His Best: 1947 to 1955
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 March, 1997)
list price: $18.98 -- our price: $13.99
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Editorial Review

One of the best recordings in Chess Records' 50th Anniverary series is the first of two bookend Muddy Waters collections, His Best 1947-55. Documenting Waters's most creatively and commercially successful years at Aristocrat/Chess, this CD begins with his formative years and ends with Waters at his peak. So you're in for a lot of terrific bottleneck slide guitar work as well as electric Chicago blues. What's to criticize? Superb remasterings of "I Can't Be Satisfied," "Rollin' and Tumblin'," "I'm Ready," and "Mannish Boy" are simply beyond reproach. With simple bass accompaniment from Ernest "Big" Crawford, Waters's bottleneck tracks are spare, haunting and, quite frankly, perfect country blues. And listening to Waters, Little Walter, Willie Dixon, and Jimmy Rogers piece together (and perfect very quickly) the classic Chicago sound is pure blues epiphany. At the very least, this collection shows you why Waters's rollicking stop-time classics like "Mannish Boy" and "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man" have sparked endless imitations over the years--and why nobody has played them better since. --Ken Hohman ... Read more

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (18)

Muddy Is The Man!!!
If you are a blues fan you have to have at least one Muddy Waters CD and this would be the one."Mannish Boy" is probably my favorite.This is the first Muddy Waters song I ever heard although I had heard plenty of his songs done by other artists.It was used in a beer commercial (Budweiser I believe)back in the early '90's and I had to find out who it was.His version of the often recored "Baby Please Don't Go" is my favorite version of this song. This is an essential CD if you are just getting into blues.Also see Howling Wolf's "Rocking Chair album" and "Moaning at Midnight."And for Delta Blues, Robert Johnson's complete recordings since it is only two CDs and Son House's "Father of the Delta Blues."

WOW!
Is there any better buy you could make?I mean, the cost of these songs comes out to about 69 cents a song. This was my first Muddy Waters CD as I wanted to get a taste of what he offered, and all I can say is that there is no going back now.

Often imitated but never duplicated, Muddy is the epitome of the blues.From I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man to Mannish boy, these are timeless classics which will never be improved.

This is most definitely a "desert island cd".....add it to your collection.If you don't buy the two "His Best" CD's: 1947-1955 and 1956-1964, I would highly recommend the Chess box set.

Again.....one word: "WOW"

Blues from heaven
This album blew my mind and is essential listening for any lover of blues, rock or any form of music(interested listeners are requested to also check out Howlin' Wolf 'His Best' CDissued simultaneously by Chess Records).

Nearly 50 odd years later the music sounds as fresh as yesterday. If this isn't where all the rock maestros of later years got their sonic ideas, it should have been. ... Read more

Asin: B000005KQH
Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Revival    3. Chicago Blues    4. Delta Blues    5. Electric Blues    6. Electric Chicago Blues    7. Pop    8. Slide Guitar Blues   

His Best: 1956-1964
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (20 May, 1997)
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Editorial Review

Few blues artists covered as much territory as did Muddy Waters, and it's more than evident if you put this collection and The Complete Plantation Recordings side by side. Even more than the prior His Best collection, these recordings illustrate Waters's talent not only as a composer and performer (as usual, many of the songs were written by Willie Dixon), but also as a bandleader. The backing musicians--including several who were by now name artists in their own right, such as James Cotton, Buddy Guy, Earl Hooker, Little Walter, and A.C. Reed--are tight as a drum and smooth as a greased axle. This essential collection contains several classics, including but not limited to "Got My Mojo Working" (Waters's studio take on what has to be the most-covered blues song in existence), "She's Nineteen Years Old," "Good Morning, Little School Girl," "The Same Thing," "You Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had," "You Shook Me," and "You Need Love" (which will sound oddly familiar to Led Zeppelin fans). It rocks, it rolls, it shakes, it's quintessential Chicago blues. --Genevieve Williams ... Read more

Reviews (10)

MUDDY Was CLEARLY King!
In moving to Chicago from the Mississippi Delta region in 1943, MUDDY WATERS (McKinley Morganfield) essentially remolded the musical language known as The Blues.Playing now in nightclubs, the acoustic rural sound gave way to a booming urban beat.As a writer once cleverly quipped : by plugging in his guitar, Muddy Waters invented electricity.

