"The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album" by MUDDY WATERS – April 1975 US LP on Chess Records featuring Pinetop Perkins, Paul Butterfield, Bob Margolin, Garth Hudson and Levon Helm of The Band, Fred Carter and Howard Johnson with Producer Henry Glover (October 1995 UK/EUROPE MCA/Chess Expanded Edition CD Reissue with One Bonus Track – Part of The Original Chess Masters Reissue Series - Erick Labson Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With Over 300 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

PROVE IT ALL NIGHT 

Music Of 1975 to 1979 

Your All-Genres Guide To 

Exceptional CD Reissues & Remasters

Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs

Just Click Below To Purchase (No Cut and Paste Crap)

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B071P5X2GW&asins=B071P5X2GW&linkId=716e2a561b29ac39bd11daa25c37986b&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

"...Deep As The Ocean... "

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B000002OCM&asins=B000002OCM&linkId=91993eda54a516b346d27358381e2ef9&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

After 27 years recording for Chess Records, this April 1975 American album was Muddy's last for the label (never got a UK release) and I think it's a bit of a forgotten gem. 

"The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album" is also one of those CDs that actually received an official British and European release by MCA as part of 'The Original Chess Masters' Series. Here is the love, deep as an ocean...

UK/EUROPE originally released 24 October 1995 - "The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album" by MUDDY WATERS on Chess/MCA MCD 09359 (Barcode 076732935927) is an Expanded Edition CD Reissue with One Bonus Track and is part of The Original Chess Masters Reissue Series. It plays out as follows (43:54 minutes):

1. Why Are People Like That [Side 1]

2. Going Down To Main Street 

3. Born With Nothing 

4. Caldonia 

5. Funny Sounds [Side 2]

6. Love, Deep As The Ocean

7. Let The Good Times Roll 

8. Kansas City

Tracks 1 to 8 are the album "The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album" – released April 1975 in the USA on Chess Records CH 60035 and was produced by HENRY GLOVER. 

BONUS TRACK: 

9. Fox Squirrel – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED CD-Only Bonus Track 

MUSICIANS: 

MUDDY WATERS – Vocals and Guitar 

PINETOP PERKINS – Piano and Additional Vocals on "Kansas City" and "Caldonia"

PAUL BUTTERFIELD – Harmonica 

BOB MARGOLIN – Guitar 

HOWARD JOHNSON – Saxophone 

GARTH HUDSON (of The Band) – Organ, Accordion and Saxophone

FRED CARTER – Bass and Guitar 

LEVON HELM (of The Band) – Drums and Bass

As you can see from the list provided above, an impressive array of musicians were involved in the sessions recorded across two days in February 1975 at Bearsville's Studios in Turtle Creek, New York (the 6th and 7th). Paul Butterfield of Elektra Records' The Butterfield Blues Band provides fabulous bluesy Harmonica throughout; the legendary (Joe Willie) Pinetop Perkins tinkles the ivories and guest vocals on "Kansas City" and "Caldonia" with both Garth Hudson and Levon Helm of those Americana champions The Band throwing in Keyboards/Accordion and Drums/Bass respectively. 

While "The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album" is a straight-up blues record for the most part, Hudson's Accordion playing gives some of the tracks a slightly Swing/Cajun feel - and is a genuine surprise and treat for it too. Special mention should also go to Butterfield's harp warbling which is typically fantastic throughout - clearly enthused by the mere proximity of the great blues man. In fact you can 'feel' the love of each musician towards Muddy in each and every recording.

Five of its eight tracks are Muddy Waters originals topped up with three cover versions - Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller's peach "Kansas City", made famous by Wilbert Harrison and done by hundreds of others since, with the other two being Louis Jordan R 'n' B classics, "Let The Good Times Roll" and "Caldonia" - penned by his wife Fleecie Moore. The original vinyl album was afforded the luxury of a colour gatefold sleeve picturing the famous Blues and Rock World guests on the inside - the 12-page booklet reproduces those photos (smiles all around) and adds new liner notes from CHRIS MORRIS of Billboard Magazine. 

