Customer Reviews

I'm Ready

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4 star:		(2)
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The second of Muddy Waters' Blue Sky-albums, "I'm Ready" was originally issued in 1978, one year after Muddy had found renewed commercial and critical success with "Hard Again".

Johnny Winter produced and played on both albums, and if "I'm Ready" is slightly lesser than its magnificent predecessor, it is still a tremendous album. Remastered but (thankfully) not remixed, it finds Muddy Waters reinvigorated and in the company of Chicago blues greats Jimmy Rogers and Big Walter Horton, playing a supremely confident set of gritty, muscular electric blues. And the core of the Muddy Waters band is in place as well, of course, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith on drums and the great Joe "Pinetop" Perkins rolling the ivories.
Muddy's regular second guitarist Bob Margolin plays bass on this album, and he has contributed a wonderful, intimate six-page essay about the "I'm Ready" sessions. Margolin was instrumental in bringing guitarist Jimmy Rogers, a member of the very first Muddy Waters band in the late 40s, on board, and at his suggestion the great Walter Horton was hired to play the harmonica. Horton's exceptional playing is constantly smouldering beneath the gritty guitar parts of Waters, Rogers, and Johnny Winter.

The numerous highlights include the hard-hitting title track, the slow grind of "33 Years", the swaggering power of "Rock Me", and of course an excellent re-recording of the classic "Hoochie Coochie Man". And this 2004 reissue adds three terrific bonus tracks:
Jimmy Rogers' "That's Alright" sung in part by himself, a magnificent, driving rendition of Bob Margolin's "Lonely Man Blues", and a stinging "No Escape From the Blues", a song which would appear in a significantly different version on 1981's "King Bee".

There are no weak songs here, actually, and "I'm Ready" is definitely a must-have addition to any Muddy-fan's collection. If you already own the original CD issue you might not want to shell out again in order to get three bonus tracks and some better liner notes, but if you don't, you should get it right away.
And if you do own it, well...these are very good bonus tracks!

This is perhaps the greatest studio recording of the blues ever made. Re-united with 2 of his oldest colleagues, Muddy waters created a CD full of nuance, subtlety, variety, and power that enchants you all the way through. You will have an incredibly hard time not listening to this CD over and over again. "I'm Ready" says it all: Muddy was absolutely ready for this session, as were each of the remarkable musicians who accompany him herein. You will never catch a group of artists so compoletely on, all at the same time, that seamlessly they weave a sexually heated and often humourous take on the human condition. "Who Do You Trust" runs down the main suspects and highlights the sly underpinnings that compromise such endorsements. "Hoochie Coochie Man" humbles everyone who ever took on this track. "Copper Brown' is as sensual a paean as you'll ever hear, steamy as a night on the Delta. "Rock Me" is as feral a plea for sexual satisfaction as you will ever hear.
Winters captures the band so authentically that it all sounds as though it was recorded live in a single take. It wouldn't surprise me if that were so because each person's part is delivered so spot on that you could never duplicate that with an overdub. This Cd won Muddy a Grammy in 1979. Rightfully so. It should have been record of the year. 3 additional tracks are added here and they are all keepers, each a sparkling full throated gem. You are no fan of the blues unless you have this CD, and in particular this remaster. This is what justifies the whole remastering process. Brilliant!

By far one of the greatest albums Muddy ever recorded together with "Hard Again" and "Mississippi Live".
Watch out as Johnny Winter unleashes one of the grittiest, dirtiest guitar solos ever managed on the track "Copper Brown". He bends and swoops his way through it. Being with Muddy brought out the best in Johnny Winter, as he said himself it was the time in his career when he KNEW he wasn't faking it but was truly playing the Blues.
There's a superb version of the title track on here and the song "Who Do You Trust?" really makes a sound statement.
Never again will you get such a fine team of artists on one album.

I'm sitting here with a copy of this CD. Same title, same cover. Yet it's not a live album, and the track list is completely different.

There is a live album out there titled "I'm Ready", released by Chess Records in 1978, but it's not the one pictured here. The cover shown above is Waters' Johnny Winter-produced 1978 album for CBS records, which is also called "I'm Ready".