'HIS BEST 1956 - 1964' captures the explosive, impassioned sonic Blues that Muddy developed, and which was such an influence on so many bluesmen who emulated him in his wake.Muddy was to Chicago Blues what Elvis was to Rock 'N' Roll - in a word: KING!These tracks feature the Blues King being backed by some of the legendary names of the genre :WILLIE DIXON (bass), JIMMY ROGERS (guitar), BUDDY GUY (guitar), JAMES COTTON (harp), A.C. REED (sax), OTIS SPANN (piano), the underrated S.P. LEARY (drums), and perhaps the most revered Blues instrumentalist of his generation, the harp master, LITTLE WALTER.

These songs cook, rock, menace, sneer (wink and grin).This is raw, foot-stomping stuff, the REAL Blues, the genuine article.Get this, get Howlin' Wolf's Chess sides, and the Complete Recordings of Robert Johnson and you'll discover from where the thieves, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant stole their first two albums!

Blues masterpieces such as most of the tracks presented here (like the rollicking 'ALL ABOARD' to Muddy's signature roof-raising, 'GOT MY MOJO WORKING') are so dynamic, and contain such evocative imagery that one could build a movie around them.And wouldn't you know it?That's just what I did about 15 years ago.The Blues almost became an independent character in an unproduced screenplay I wrote.Flipping through her old vinyl records, the terminally geeky Billy Withers says to the hip, sassy, Jazz & Blues street-singer, Billie Clayton, "Howlin' Wolf, Lightnin' Hopkins, Big Bill Broonzy, Muddy Waters?They sound like they're from the World Wrestling Federation."She replies, "They're all great bluesmen."Ah, but ain't it the truth?!And later, Muddy's, 'YOU CAN'T LOSE WHAT YOU AIN'T NEVER HAD' becomes the catalyst for the defining moment in my movie when Clayton refrains from murdering her unborn child.

And yet my favorite track is 'THE SAME THING.'With its lyrics punctuated by Spann's brief piano bursts, this moody, carnally-charged ballad shows how the Blues, in "proper" circles, came by the disparaging moniker, "the devil's music."

WHAT MAKE MEN GO CRAZY WHEN A WOMAN WEAR HER DRESS SO TIGHT?
MUST BE THE SAME OL' THING THAT MAKES A TOMCAT FIGHT ALL NIGHT.

WHY DO ALL OF THESE MEN TRY TO RUN A BIG-LEG WOMAN DOWN?
MUST BE THE SAME OL' THING THAT MAKES A BULLDOG HUG A HOUND.

OH, THAT SAME THING!
TELL ME WHO'S TO BLAME? THE WHOLE WORLD'S FIGHTIN' ABOUT THAT SAME THING.

WHAT MAKE YOU FEEL SO GOOD WHEN YOUR BABY GET HER EVENING GOWN?
MUST BE THE SAME OL' THING THAT MADE A PREACHER LAY HIS BIBLE DOWN.
OH, THAT SAME THING!

By all means, dive into MUDDY WATERS.Get 'HIS BEST 1956 - 1964' and see what kind of movie it inspires you to write.Or perhaps you'll just want to turn it up loud and let it rock you "all night long"; rock you like your "back ain't got no bone!"

You gotta have it!
If the first part of this series gives you the transition from delta slide acoustic to electric blues versions of the same thing, and some of the most graphic and personal recordings of the blues ever done, besides standards no cultured person can be without, this CD is a record of the birth and perfection of the electric blues band, and a classic version of that band with some of the greatest soloists of the blues working for Muddy.I don't play in blues bands. In fact, the most band music I play is in old timey string bands, but still this record speaks to me about the meaning of a tight band, the way great soloists can work with a great master, and the way a great creator created what we now call the Chicago Blues (which was actually the third or fourth wave of Chicago based blues).
Of course, like the previous CD in this series, the songs are so much fun, speak so much truth, and are such a strong part of the real culture, not just of the blues, but of the entire world, that you should have it. I think this series is all right to have, because with Muddy, you need to have it all, at least up to about 1962 or 1963 when he started making toooooooooooooooo many albums and making rip off albums for the "folk blues audience," although the album with that title is a superb one.
If you don't know, Muddy Waters is still one of the great artists of the 20th Century in any genre. You are loving somet hing precious about the world if you don't have his classic recordings.

