King Of The Electric Blues

Performer: Muddy Waters
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Producer: Johnny Winter. Compilation producer: Lawrence Cohn. Recorded between 1976-1980. Includes liner notes by Charles Shaar Murray. This is part of Legacy's Mojo Workin' series. The first 20-bit remastering of any of Muddy's late career work for Johnny Winter's Blue Sky label is of considerable interest. The fact that, in the wake of the earlier Blues Sky best-of disc, there's enough material to do another 60-minute-plus collection, also speaks well for this catalog. The clarity of the Super Bit Mapping audio brings out a sharpness in these recordings that the original vinyl and CD issues barely hinted at. The stuff is finally mastered at the volume it always should have been (this is a potential lease-breaker) and more than justifies the purchase. The music isn't as viscerally exciting as Muddy's work for Chess -- he's slower, starts at a lower energy level, and takes his time building up intensity, but the climaxes are majestic. The playing is also as solid as ever, and Muddy still had a considerable amount to say musically. Blues Sky still has the edge for songs, although the producers here have wisely included Muddy's covers of songs that he liked by John Lee (Sonny Boy) Williamson, Arthur Crudup, and Big Joe Williams, in addition to some of his own tunes. ~ Bruce Eder From 1977 to 1980, Johnny Winter undertook a mission to counterbalance Muddy's iffy crossover attempts of the last decade. By recording in an atmosphere designed to emulate a live stage environment, with the right musicians and loads of enthusiasm, Winter pulled the old fire out of Muddy, the kind of energy he'd generally been emitting only in live performance. Like its companion collection BLUES SKY--with which there's no overlap--KING OF THE ELECTRIC BLUES cherry-picks those sessions recorded for CBS imprint Blue Sky, resulting in an anthology nearly as satisfying as any from Muddy's Chess days. The live cuts from MUDDY "MISSISSIPPI" WATERS LIVE showcase Muddy and his band at their most unfettered. Unhinged slide solos intersect with pounding, near-primal drums, and Muddy's own razor-sharp growl. The studio recordings are equally impressive; just when you thought you'd heard it all from Muddy, he's promoting the use and bemoaning the illegality of marijuana on "Champagne & Reefer." Despite his usual randiness, he sounds like the soul of sorrow on a track like "Sad sad Day." "No Escape from the Blues," the final studio recording of Muddy's life, is more manifesto than elegy.

Originally a Delta bluesman in the vein of Son House, Muddy Waters moved north in the 1940s and became the leader of the first--and greatest--electric Chicago blues band. Waters' abrasive guitar, impassioned singing, and commanding stage presence inspired generations of disciples, and hits like "Hoochie Coochie Man" and "I've Got My Mojo Workin'" are now indisputable classics.

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