Customer Reviews

Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: Muddy Waters

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

 

 

This is a very well chosen set for a single disc Muddy comp. Kudos to the compilers for including a couple pre-Chess cuts as well as a track from his highly underrated recordings on the Blue Sky label. The thought of a new blues fan picking up this disc and discovering Muddy for the first time quite frankly gives me goosebumps.

Muddy Waters is one of the most popular bluesmen for a reason. He was a leading influence in the infusion of blues into rock and roll, and there are a number of songs on this CD that demonstrate that. The strongest blues song made into a classic rock track is "You Shook Me" written by Willie Dixon. If you want to be amazed, listen to Waters' You Shook Me and then Led Zeppelin's cover of it. There are also a couple of dubs of Son House songs like Death Letter and Walkin' Blues which are more powerful musically, if not as raw and emotional vocally as the originals. The only reason you should buy this CD instead of any other is the information that comes with it about Muddy Waters. A brief well-written biography is what makes this a necessary purchase for rock and blues fans alike.

The two-disc "The Anthology: 1947-1972" and the lavish Chess Box remain the best Waters compilations, but this CD is pretty good if you can be satisfied (so to speak) with a single-disc collection.

It focuses mainly on Muddy's tenure at Chess Records, but also includes one of his early Library of Congress recordings, a 1946 waxing for Columbia Records, and a number - albeit not one of the very best - from his Johnny Winter-produced 1978 Hard Again album ("The Blues Had a Baby and They Named It Rock & Roll").

Almost all of the songs that casual Muddy-fans would consider "essential" are here, including "(I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want To Make Love To You", "Got My Mojo Working", and "Mannish Boy", but "I Live The Life I Love (I Love The Life I Live") is missing, which is a shame.
There are many great tracks that didn't make the cut, obviously, but those are readily available to anyone who wants more. This is a fine starting point.

The CD arrived in excellent shape -- but I don't think Scorsese picked some of the best stuff McKinley Morgenfield ever did ... just some of the more popular pieces. As someone who has listened to Muddy Waters (Morgenfield) since childhood, I think I could have made better selections.

AS far as one disc compilatioh go, this is pretty good. It can be a fine starter to Muddy, as you get his earlz one man /duo recordings -acoustic as well as electric featuring Muddy§s excellent raw slide guitar as well as his mid fifties and early sixties track with a gret fullband with Muddy's vocals getting even better and many of the best musicians Chicago blues had to offer. However, this is just a starter, as it does not feature gems like Honey bee, Streamline Women, Blow wind blow,or You need love to name a few and it has nothing from his post Chess recordings, which means you willmiss all material of the three great records made with Johnny Winter, not to talk about live recordings, which Muddy made plenty of also in his Chess days and that aren't represented at all too.

I only had one Muddy Waters album before this (simply called "Muddy Waters In Cocnert") and rather than buy a 2-disc collection, I wanted a real basic primer on his career, something to start off with so I can pick up more discs. This disc covers Muddy's Chess years, sticking to versions of some of his better known, studio-recorded songs. I only gave this four-stars because I was hoping for a little more punch when it came towards the end of the disc, but the studio recordings lack in comparison to Muddy Waters live. It covers a lot of ground and there is some great music here, but it seems more tame then what you'd get seeing, hearing it live.