Great overview of Muddy's late-50s-mid-60s material
A must-have companion volume to "His Best: 1947-1955", this CD brings together almost all of Muddy Waters' finest songs from 1956-64, including superb electric blues classics like "Forty Days And Forty Nights", "Got My Mojo Working", "The Same Thing", and the swinging, swaggering "I Love The Life I Live, I Live The Life I Love".

This is not a complete career retrospective, obviously, but if you don't want to invest in the elaborate three-disc "Chess Box", the two "His Best" CDs are a very fine alternative. The only "problem" is that the superbly well compiled double-disc "Anthology 1947-72" features 50 songs and costs a dollar or two less than this CD and "His Best: 1947-1955" put together, which makes it a slightly better purchase.
4 1/2 stars. You can't argue with what's here. ... Read more

Asin: B000005KQQ
Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Revival    3. Chicago Blues    4. Delta Blues    5. Electric Blues    6. Electric Chicago Blues    7. Pop    8. Slide Guitar Blues   

Hard Again
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 October, 1990)
list price: $9.98
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Editorial Review

It's seems strange now to think of Muddy Waters's having to make a "comeback," but that's what the 1977 Hard Again came down to. The great bluesman's first post-Chess recording after 30 years with that company, it marked Waters's major-label debut and eventually went gold. The over-60 Waters lived up to all the attention with one of his most energetic, sustained performances, bettering his original version of "Mannish Boy," pushing "Bus Driver" to a raging peak, and generally sounding like the wisest man on record. Harp player James Cotton and producer-guitarist Johnny Winter are among the support; they both stay out of Waters's way and give as good as they get. --Rickey Wright ... Read more

Reviews (30)

Fantastic!Fantastic!Fantastic!
The title says it all.If you love electric blues, BUY IT.If you are into Muddy Waters BUY IT.What a shame he is no longer with us...

One of Muddy's Best
"Hard Again" is one of Muddy's greatest works. This album is one of several that is produced by Johnny Winter and features Johnny on the guitar and James Cotton on the harp. The opening song "Mannish Boy" is packed with that great swagger that i always loved about him and Johnny howls in the backround. The best tracks are "Mannish Boy", "Bus Driver" and "I Can't Be Satisfied". "I can't be satisfied" has Winter doing some impressive guitar solos on his steel-bodied National guitar. "The Blues Had A Baby...." is also another impressive song with Muddy telling is version of the story of Rock and Roll.
This is a must have in your blues collection.

Bus driver...
Muddy Waters sounds looser here than I've ever heard him. This sounds like some friends getting together for a jam session at someone's home, with dialogue around some of the tracks, spontaneous-sounding vocal contributions from some of the musicians, and just a general laid-back feel. It's loud and raw, great jamming all around, and shows us that not only the young make great music. Waters IS the blues, and this is THE blues record. See if you can find it on vinyl if you're of that persuasion (I liek some thinsg better that way), otherwise it's damn cheap on CD. My local indie record shop was selling it for $8, and amazon's price is great too. Any price would be good for this one. Roll on, Muddy, wherever you are. ... Read more

Asin: B00000258J
Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Pop   

The Chess Box
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (13 October, 1989)
list price: $49.98 -- our price: $44.99
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Editorial Review

For the completist, this three-CD, 72-song box remains the definitive collection of one of the leading lights of Chicago blues. The collection spans 25 years, beginning with rare early recordings with pianist Sunnyland Slim and moving through Waters's peak '50s period, which offered the legendary support of Jimmy Rogers, Little Walter, and Otis Spann. Luminaries including Pat Hare, James Cotton, Earl Hooker, Buddy Guy, and Pinetop Perkins all make valuable contributions to his '60s work. Along with his original hits and his noteworthy Willie Dixon interpretations, Chess wisely includes his lesser-known covers of Big Bill Broonzy, Howlin' Wolf, Guitar Slim, Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker, and Sonny Boy Williamson. --Marc Greilsamer ... Read more

Features

• Box set

Reviews (15)

The most complete overview of Muddy Waters' Chess sides
More casual fans will probably be better served by MCA/Chess's much cheaper (but very good) two-disc compilation "The Anthology: 1947-1972". But if you're looking for the best and currently most thorough available overview of Muddy's recordings for Aristocrat and Chess, this is it.
It is not the final word on Muddy Waters - his excellent latter-day recordings with Johnny Winter as producer aren't here, and you'll need some of his live stuff as well - but these 72 tracks do include the vast majority of his best songs from 1947 and twenty-five years on.