Producer-Songwriter Henry Glover had cut albums on King Records in the Fifties and Sixties with some amazing names – James Brown, Little Willie John and Hank Ballard - whilst Drummer and full-on Muddy enthusiast Levon Helm had been the catalyst for the Rock-Blues album – emulating what Howlin Wolf had done with The Rolling Stones on their label for the stunning 'London Sessions' series of albums (Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and so on). I have reviewed "The Howlin Wolf London Sessions: 2CD Deluxe Edition" reissue (check that out).  

This 1995 ERICK LABSON remaster has typically ace sound from one of Universal's primo engineers (over a thousand transfer credits to his name including huge swathes of the Chess, Cadet and Checker catalogues). What is cool too is that "Fox Squirrel" - a CD-only bonus track – is just that - a genuine discovery and bonus (astonishing that this McKinley Morganfield original was left off the record nor ever used as a B-side?).

"The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album" divides some fans, but I feel it's a forgotten gem from a golden age that deserves a rethink. For sure it isn't the hard-hitting Chicago Blues-Rock that the later Johnny Winter/Muddy Waters collaborations on Blue Sky Records would produce - "Hard Again" in 1977, "I'm Ready" in 1978 and the "Live" Album in 1979 - stuff that revitalised the great man's career. But it is good, just in a different way, criminally overlooked and like almost all of his 70's recordings - I have always loved it to bits. 

I know there are those who would say that his 40ts, 50ts and 60ts Aristocrat and Chess sides are the only Holy Grail worth sipping from - but I say knob to that. 

Test out "Going Down To Main Street" on iTunes or any streamer service and you'll get to a deeper part of an ocean you will want to swim/drown in...

"Argus" by WISHBONE ASH – April 1972 Third UK Studio Album on MCA Records (June 1972 USA on Decca) featuring Andy Powell, Martin Turner, Steve Upton and Ted Turner with Guest John Tout (March 2002 UK Universal/MCA/Decca CD Reissue – Expanded Edition: Remastered & Revisited Single-Disc Version with Three Bonus Tracks – Martin Turner, Eric Kvortec and Erick Labson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B000062X90&asins=B000062X90&linkId=7ef37520aa1d4cbac76cb8814513016b&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

This Review and Loads More Like It Are In

Your All-Genres Guide To

Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters 

1,990 E-Pages of In-Depth Information

Over 260 Reviews from the discs themselves...

 

"...Time Was..."

After two solid LP account openers in "Wishbone Ash" (December 1970) and "Pilgrimage" (September 1971) - England's twin-guitar assault kings WISHBONE ASH finally hit Classic Rock paydirt with their much-loved third studio album "Argus" - it's gatefold Hipgnosis artwork the mainstay of many a hairy galoot's LP collection in the Seventies. 

Universal may have inexplicably lost the sneakily placed flying saucer that graced the rear sleeve artwork of both the British and American sleeves (used to love seeing that when you turned the cover over) - but other than that history rewriting Photoshop mistake - this March 2002 Expanded Edition: Remastered & Revisited single CD reissue is the top banana.

With truly fabulous audio that straddles the air between clarity and loudness wars (a team of three worked on it including the band’s own lead guitarist Martin Turner) and often selling for less than a battered cod in Margate – this 1CD variant of "Argus" also comes with three truly great bonus live cuts from the 1972 period when the band's four-piece dynamic was clearly cooking. To the details...

UK released March 2002 - "Argus" by WISHBONE ASH on Universal/MCA/Decca 088 112 816-2 (Barcode 008811281625) is an Expanded Edition: Remastered & Revisited with Three Bonus Tracks that plays out as follows (77:05 minutes):

1. Time Was [Side 1]
2. Sometime World 
3. Blowin' Free 
4. The King Will Come [Side 2]
5. Leaf And Stream
6. Warrior 
7. Throw Down The Sword 
Tracks 1 to 7 are their third studio album "Argus" - released 27 April 1972 in the UK on MCA Records MDKS 8006 and June 1972 in the USA on Decca DL 75437, both in gatefold sleeves. Produced by DEREK LAWRENCE and Engineered by MARTIN BIRCH - it peaked at No. 8 in the UK charts and No. 159 in the USA.

