an electric band setting. He retained the
Delta but expressed it in an electric setting. His was powerful,
he was tough, and he was sexy, he was the Hoochie
Coochie Man. He was simply the Blues.
I
run a Blues Club in Hong Kong called 48th
Street Chicago Blues and play there. One night, an
American gentleman who had been watching me play asked me
during break time "How do you define 'Chicago Blues'?" Tough
question! Chicago Blues, to me, is a music style typified
by shuffle rhythm, with bass, drums, electric guitars and
the harp. The electric age provided the average Blues guy
with a power they hitherto never possessed: the amplified
electric guitar and bass, the Blues harp blown through a distorted
amplifier, P.A. and speakers. These were elements people like
Son House, Charlie Patton and
Robert Johnson
lacked that defined Chicago Blues. Muddy Waters was the man
caught in this new era of electricity and he literally electrified
his music as well as all of us. But for the electric age,
Muddy would have been just another acoustic player imitating
Robert Johnson. You just listen to Muddy's earliest recording
on "The
Complete Plantation Recordings" Chess MCA CHD-9344.
He was just playing just about what everyone was playing at
the time; the usual slide guitar, the Robert Johnson licks
and Delta singing style. I mean he was good, but he wouldn't
stand out in a crowd of other Delta Blues players.
Like
everyone Muddy took time to refine his craft, to find his
true voice Muddy also did. Just listen to his 1948 version
of Can't Be Satisfied
and compare that with the version on "Hard
Again." The version on "Hard
Again" is so much more relaxed, Muddy was singing
with such ease that was never found in his earlier recordings.
It is just a bottle of matured wine. All of Muddy's recordings
were good. Willie Dixon provided him with a string of classics,
but it takes Muddy's character and voice to make them work.
In the 40's and 50's, Muddy assembled to some of the greatest
ever Blues payers in his band, Jimmy
Rogers, James Cotton, Little Walter, Otis Spann and
"Pine Top" Perkins. Each of these players is a
master in himself. All the Muddy recordings prior to "Hard
Again" were nothing short of classics. But the
best was yet to come. In the 70's, Muddy was signed up to
CBS Blues Sky. They had a headache finding someone to produce
him. In the end they found the perfect choice: Johnny
Winter. They couldn't have found a better person.
Johnny produced and played on three Muddy Waters recording
"I'm Ready", "Hard Again" and
"King Bee". These recordings represented Muddy
Waters at the height of his power. No longer in his youth
but this time Muddy was at his best. There was a certain ease
and playfulness in these recordings that you cannot find in
Muddy's earlier recordings. They say you can tell a man by
the company he keeps. This was Muddy's backing band on "Hard
Again": Johnny Winter
on guitar, Bob Margolin
on guitar, James Cotton
on harp, "Pine Top" Perkins
on piano, Charles Calmese
on bass, Willie "Big Eye" Smith
on drums. How about that?
It was a difficult choice for me between "Muddy
"Mississippi" Waters Live" Blue Sky ZK
35712 and "Hard Again."
The live recording demonstrated the power of the man playing
live. When I first heard it, I was swearing like anything,
it just drove me crazy. I was saying to myself, how can anyone
be so good? It's just not allowed! In the end, I went for
"Hard Again" because it
had all the energy and a more relaxed feel to it.
Muddy
passed away in 1983. That was a sad, sad day. We all have
to go. But Muddy's music is always here, his legacy lives
on, his music is just as relevant today as when they were
in the 40's and 50's. If you want to see Muddy Waters live,
you can catch of a glimpse of him in movie "The
Last Waltz", The Band's
farewell concert. There is also a DVD released by Pioneer
Artists PA-98-598-D. The show was recorded at the Chicago
Blues Festival. Everything was great until Johnny
Winter arrived on stage. When Johnny
came on, Muddy simply brought the roof down.
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