Disc one spans 1947-1954, and most of the 24 tracks feature just Muddy Waters on slide guitar and bassist Ernest "Big" Crawford backing him, although the great Sunnyland Slim rolls the ivories on a few songs, like the delightful 1947 single "Gypsy Woman".
Muddy's arsenal of slide guitar riffs may seem limited, but his playing on the 1948 hit "I Can't Be Satisfied" and the mellow "Train Fare Home" is really great, demonstrating what a fine guitarist he actually was.

Percussion doesn't show up until two-thirds of the way through the disc, when the "classic" Muddy Waters band begins to take shape: Little Walter Jacobs on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on second guitar, drummer Elgin Evans, and Otis Spann playing the piano.
Along with the songs already mentioned, the lean, mean "I Feel Like Going Home" and "Rollin' And Tumblin'" are among the highlights on disc 1, which ends with the tough, swinging "Blow Wind Blow" and the classic "Hoochie Coochie Man". Big Walter Horton plays superb harmonica on "Blow Wind Blow".

Disc 2 includes the majority of Muddy's classic 50s singles, from "I'm Ready" and the thumping "I Just Want To Make Love To You" to "Got My Mojo Working", the Bo Diddley-ripoff "Mannish Boy", and the superbly swinging "I Love The Life I Live, I Live The Life I Love". Harpist James Cotton appears for the first time on "I Love The Life I Live", blowing a truly inspired harmonica riff.
And there are several lesser-known songs here as well, including previously unreleased takes and singles which make their LP/CD debut on this album. Most of them are good, although not quite great, with the exception of a very fine rendition of Jimmy Oden's "Take The Bitter With The Sweet".

Disc 3 covers 1960-1972, and includes a few live recordings, as well as two alternates from the sublime "Fathers And Sons" sessions. Opening with the great live "I Feel So Good" from the Newport album, it is highlighted by Muddy's version of Eddie Boyd's "Twenty-Four Hours", the mid-60s hit singles "The Same Thing" and "You Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had", and a hornless version of "Who's Gonna Be Your Sweet Man When I'm Gone", one of the few good cuts from the otherwise forgettable "London Sessions" album.

There is nothing here from the misguided and completely superflous "Electric Mud", or from Muddy's last Chess-effort, "The Woodstock Album", but that detracts nothing from the greatness of this compilation, the finest overview of Muddy Waters' Chess sides available.

Great place to start.............
For those of you who like the old blues,then I suggest that you get this one.It may not have everything he ever did and there may not be very many rare tracks,but why quibble? Great playing,soulful singing and memorable melodies......Listen to this legendary bluesman who inspired The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton,among others....BUY IT!!!

Incomplete
Attempting to capture the complexity and diversity of this artist in one box set is both troublesome and incomplete. Muddy Waters displays his command of the Blues in songs such as "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "Long Distance Call". Rarities like "Mean Red Spider" are pleasing to find. Overall, the collection is a good start for someone who just wants to hear his laments and joys in one fell swoop. Die-hard fans should avoid this and stick to the released LP/CD. ... Read more

Asin: B000002Q40
Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Revival    3. Box Sets (Audio Only)    4. Chicago Blues    5. Delta Blues    6. Electric Blues    7. Electric Chicago Blues    8. Pop    9. Slide Guitar Blues    10. United States of America   

The Complete Plantation Recordings
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (08 June, 1993)
list price: $11.98 -- our price: $10.99
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Editorial Review