WISHBONE ASH was:
ANDY POWELL - Lead, Rhythm Guitars and Vocals 
Lead Guitar on Tracks 2, 3 (Second Passage), 4, 6 and 7  
TED TURNER - Lead, Rhythm, Acoustic Guitars and Vocals 
Lead Guitar on Tracks 2 (first passage), 3 (quiet passage and Slide guitar), 4, 6 and Bonus Tracks 9 and 10 
MARTIN TURNER - Bass on all 
STEVE UPTON - Drums and Percussion on all 
Guest:
John Tout played organ on "Throw Down The Sword"

BONUS TRACKS: 
8. Jail Bait (Live, 4:48 minutes) [Side 1]
9. The Pilgrim (Live, 11:34 minutes) 
10. Phoenix (Live, 17:00 minutes) [Side 2]
Tracks 8 to 10 were recorded 21 August in the studios of the WMC-FM Radio Station in Memphis, Tennessee 1972 (while on tour in the USA). The show was broadcast live and then pressed up on a Promotional-only 3-Track album (no general public release) and distributed to American Radio Stations as "Live From Memphis" on Decca Records DL 7-1922. The artwork for this US rarity is pictured on one of the foldout flaps beneath the "Argus" credits.

The eight-leaf foldout inlay is pretty enough with enthusiastic new liner notes from LEON TSILIS. It reproduces the four photos of the band that came with the inner gatefolds of the original 1972 LPs, original session and reissue credits and the see-through inlay has more of the Hipgnosis artwork beneath it. The spine identifies this 1CD reissue as Expanded Edition: Remastered & Revisited. 

However, while fans will love the full 3-track US Promotional LP acting as Bonuses in all their long playing glory, they might ask why the non-album 45 A-side "No Easy Road" wasn't cheekily squeezed in as Bonus Track No. 4? It was issued as a UK stand-alone seven-inch single on 18 August 1972 with the album cut "Blowin' Free" on the flipside (10 out 10 single) and I can't help thinking that the A of MCA Records MKS 5097 could have been fitted in without audio compromise. If you want that track and more unreleased BBC live stuff of the period - Universal UK reissued "Argus" again in November 2007 as part of their prestigious '2CD Deluxe Edition' Series on Universal/Island 9849624 (Barcode 602498496244 will bring you to that issue). 

A crew of three handled the Audio - "Argus" remixed by band member MARTIN TURNER, digitally remastered by ERIC KVORTEK with final Digital Assembly by ERICK LABSON of Universal – a man with well over 1000 mastering credits to his name including vast swathes of the Chess, Checker, Cadet, MCA, Decca and other catalogues to his name. The power on this CD can be experienced in less than 15-seconds, as the acoustic guitars that open "Time Was" will prove. When the band kicks in – your jaw may indeed join forces with the kitchen linoleum. Like most fans, I've had this record nigh on 50 years and the sheer sonic whack off of this 2002 singular CD is fantastic – and that audio clarity doesn't let up for the whole of the record either. To the tunes...

When Universal decided to choose a title for the May 2010 2CD Anthology of Wishbone Ash - they used Side 1's "Sometime World" from "Argus" as its title (use Barcode 600753261316 as a cut and paste to see my review of it). Along with the brilliant "Time Was" and the chugging crowd-pleaser of "Blowin' Free" - all three twin-guitar juggernauts made up a perfect slice of Side one Classic 70ts Rock with some Prog elements thrown into the mix. There's a guitar passage just before the end of "Time Was" where the bent notes feel like the lead guitars are singing (I'm sure fans know exactly what moment that is). Like Thin Lizzy's fabulous "Jailbreak" album - "Argus" virtually defined the Wishbone Ash sound. 

