Customer Reviews

Definitive Collection

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Ever notice that you're seeing more and more of these "best of" collectons out there now? Now there is UMVD's "The Definitive Collection" of numerous artists from that same unforgettable era featuring 20 or more top tunes of the featured artist crammed onto one disc. Sometimes these single-disc collections fail to make the grade because of so much essential material that ends up being left off for reasons of space alone and the rest of it is the same predictable fare. An exception in this case would be this: Muddy Waters' Definitive Collection. This collection runs through Muddy's premiere years featuring his swampy, slide guitar sound and musical style then continues through the '50s and early '60s when he began to make his significant impact on blues music and eventually would be regarded as one of the most highly respected names in blues music. So many of his best tunes like "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I'm Ready", "Forty Days and Forty Nights" and "Got My Mojo Working" were covered by so many bands so many times that these tunes are really timeless and have becomes standards in blues. You really do get and stay interested for the entire length of the album. It is a little slow to start, but it picks up quickly and the bulk of the action happens with tracks 8-18. "Crosseyed Cat", recorded in 1976, is something you really got to hear. It is swampy, raw and tough. A 6 minute jam session, basically. This "Definitive Collection' lives up to its name overall, and is absolutely essential for the blues fan if the 2-disc anthology is a bit much.

You want to know about Muddy Waters? This is a wonderful introduction to his work. No single work, of course, can contain all the best songs of someone like Muddy Waters (nee McKinley Morganfield). But this CD is awfully satisfying.

And the first cut is the classic "I Can't Be Satisfied" (later covered by The Rolling Stones). The instrumentation is remarkable simple--guitar and bass. But Waters' singing is primal and gives this cut life.

The 1950 tune, "Rollin' Stone," gave the English rock and roll band their name. The music is raw, but compelling. One line: "I wish I was a catfish, swimming in the deep blue sea, I would have all you women's comin' after me." At another point, he sings that his mom says to his dad that I got a boy child comin', gonna be a Rollin' Stone. A must listen to piece.

Willie Dixon wrote the words for another song, a Waters' classic, "(I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man." First, what a backing group! Little Walter, Jimmy Rogers, Otis Spann, Willie Dixon, and Fred Below. This is a great blues tune topped off with Muddy Waters' great blues singing.

Another Willie Dixon song, "I Just Want to Make Love to You." Also covered by the Rolling Stones. . . . Listen to this version. A wonderful blues song.

And then there is "Mannish Boy" (talk about a greatest hit!). Again, great instrumental work and a terrific backing band. The song begins with him singing "Everything's gonna be all right this mornin.'" The insistent theme, "I'm a mannish boy," recurs throughout. One set of lines hearkens to other classic music:

"I'm a man,
I'm a Rolling Stone.
I'm a man,
A hoochie-coochie man."

Then there is "Got My Mojo Working." An uptempo romp with a great backing band.

So, do you want to know what Muddy Waters was all about? Try this CD. It will give you the introduction to his body of work.

There is a huge amount of Muddy Waters-compilations out there, and while MCA/Chess's two-disc, 50-track "Anthology 1947-1972" is certainly more definitive than this Geffen compilation, it does offer a very good overview of Muddy Waters' career.

Opening with the classic 1948 single "I Can't Be Satisfied", this CD takes you through (most of) the highlights from the 1950s and 60s. "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I'm Ready", "I Just Wanna Make Love To You", "Mannish Boy", and "Got My Mojo Working" are here, of course, and in the original versions, too, but it's a shame that some slightly lesser known (but equally fine) singles like "I Love The Life I Live, I Live The Life I Love", "She's Nineteen Years Old" and "I Want To Be Loved" are missing.

But there is certainly enough great music here to satisfy the casual fan, and if you do want more, there is always the impressive "Chess Box" and the late-70s/early-80s albums produced by Johnny Winter (only one track out of these 24 is from those sessions).
This album is not the definitive word on McKinley Morganfield, but it's a good introduction for the uninitiated.

Great collection of songs but terrible recording
quality. I was really disapointed! Tried to return
one CD thinking it was only that one, but the
second one had poor sound qualty as well.

If all your budget allows for is a reasonable introduction to Muddy Waters, this is as good as it gets. The bulk of the signature Chess material is here, but there is just a little too much missing to allow the assemblers the conceit of "definitive collection"---too many of the lesser-hagiographed Chess sides are missing, and none of his back-from-the-living-dead work toward the end of his life, those remarkable Blue Sky (CBS) albums Johnny Winter produced for him with his touring band and assorted Chess-era guests (such as Walter Horton and Willie Dixon), is represented here. There's no such thing as a bad Muddy Waters collection, of course, but if you really are looking for "definitive" you'll have to turn a) to the two sets anthologising his complete Aristocrat/Chess output from 1948 through 1958 (one called "Rollin' Stone" and the other "Hoochie Coochie Man," and you can rest assured that somebody's going to assemble the set covering 1959-64 soon enough); and, b) all three Blue Sky albums. This one will get you through until you get them, but don't make the mistake of assuming this is the alpha and omega of Waters's music.

to be perfectly honest i have never been a muddy waters devotee,strangely,but thought i should try it,just does not work for me,but for a muddy fan it would be great.

I'm a twenty two year old who has fallen in love with old Blues and you can't beat this great collection on Muddy Waters. Great value for the price and all the songs are of good audio quality, a must have

Great collection including great musicians including Little Walter on harmonica - a must have for any lover of blues music.

Music that bring back history lessons from conversations over heard by our parents. Some of the sounds bring back memories of listening to the radio during the 50's and 60's or listening to our parents talk about music with their friends or remembering them having friends over for card parties and dancing.
(50's Soul Music)

This is a must have for any blues fan. Great price and arrived soon after ordering. Very happy with this purchase.