This is a treasure trove--for the Muddy Waters fan, for the blues historian, for the country-blues enthusiast. Alan Lomax, searching for Robert Johnson (recently deceased), came through and recorded a young McKinley Morganfield. The rest is history. Early versions of future classics can be found on these field recordings from 1941-42, and the guitar and voice that would have unimaginable influence on blues and rock & roll. There's no Chicago yet in these often-scratchy recordings, but if you listen, you can hear where it came from. --Genevieve Williams ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Muddy's Delta Blues
Most Blues fans have heard a lot of chicago blues. Most fans have a lot of Muddy Waters chicago blues. But not alot of Muddy Waters fans would have heard Muddy sing the delta blues. This CD is very intersting because it shows Muddy playing the first blues he ever heard, The Delta Blues. Much like the sounds of Son House, Robert Johnson and Skip JAmes this cd is all acoustic blues. It is great to be able to hear a very young Muddy sing delta blues because once he went to Chicago he abandoned the delta sound and went electric. Muddy does several Robert Johnson songs on this cd quite well, and there are some interesting interviews with Muddy explaining what life was like in the delta and why he made songs out of his experiences. For those who like the old delta blues this cd is a must have, on no other cd do we hear Muddy singing blues like these.

Muddy's Real Real Folk Blues
When Muddy Waters made the first recordings here, he was 26 or 27 and had not been playing regularly.He didnt own a guitar and had to borrow Alan Lomax's Martin. You see here your basic Delta and Mississippi blues in full blossom, by a man who was a great player if he could sound like this when he wasn't in practice. People look at Mississippi blues with a distorted mind thinking of it only through the stream of Robert Johnson, when the music and the tradition was much broader.

In the interviews on this recording you can see how lame and ignorant at times the folklorists were, both white and black, Lomax and Work. But you also see a testament to Son House who taught Robert Johnson, Muddy, and a whole layer of bluesmen and who was such a great artist even in his revival 1960s that Muddy would make his band members keep quiet and play close attention when House performed with them at Newport and elsewhere.

However, you also see his roots beyond this.We get to hear a good string band performance with Muddy Playing with fiddler Son Sims and a mandolin player in a blues fiddle band that was typical of what was going on at the time.Muddy explains his decision to start playing music was inspired by Sims and the string band with Sims and the mandolin player was the band he performed with when he got work.Neither Waters nor the liner notes let you know that Waters also played mandolin, and that when Muddy was a teenager in the 1930s, his favorite blues group was the fiddle band The Mississippi Sheiks.Years later, Muddy would explain he walked all day just to hear the Sheiks.

Despite all this history, this is some good blues music to listen to,. More relaxed,and less intense, and of course less masterful than the Chess masterpieces Muddy began putting out in Chicago in the 1940s, but this is still a CD I put on my player with it set to keep replaying it because I want to hear it.

Muddy Waters' first recordings
If your idea of what a Muddy Waters tune should sound like is the cut-and-shuffle of "Hoochie Coochie Man" or the hard-hitting "I've Got My Mojo Working", the music on this album may come as a surprise to you. This is strictly acoustic stuff, split between solo performances and recordings with the Son Simms Four string band, and the style (if not the voice) recalls Waters' self-professed mentor, the legendary Eddie "Son" House.

Stil, if you're interested in country blues, this is an important and interesting document, showcasing the great Muddy Waters before he truly found a style of his own. The 1941 recording of "I Be's Troubled" (later redubbed "I Can't Be Satisfied") shows signs of things to come, but most of what is on here owes a huge debt to Son House first and William "Big Bill" Broonzy second. Waters' heavy-handed slide guitar attack is strongly reminiscent of House, whom Waters mentions several times during the four interview snippets spread across the record.

According to legend, listening to himself on acetate for the first time made Muddy Waters believe in himself and his abilities as a recording artist ("I didn't know I sang like that!"), and he eventually made it north to Chicago where his re-working of "I Be's Troubled" became a major local hit in 1948).

Among the highlights on this album are the House-esque "Country Blues", "I Be's Troubled", and "Rosalie", which is a virtual blueprint for Waters' later approach. Also listen to "You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone" and the Charley Patton-like "You Got To Take Sick And Die Some Of These Days".