Confusing, eh?
Well, if you're gonna order this album because you want a live recording, you had better make sure you get the right one.
(Not much of a review here, I know, but I though someone ought to point out that there are two Muddy Waters-albums called "I'm Ready", and the one pictured here doesn't match the track list shown below.)

I can't say enough about this album. This is the definitive in electric blues. Muddy's voice is as strong as I've ever heard it. The energy of the dual harps of Walter Horton and Jerry portnoy is unmatched by any I've ever experienced. And believe me I'm a huge harp fan. Although I'm a fan of both acoustic delta blues and electric blues, I usually prefer delta style. Muddy Waters is one of the best in both catagories, and this album, though electric, tops my list of any blues. You just can't get enough of it! The good tmes just roll on cut after cut. Johnny Winters is a genius for this collaboration. If your any sort of a fan of the blues, GET THIS ALBUM!!!! If you miss out, you're REALLY missing out!

This cd contains superb hard core blues from the Hoochi Coochi man himself. The Blues don't get any better than this. through the late 70's and early 80's, Muddy Waters recorded three of his best albums. this being the second in the series of new versions to his old 50's recordings from 1978, featurs as the preaviuos album "Hard Again" some of the best musicians in the buisness. Johnny Winter as producer and lead guitarist, gives the album his unique sound and slide lick's to backup Muddy.in adition there is the outstanding Jimmy Rodgers who playd with Muddy's original Band and the growning sound of jerryy portnoy's Harp blows, (the same guy blows the harp on Eric Claptons most acclaimd blues album "from the Cradle" in 1994). the best tracks on this cd are the title track i'm ready, good morning little school girl and of cource the hoochi coochi man including a great guitar solo that dosn't apear on the original version. all the others are each pure gold as well. "i'm ready" to hear this again. get this album now, your never going to get tierd of it. Blues all day long...

I consider this recording to be the companion to Hard Again.... If you're a Muddy Waters fan, these two recordings are some of his best (King Bee too, but to a slightly lessor extent) and really belong in your blues collection. Not a bad track on this recording, which features outstanding performances by everyone involved. Another blues recording that stays permanently in my music rotation. Always a pleasure to listen to.

Thank god for Johnny Winters! During the late 70's (when disco ruled) he pulled Muddy Waters out of semi-retirement and recorded three studio albums and one live album for Blue Sky. All the CD's are excellent and 'I'm Ready' is not exception. Surrounded by an excellent band including Jimy Rodgers on guitar and Big Walter Horton and Jerry Portnoy splitting harmonica duties. Each CD has a slightly different feel and I'm Ready is a little more business like as compared to the all out party that is 'Hard Again'. Muddy is in excellent voice and plays guitar on many of the songs. The harmonica, which is on every track, real stands out for me on this album. Johnny Winters has added an important artifact of Americana by getting Muddy and friends in the studio to record these three albums. I highly recommend this album and would encourage folks to buy the three CD set (Hard Again\King Bee\I'm Ready).

Recorded in November 1977, this Blue Sky Records reissue includes three bonus tracks from the same recording session, that hadn't been previously issued: "No Escape from the Blues," "That's Alright" and `Lonely Man Blues." Pinetop Perkins stretches out with a searing solo romp, both Big Walter Horton and Jerry Portnoy supply harmonica thrills, and Johnny Winter proves his bluesmanship. Muddy Waters sings and provides great guitar work, and his old partner Jimmy Rogers brings a third guitar to the forum. The biggest surprise of the album is the singing of both Waters and Rogers on "That's Alright." Both veterans express the comfortable feeling that you get with traditional blues.

"I'm Your Hoochie-Coochie Man" represents the distinctive sound of Muddy Waters. His original band pioneered the sound and leaves little room for comparison. Nevertheless, his last band appeared cohesive and gave the audience a big helping of cool comfort. "Rock Me" features both Waters and Rogers on guitar, along with Portnoy on harp, Bob Margolin on bass, and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith on drums. The band's traditional blues sound, mirrored by a lustrous harmonica curtain, leaves no doubt about who was leading the blues scene worldwide.

This, and the other Johnny Winter-produced Muddy Waters recordings from this era, are required listening.