Customer Reviews

Rising Son

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

 

 

I bought this CD after hearing Big Bill play live, not ten feet away from me. And if you think this CD is impressive, which it is, it's nothing compared to hearing the real thing. Big Bill Morganfield is an incredible live performer, and I highly recommend that any fan of this album catch his act in person. Fantastic!

I recently added this CD to my 300 plus blues CD collection. The guitar work by long time Muddy Waters guitarist, Bob Margolin is as solid as ever. The songs are well written and Big Bill has what it takes to deliver them in the tradition of the Blues. I am somewhat perplexed by the statements that this is Big Bill's "debut" however, as a year earlier, he recorded Big Bill Morganfield: Nineteen Years Old which is available on Taxim records directly at Taxim.com. Both CD's are worth adding to your collection as is Bob Margolin's Hold Me To It. All are highly recommended.

Big Bill can play the blues just like his dad, the legendary Muddy Waters (AKA McKinley Morganfield). On "Rising Son," Big Bill's got some of Muddy's best sidemen from the 70's and 80's bands helping out. Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin plays a great slide guitar, Paul Oscher's on harp, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith is behind the drums, Bob Stroger's playing bass, and Pinetop Perkins is piano. With a band like that, Big Bill can't lose, and Big Bill's original songwriting shines.

Take a listen to Big Bill's own "Left Hand Blues" or "Cryin' Days." At times, his vocals make me think of Muddy, but more often than not, he sounds other Big names in the blues like Bill Broonzy or Joe Turner, rough and ragged. Morganfield revisits some Chicago blues classics, such as Willie Dixon's "The Same Thing," Howlin' Wolf's "Baby How Long," Little Walter's "I Just Keep Lovin' Her," and Muddy's "Screaming and Cryin.'" Fans of tried and true Chicago blues will warm to "Rising Son," and Muddy himself would be proud. Big Bill is trying to fill some mighty big shoes in the blues, and if "Rising Son" is any key to the future, we'll be hearing more from him as he continues to tour behind his first Blind Pig CD. "Rising Son" is a great blues record, but make no mistake, Big Bill Morganfield is his own blues man.

Ditto to what another reviewer said about seeing Big Bill Morganfield in person! I had the opportunity to see him up close at the Blues, BBQ & Fireworks event in NYC. I had never heard or seen him before, and I was completely blown away by him! If you think the CD is great, by all means, try to catch him in person!

Guy can rock...humorous take on some standard blues topics with great grooves.

I agree with Eric.

Naturally there will be some comparison to Muddy Waters (unfair, I might add - how do you compete with a legend on your first CD?), but I feel that Big Bill stands his own ground.

I would have bought the CD anyway, regardless of his esteemed lineage because he is a real student of the Blues and it shows in his music. Just take a listen to "Left Hand Blues" and "Rising Son" - both written and deftly performed by him on slide guitar, for a taste of the mystical and melancholy feelings so artfully portrayed in the songs of the old blues masters.

Some "Blues" CDs that I've recently heard sound more like easy listening than Blues.

I think that Big Bill will be a fixture on the blues scene for years to come. - RR

I HAVE ONLY HEARD THE PREVIEWS OF THE SOON TO BE SHIPPED PRODUCT, BUT BIG BILL MORGANFIELD CAN BELT OUT THE BLUES THE WAY ONLY A FEW GREAT PERFORMERS CAN. HE WAS FANTASTIC IN THE MUDDY WATERS TRIBUTE!

With Bob Margolin producing the debut recording of Muddy Waters' son, one can expect it to be a well played album. Problem is Morganfield's covers of Muddy's songs and his originals are somehwat woodenly delivered and lack the presence and command that his father brought to his music. To be fair, he has only been performing a short time, so he might become a convincing singer in the future.