Again, this is NOT the kind of hard-rocking blues and deep grooves that made Muddy Waters the king of Chicago blues in the 50s (well, alongside Howlin' Wolf), but if you are interested in the developement of one of the most important post-war blues musicians, it is well worth picking up. And the music is good, too! ... Read more

Asin: B000002OC1
Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Pop   

At Newport
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 October, 1990)
list price: $9.98
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Editorial Review

Muddy Waters (born McKinley Morganfield) was already the greatest living practitioner of the blues when he stepped on stage at the 1960 Newport Blues and Jazz Festival. But while his recordings had made an impact in blues circles, their effect on rock & roll had yet to pronounce itself via the British Invasion. Instead, Waters toiled in front of small yet devoted crowds who sat mesmerized by his incredible vocal control. The version of "I've Got My Mojo Working" included here illustrates his backing ensemble's strength. But it's really the way Waters curls his voice around a note in such standards as "I Got My Brand on You," "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man," and "Baby Please Don't Go" that make this a surefire classic. --Rob O'Connor ... Read more

Features

• Live

Reviews (3)

do you want me to sing some more?
Why don't you already own this CD? ;DIf you are reading these humble comments, I am assuming you have some small interest in the Mississippi Delta Blues or the Chicago Blues.Muddy Waters (1915-83) was a master of both.It is a fitting turn of history that he was born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi and died in Chicago, Illinois.If you have not heard of Muddy Waters (born: McKinley Morganfield), the notes by Bob Schnieders are a fine introduction, "It was his appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960, however, that first exposed Muddy and his music to white America."Not only was this an historic occassion for Mr Waters, in the original notes, Jack Tracy writes that it was an important date for the Newport Festival, as well, "Newport Festival, 1960, will go down as the year of the great riot."It was the last Jazz Festival held there.The vocal phrasing from Mr Waters and the signature smooth as silk guitar playing are at their best on this recording.The concert betrays a palpable air of tension which he masterfully rides so well that when he asks, "Do you want me to sing some more?" after just completing a rousing version of "Got My Mojo Workin'", "Or, do you want me to sing something else?"The crowd screams and squeals for more of the same.The band supporting is in top form consisting of Otis Spann (p) James Cotton (h) Pat Hare (g) Andrew Stevenson (b) and Francis Clay (d).There really is no reason for you not to own this CD -- the price is certainly right.

mudd is awsome
when i got this album i was amazed,i only recently got into the blues i have been a long time peach head and thanks to abb i got into the blues i really like this album,i also recomend country blues it sounds like robertjohnson

This is one of Muddy's finest live recording.
This recording displayed how tight his music was. It also shows what a professonal Muddy was, in that the most important aspect of Muddy and his band members were the music and how it was received by their audience. Insuch a venue asNewport in 1960 and perform the way they did in a raciallymixed audience, primarily white, is a credit to the professionalism ofMuddy Waters. This I believe was the event which brought him to theforefront of not only the blues but to all of music. ... Read more

Asin: B000002PDQ
Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Chicago Blues    3. Electric Chicago Blues    4. Pop    5. Slide Guitar Blues    6. United States of America   

The Real Folk Blues
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 October, 1990)
list price: $9.98
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Editorial Review

It's hard to talk about Muddy Waters without resorting to superlatives. While the songs on Real Folk Blues can be described as standard blues--and over the years, many of them became blues standards--Muddy Waters simply did them the best. Maybe it's that there's never a note out of place, yet Muddy makes it sound easy; or maybe it's that baritone voice. Or maybe it's the magical pairing of Muddy the player and Willie Dixon the songwriter, which produced "Mannish Boy," "Walking Blues," "Same Thing," and more. Whatever it is, it's on this album--blues music so real you can taste it. --Genevieve Williams ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Great music, a somewhat obsolete CD
I don't think this one is even in print anymore, actually..."The Real Folk Blues" has long since been supplanted by much more comprehensive compilations, and this CD reissue is now available paired with "More Real Folk Blues" on a twofer disc from MCA.

