Customer Reviews

Muddy "Mississippi" Waters Live

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you like the blues at all, you'll be absolutely blown away by this live performance. Just the first 15 seconds thrill: Muddy Waters' deep deep vocal tones with an abrupt break to the familiar guitar/drums/bass/harp riff of his classic, "Mannish Boy." (And that's not even the best song on the CD.)

The audience is totally into it, both on this song and the entire album--screaming, yelling, whistling, shouting--making this almost as exciting as "James Brown at the Apollo," and certainly among the best live blues ever recorded. The sound quality is excellent, credit the mix to Dave Still at "The Schoolhouse and Hit Factory."

The group is unbelievably talented and plays with great empathy: Muddy Waters on vocals and guitar, "Pine Top" Perkins (piano), James Cotton (harp), additional guitar from Johnny Winter, Luther "Guitar Jr." Johnson, and many others. I don't hear any softening of Muddy Waters' voice; he is as authoritative, soulful, and unique as ever. Muddy Waters set a very high (probably unsurpassed) standard for anyone who followed. It's sheer delight to hear his inventive singing and slide guitar so well recorded and backed.

Perhaps the most memorable concert I ever attended was a late 1970's performance at the Roxy in L.A. As Muddy Waters walked up to the stage, I felt a sense of transcendentalism, as if History were climbing the stairs. And then he tore the roof off. Although only about 40 minutes long (and with notes limited to personnel descriptions), the music on this CD recaptured some of that experience for me.

Along with "Mannish Boy" and the great "She's Nineteen Years Old," other Morganfield compositions (there's one number written by Sonny Boy Williamson) include "Streamline Woman," "Baby Please Don't Go," "Howling Wolf," and "Deep Down in Florida." 'Wolf' features Waters' bee-stingingly intense slide guitar, one that can righteously cut through the thickest, meanest heart and soul. With just a few perfectly played notes, Waters' slide guitar dredges buckets of emotion. "Gainesville'--perhaps the best song here ("Yeah I believe I'll go back to Gainesville...just to see an old friend of mine.")--has amazing solos by "Pine Top" Perkins, Johnny Winter, and James Cotton, who blows some of the purest and most stirring harp notes in blues.

This is the liturgy of the blues, the thick ooze of the traditional and the familiar wrapped with enough personal style to uncover new emotion. Powerful, raw, and spine tingling, this is the blues as only McKinley "Muddy Waters" Morganfield could play it.

Listening to my father's stories about going to hear Muddy Waters live in Chicago in the 70's, I can understand why he dislikes most of the music out today. In an age where most music is as packaged and plastic as a Barbie doll, how many artists can make their audience jump up and SHOUT! Muddy Waters personified the Deep South; a mixture of spirituality and soul with a secular sexy slide guitar. You can hear his joy through the recording; he completely gives himself to the audience, and their response, in kind, is electric. "Mannish Boy", the first cut has been reworked many a time, but this is by far the best recorded version. "19 Years Old" is one of the sexiest guitar workings EVER. PLEASE buy this album and see why this man was considered a guitar GOD by pretty much every classic rock artist from Eric Clapton to Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones. The only regret I have about owning this fabulous live CD is that I wasn't there.

Muddy was the man. And this disc proves it. On every single one of the tracks on this disc we hear an older Muddy still in full command of that special sense of timing and vocal control that made his name synonomous with blues. He teases us with a slow, stalling intro to a rocking version of Mannish Boy. He introduces Nineteen Years Old, playing to the crowd: "If she wasn't a young girl I wouldn't be arguing over her. I'm so carried away with young women that I'll kill anyone about one of'em." Highlights like these abound, and live audiences hoot their approval the whole way through. Also of note is some stellar instrumental work. James Cotton blows some searing harp on Nine Below Zero, as does Jerry Portnoy on Baby Please Don't Go. Both Johnny Winter and Pinetop Perkins cut loose on the marathon Deep Down in Florida. And, of course, Muddy displays his usual impressive chops on the slide. Buy this album and put it in your CD player at high volume. The results are electric.

For all those who dig this album--or are thinking of picking it up--look for the 2 disc special edition.

You'll get even more Muddy goodness from the same gigs, including performances of Hoochie Coochie Man and Got My Mojo Working. Plus, everything has been remastered.

Definitely worth picking up, especially if you don't have the single disc version already.

They say Muddy Waters invented electricity. It isn't entirely fair--other blues men going back decades were using electric guitars. But unlike T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, and other genuine blues greats, Muddy Waters managed to take that original gritty Mississippi Delta Blues and stay almost completely faithful to it while using electricity. His guitar style was also completely different and influenced a generation of blues artists.

This is where we can see the real roots blues music. Recorded in the 1970s with a fabulous backup band (including Johnny Winter, who also produced the album), this is a WONDERFUL live set recorded in a club. The audience is stoked, Muddy is as powerful as ever. Truly sublime. If you want to know real blues music, there is no better place to go than this album. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars!

This is an unbelievable CD. The best live CD I have ever heard. The guitar is screaming, the harp moaning, and Muddy Waters' howling. My only regret is that I'll never get to see Muddy Waters perform live. What I wouldn't give for that to happen!

This is Muddy at his best. In fact this is one of the greatest blues recordings, period. Muddy plays it with unrestrained power and energy. The band, included Pinetop Perkins, Jerry Portnoy, James Cotton, Pinetop Perkins, Calvin Jones, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Johnny Winter, Bob Margolin and Luther "Guitar Jr." Johnson. All at the top of their respective games. The playing couldn't have been any better. Song selection is also terrific. Baby Please Don't Go, Mannish Boy, She's Nineteen Years Old, Nine Below Zero, Deep Down in Florida, and Streamline Woman are all included. This is a must buy for any fan of the blues. Muddy was it...Simon

1979's 'Muddy Waters Live' is a real treat. It features another blues icon, Johnny Winter's backing band, as well as Muddy's raw and unique voice.

While this was released on Columbia, and his best sides were on Chess, which was purchased by MCA (now Geffen), this is still a supreme live set. If you enjoyed 'Live At Newport,' than you will absolutely love 'Muddy Waters Live.' He is considerably older, but older can mean better.

And in this case, it means better. The first song on the record, his hit 'Mannish Boy' is probably better than the studio version; while the final song on this album 'Deep Down In Florida' just brings the whole house down. The guitar licks on that one are superb.

Overall, this is live blues at it's finest. Highly recommended for any blues lover or Muddy Waters lover. You'll be very satisfied with this listen. ENJOY!!!

They say there's only one thing better than live blues, and listening to this recording makes you believe that. The blues are best when they're live, and many studio recordings just don't capture the energy of the music (like a black-and-white Monet). But this album is as close as you can get without actually being there. I have never so much wanted to sink right into a recording and be there when they recorded it. The raw energy and howling blues are incredible. If I could only have one blues album--this would be it!

i bought this as an album 20 years ago and was blown away. a few years ago i bought the cd version. now, having lent it to someone who apparently feels the same (he hasn't returned it) i have to buy it again. but it's a classic - there will never be a better version of "mannish boy" than on this cd. plus, "nine below zero", "she's nineteen years old", and other great live tracks - the only way to listen to the blues.