Blue Sky Records Stereo. White Label Promo If you are a fan of the blues, and more importantly, Muddy Waters, this is the beginning of an essential triad that marked the grand finale of a long and storied career of the seminal blues figure of American music. For all the talk about Robert Johnson and Charlie Payton, the blues would never have evolved without Muddy Waters. There are any number of great albums available from his career, but none as protean as the final three he did with Johnny Winter, plus the MUDDY MISSISSIPPI WATERS LIVE and THE WOODSTOCK ALBUM guided by Levon Helm. These are the very last of his efforts and they are precious documents of the man who plugged the guitar in. Think about that just for a moment. The LIVE album is an honest and uncompromising document of the Waters band in full flight, and while what was the official release suffers from Winters' presence, the second disc of the set is just so amazing that words fail to convey its power. While I am no fan of Johnny Winters, his work at the controls and in the studio with Waters through the course of these recordings is truly genius. This particular disc is as raw and as primal as the blues gets. It features Muddy's band, including Pinetop Perkins, Bob Margolin, Willie Smith, Calvin Jones Luther Johnson in a fired up, red hot, incendiary mood, and they simply burn through the catalog. This version of "Mannish Boy" is the most feral you'll ever hear. "Deep Down in Florida" steams like the Everglades in August. "The Blues had a Baby" rocks with a hip grinding intensity. "I can't Be Satisfied" threatens all sorts of promiscuity, and "Crosseyed Cat" is as quintessentially a part of African American humor (which is also a key element of the blues) as it gets. A bonus track is added from the sessions. The remastering is incredible: this sounds as though it was done live, first take, and they all nailed it. Were he to have passed away right here, Muddy would have left us with an endearing memory of his force. But the best was still to come. Make no mistake, get this. This IS the blues. Side 1. 1. Mannish Boy 5:26 2. Bus Driver 7:45 3. I Want To Be Loved #2 2:24 4. Jealous Hearted Man 4:24 5. I Can't Be Satisfied 3:29 Side 2. 6. The Blues Had A Baby And They Named It Rock And Roll 3:37 7. Deep Down In Florida 5:27 8. Crosseyed Cat 6:01 9. Little Girl 7:07 10. Walking Through The Park 3:59