The dozen songs on "The Real Folk Blues" weren't recorded especially for this album, but merely compiled from various sessions, and although some of this material is early acoustic stuff, tough electric numbers like "Mannish Boy" and "Walking Through The Park" are not excactly folkish.
But there's no arguing with the quality of this music. A mixed bag of Chess sides recorde between 1949 and 1954, "The Real Folk Blues" rounds up some of Muddy's first commercial recordings with just bassist Ernest "Big" Crawford for company, as well as a handful of terrific mid-50s electric sides including the aforementioned "Mannish Boy" and "Walking Through The Park", the hit singles "Forty Days And Forty Nights" and "You Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had", and the classic "Just To Be With You" (you know, the one that starts with the line "On a ship that's made of paper...").

Willie Dixon's "The Same Thing" is another highlight, as are Muddy's sparse early renditions of "Walking Blues" and "Rollin' And Tumblin'", and the wonderful "Gypsy Woman" with Sunnyland Slim on the piano. The rare "Canary Bird", another early waxing, pops up as well.

This is great music, but it's a little hard to see the need for this particular compilation, which omits many more of Muddy's best and most popular songs than it includes, yet only features one genuine rarity.
If you're more or less new to Muddy Waters, go for the excellent "The Anthology 1947-1972" from MCA/Chess for starters - and of course the wonderful "Muddy Waters At Newport" album. "The Real Folk Blues" is a great collection of songs, but it won't satisfy the listener who wants a comprehensive Muddy collection, and the diehard fan looking for rarities won't find too many of those here either. It would make a nice sampler, though.

Woke up this morning
This album by Muddy Waters was released in 1966.It was basically released to capitalize on the folk and blues revivals (hence the title).The songs consist of a random assortment of songs that had not previously been on an album.The songs were recorded between 1949 and 1964, so the album doesn't really have a uniform sound to it.The older tracks are pretty worn out and scratchy sounding.Despite the audio shortcomings of this CD, there are a lot of classic performances here.If you can find a cheap copy of this CD, it will be worth picking up.

Two fingers in a shotglass blues...
...like the title says, "The Real Folks Blues". "Mannish Boy" is my fave, but, for the price you can't beat playing all it til dawn. They don't (can't? won't?) do blues like that no more and that's toobad...that's why these Chess Records collections--Howlin' Wolf, John LeeHooker, Muddy Waters, etc--are so great. This is a great starter CD forthose who wanna know the blues, but don't and a great CD for those of uswho have been there and love it already... ... Read more

Asin: B000002OA7
Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Revival    3. Chicago Blues    4. Delta Blues    5. Electric Blues    6. Electric Chicago Blues    7. Pop    8. Slide Guitar Blues   

Rare & Unissued
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (09 April, 1991)
list price: $9.98
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Editorial Review

The reissue of this 1984 release puts some rare gems on CD for the first time. Some of the seminal bluesman's earliest sessions are here, including two tracks from 1947-48 with the legendary Sunnyland Slim, as well as some early sessions with Jimmy Rogers and Little Walter. There are also some later 1950s sessions, including James Cotton's first recording--that's him playing harmonica on "Let Me Hang Around." This album is far more than a historical curiosity, however; it contains Muddy sessions that can be found nowhere else (except on bootleg, and the sound quality of the legit recording is far, far better), performed with his usual exquisite and unique style, and is thus essential listening. --Genevieve Williams ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Rare and Unissued
This CD should be in print, in quantity.It's clearly one of his best.His "My Home is in the Delta" showcases his mastery of the Telecaster, and is far superior to the same cut on Folk Singer."Little Anna May" rocks, and his tight band with Otis and Jimmy is incredible.A MUST in the collection of Muddy aficianados.

Muddy be smokin'
This is a culmination of rarely heard Muddy sides spanning from the late forties to the mid fifties.Muddy puts his own spin on The Wolf's "Smokestack Lighting," and unleashes some of the best tunes (inmy opinion)ever recorded."Little Anna Mae," "Stuff YouGotta Watch," and "Lonesome Day" are some of my favoritetunes of all time. Little Walter adds a whole new level of eloquentintensity to the cuts on which he appears.If you like Muddy, you willlove this.Essential. ... Read more

Asin: B000002O9A
Subjects:  1. Arranger    2. Blues    3. Blues Revival    4. Chicago Blues    5. Delta Blues    6. Electric Blues    7. Electric Chicago Blues    8. Leader    9. Pop    10. Slide Guitar Blues