Customer Reviews

Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This 1993 tribute to Muddy Waters concocted by Paul Rodgers does more than just honor the legacy of one of our founding fathers of American music - it also manages to kick up a whole boatload of fun. Teaming up the voice of Bad Company with an impressive lineup of axe wielders sure was a good idea! This record rocks and swaggers through most of it's 65:52 running time. However, blues purists beware: This is NOT a collection of note-for-note covers of some of Muddy's greatest tunes. And therein lies the beauty. Instead of a sterile reading of old blues classics, the boys on this disk inject their own styles and personalities into each song, sometimes with stunning results. Jeff Beck takes top honors here with his three incredible cuts, bending, twisting and stretching these classics as only he can. David Gilmour takes a very close second with a searing version of the slow blues, Standing Around Crying. Here's how things measure up:

Muddy Water Blues acoustic (Buddy Guy) - Buddy Guy fans might be a bit disappointed due to Buddy's low key approach. Known for his manic and dynamic playing, this mostly acoustic tune is just lightly adorned with Guy's very bare-boned electric tone. There's no mistaking that scattered phrasing of his, but as you're waiting for things to take off, the song ends.

Louisiana Blues (Trevor Rabin) - This is full on rock with Rabin's heavily processed sound and finger taps making it quite clear that this is NOT going to be a blues album.

I Can't Be Satisfied (Brian Setzer) - Great rockabilly style intro (and outro) as only Brian can deliver. The solo is full of his trademark Gretsch bar dips and slippery single note lines. Good stuff.

Rollin' Stone (Jeff Beck) - Rodger's impassioned voice mixing with Jeff's unbelievable guitar playing is just a jaw dropping delight. It leaves you wondering "how the heck did he do that??". Because this is Jeff Beck, stupid.

Good Morning Little School Girl Part I (Jeff Beck) - After these sessions Beck remarked how much it reminded him of his Truth days with Rod Stewart. I can definitely see why Jeff wanted to do the whole album! His enthusiasm jumps from your speakers.

I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man (Steve Miller) - My apologies to Steve Miller fans out there, but this cut is rather luke warm. Jimmie Woods' harmonica seems more featured than Steve's playing.

She's Alright (Trevor Rabin) - Another rocker very much in the same vein as Rabin's last cut. Certainly energetic and enthusiastic (Is there a pedal this guy DOESN'T own??).

Standing Around Crying (David Gilmour) - Scorching slow blues by the man in Pink. A stratocaster with a nice touch of gain and some delay makes for a raw and nasty tone...at least in Gilmour's hands. Squealing bends, singing vibrato, subtle feedback....noone makes a guitar cry like David Gilmour.

The Hunter (Slash) - This is a great rocking vehicle for Slash's down-n-dirty guitar style. He and Rodgers were clearly having a blast.

She Moves Me (Gary Moore) - There isn't a Les Paul tone on earth like Gary Moore's. I swear that guitar was made just for him. This cut is just a tiny taste of what can be found on Moore's Still Got The Blues, After Hours, or the ultimate tribute album Blues For Greeny.

I'm Ready (Brian May) - A bouncy tune that features some of Brian's wall-of-guitars sound as well as Jimmie Woods' harmonica. Unfortunately just a mediocre cut.

I Just Want To Make Love To You (Jeff Beck) - Holy Bajeezus this guy has tone. This is the heaviest version of this tune I've ever heard. No other even comes close.

Born Under A Bad Sign (Neal Schon) - Another heavily processed guitar sound that fits this updated version well. Schon chops his way through the solo nicely.

Good Morning Little School Girl Part II (Richie Sambora) - He may not be Jeff Beck but he can rock. Great tone and a great energetic reading of this tune.

Muddy Water Blues electric (Neal Schon) - Basically the opening song extended with Schon soloing this time.

