Oh, yeah. Everything…Everything…Everything gonna be all right this mornin’!
This 2 cd set is the third volume of the essence of Chicago Blues; Mr. Muddy Waters still at his bluesiest. The music isn’t AS raw and foreboding as the earlier two Chess pieces, but you’ve still got some great material here, both in studio and live in concert. Of the latter, material from the album that had him at the 1960 Newport Jazz Festival with James Cotton/harp, Otis Spann/p, Andrew Stephenson/b and Francis Clay/dr delivers versions of “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man,” “Feel So Good” and “Got My Mojo Workin’” that will get your feet shuffling and your head bobbin. The studio sessions, which include Waters’ tribute to Big Bill Broonzy, and mostly with Spann, Stephenson, Clay or Willie Smith includes a particularly venomous “Crawlin’ Kingsnake,” earthy “Lonesome Road Blues, and a rolling “South Bound Train.” A few ringers like “I’m Your Doctor” even bring in Jimmy Rogers, Little Walter and Willie Dixon, so the right crew is here most of the time. A ’62 take of Willie Dixon’s “You Need Love” is famous for being lifted by the rock group Led Zeppelin and turned into the anthematic “Whole Lotta Love.” Wish I were the attorney on THAT one! McKinley Morganfield is in excellent voice here, and his various supporting teams are joined together like a chain gang. Great for what ails ya!
Hip-oselect Records