Muddy Waters - Disc of the day

Muddy Waters
Live (At Mr. Kelly’s)

(Chess, 1971)

Talent is temporary, class is permanent, argues MOJO messageboarder.

In some ways, the late '60s and early '70s were a lean time for McKinley Morganfield. As the decade wore on and interest in the original bluesmen began to wane, Chess tried all manner of sonic twists to get Waters back onto the charts, such as the incongruous overdubbing on Brass And The Blues (1966), and the messy psychedelic excursions of Electric Mud (1968). Muddy never lost sight of where his true strengths lay, though, and neither did his fans. Live (At Mr. Kelly’s) is an invaluable snapshot of Waters doing what he does best: playing down-home blues with a gritty urban sound, before an adoring Chicago audience. While not as celebrated as his classic ’50s combos, Waters still fronted a formidably talented band (here’s something roughly contemporary). Blow Wind Blow and the bouncing instrumental Mudcat feature some superb juke-joint piano from Pinetop Perkins, while both Paul Oscher and James Cotton light up the evening with their howling, growling harps. Muddy himself sounds more potent and energised than ever, his sweet slides masterfully complemented by Pee Wee Madison and Sammy Lawhorn on guitar. By the end of his raucous and sweaty version of Long Distance Call, it’s patently obvious that the Muddy on Live… was miles from being either an anachronism or a spent force, a fact proven by his exceptional albums with Johnny Winter a few years later. Until his untimely death in 1983, Muddy Waters would show us time and again that he was a stone with a lot more rolling to do.

Ange Tsibogiannis

Posted by Danny_Eccleston at 6:00 AM GMT 13/05/2008