If you're considering this CD, it's important to understand what kind of tribute album this is. I think Paul's intent was to show Muddy's influence by featuring his music in more contemporary settings. Rockers and guitar geeks (such as myself) will love this, while blues purists will cut their own throats with the disk. This is a fun album and should be taken in that spirit.

When it comes to rock vocalists, there aren't many that can top Paul Rodgers. His voice is one of the most recognizable around, and despite the number of years he's been in the business, he still sounds great. Back in 1993, he released a collection of blues covers, entitled Muddy Water Blues, featuring an all-star cast of rock and blues guitarists. David Gilmour, Buddy Guy and several others all appeared on various cuts. The title track went on to earn Rodgers a Grammy nomination.

Unfortunately, the CD's original label, Victory Records, went belly-up shortly after its release and the CD was sadly out of print for years. Finally, after all these years, this stellar disc is available once again. These songs are some of the best known blues classic around. "Hoochie Coochie Man" (featuring Steve Miller), "Born Under a Bad Sign" (featuring Neal Schon), and "I Just Want to Make Love to You" (featuring Jeff Beck) are just a few of the tracks you'll find here. Whether you're a Rodgers fan, or you just like good rock and blues, this CD is a must-have addition to your collection. There's not a bad track in the bunch.

Paul Rodgers (of Free, Bad Company, the Firm, etc.) has the greatest, sexiest, most soulful voice in rock music, and his blues roots have been the source of his best original songs. On this CD he covers blues classics and, in the title track, contributes a (Grammy-nominated) new classic of his own. If you love the blues or are a fan of Paul Rodgers's beautiful voice and many huge hits (All Right Now, Feel Like Makin' Love, Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy...and I'm not allowed enough words here to list them all) this CD will be a favorite.

Excellent remake of classic blues songs with the vocals provided by Paul Rodgers who has been called "the best rock and blues singer" by Rod Stewart. The guitar work is also strong with work by Slash, Steve Miller, and Jeff Beck. An alltogether great collection.

Great material from Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon played by Guitar Gods and sung by Paul Rodgers (who has just got better and better over the years). Blues Rock does not get any better than this. Despite listening to and loving Cream over 40 years ago I have only just discovered many of their contemporaries (like Paul Rodgers and Free) and how the genre developed in the 80s and 90s. The version of Born Under a Bad Sign on this CD eclipes the Cream version by a long way. A big thank you to Paul and all the great guitar palyers and other musicians who created this masterpiece, reconnected my with the music of my youth and took it to another level.

Whether you're a fan of Free and or Bad Company; or have just recently discovered the talent of Paul Rodgers through his work with Queen, pick up this cd if you want to take your appreciation of the Voice to an entirely new level. Other reviewers have given great mention of the excellent guitar work on this tribute album; I will leave that to those who know what they're talking about. I just know what I like to listen to, and this is a fantastic showcase of Paul's voice and a chance to hear him put his heart and soul into music he so obviously loves. From the soulful acoustic version of Muddy Water Blues to the gut-wrenching vocal display of I Just Want to Make Love to You, Paul's voice will leave you satisfied.

This is an absolute must have for any serious Blues fan. The covers done with Paul Rodgers and guests such as David Gilmour, Brian May and so many others is such a pleasure to listen to! The sound is excellent and so are the performances! You will be doing yourself a great favor by adding this to your collection!

I used to own this on a cassette and decided to look for it on a cd I love Paul Rodgers singing on here it is incredible not to mention the great playing from the guest star musicians on here.

This is a great blues album with Paul doing a great job singing and a list of some of the greatest guitarist supporting Paul. It doesn't get much better then this.

After so many years of the original release, I bought this CD mainly because of the singer (Paul Rodgers is always brilliant, since the Free days) and his special friends, a list of guests that everyone would love to have on a tribute CD like this. For blues fans, it is a good way to experiment different versions of songs made famous by lots of other artists and/or guitar players. I got a 2002 version, which I believe is remastered from the original tapes. The sound is fantastic and I will play it a lot!