Back in the day, The Ash Grove was THE place for blues and folk artists, boasting the likes of Ry Cooder, Linda Ronstadt, The Byrds and the Rolling Stones as attendees or musicians in attendance. Fortunately, some of the gigs were recorded, with this July 30, 1971 gig with Muddy Waters a real find.
Waters is in vintage ominous mood, playing guitar and singing with a team of P ee Wee Madison/g, Calvin Fuzz Jones, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith/dr, Sammy Lawson/g, Paul Oscher-Shakey Horton/harm and Pinetop Perkins/p in the supporting role. But there is no supporting here, as it’s a team effort, exemplified on the rollicking instrumental shuffle of “Juke” before some nasty slide guitar takes over on “Long Distance Call” and “Honey Bee”. Jones lays down a slinky line on the slithering “Blow Wind Blow” while Waters howls out “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man” and grinds out the double timed “Got My Mojo Working”. You can hear the sweat oozing out on this one. Hang on tight, as a South Side Chicago wind blows through Los Angeles.