A marching rhythm of wah-wah guitar soling leads in the Side 2 opener "The King Will Come" – Martin and Andy Turner sharing the fire, sky falling and judgment day lyrics – the Bass and Drums are so clear as the boys make both axes sing in unison. Walked this path for many years, Martin sings of where the earth and sky meet while the melody floats around your room. That delicate solo is now so sweet to hear underpinned by complimentary rhythm guitar and that sly Bass soloing. "Warrior" begins like its going to Rock home for the whole of its duration – but then the guitars give way to leaving lyrics and softer passages – notes and string bends wailing in the echoed distance like 1969 Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green at the helm. Six minutes of "Throw Down The Sword" finish the record – another dual guitar fade-in that eventually bursts into a sort of Fairport Convention Folk-Rock groove. 

The three live "Pilgrimage" tracks are surprisingly well recorded – Wishbone Ash sounding like a Kiln House period Fleetwood Mac as they tear through "Jail Bait" with fantastic aplomb – like they have something to prove. There is Rock and Roll here – a bit of Prog Rock – and a whole lot of tight geetar impressiveness. You can hear the amps humming on "The Pilgrim" – the live setting allowing those slow picking-notes passages at the beginning to sink in and again almost feel like vintage Peter Green. "Phoenix" goes the whole complicated Rock nine yards with its seventeen minutes. But again – amazingly well recorded - strong vocals and those shimmering guitars throughout - the band's power entirely in tact (and some might say never bettered). 

Just what is that Argus helmet man/sentry looking at and just how pointy is that spear of his – we may never know. But make no mistake – this is one hell of a misty morning Classic Rock LP and this CD variant has done that winner proud. Time was, and on the evidence presented here, still is...

"Fathers And Sons" by MUDDY WATERS – August 1969 (USA) and October 1969 (UK) Double-Album on Chess Records in Stereo - featuring Otis Spann, Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, Donald "Duck" Dunn of Booker T & The MGs, Phil Upchurch and Buddy Miles (October 2001 US MCA/Chess CD Reissue – Part of the Blues Classics - Remastered & Revisited Series - Erick Labson Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"…She's Been Gone Twenty-Four Hours... 

And That's Twenty-Three Hours Too Long…"

If you were to pick one release that perfectly blended great Old-School Blues with Classic Rock - then 1969s "Fathers And Sons" featuring the mighty MUDDY WATERS and good friends would be the album. And now that 16-track sweet-as-a-nut double LP set is further supplemented on this fabulous CD reissue with 4 great bonuses (part of Universal’s “Blues Classics - Revisited & Remastered” CD Series). Its like being handed a virtual master class in Blues-Rock - truly blistering stuff. Here are Honey Bee details…

USA released October 2001 - "Fathers And Sons" by MUDDY WATERS on MCA/Chess 088 112 648-2 (Barcode 008811264826) is an Expanded Edition Reissue in the Blues Classics - Remastered And Revisited Series that offers the original 2LP Remastered onto 1CD with Bonus Tracks. It plays out as follows (77:38 minutes):

1. All Aboard

2. Mean Disposition

3. Blow Wind Blow

4. Can’t Lose What You Ain’t Never Had

5. Walkin’ Thru The Park

6. Forty Days And Forty Nights

7. Standin’ Round Cryin’

8. I’m Ready

9. Twenty Four Hours

10. Sugar Sweet 

11. Country Boy - Previously Unreleased

12. I Love The Life I Live (I Live The Life I Love) - Previously Unreleased

13. Oh Yeah - Previously Unreleased

14. I Feel So Good - Previously Unreleased

15. Long Distance Call [Live]

16. Baby, Please Don’t Go [Live]

17. Honey Bee [Live]

18. The Same Thing [Live]

19. Got My Mojo Working, Part One

20. Got My Mojo Working, Part Two

Tracks 1 to 10 of the CD (studio recordings) combined with 15 to 20 (live recordings) make up the "Fathers And Sons" double-album issued August 1969 on Chess LPS-127 in the USA and October 1969 on Chess CRL 4556 in the UK (both 2LP vinyl sets).

Tracks 11 to 14 are previously unreleased studio tracks from the sessions; Track 14 (a cover of Big Bill Broonzy's “I Feel So Good") is previously unreleased in the USA on album - it was a USA 7" single in 1970 - the B-side to "Going Home" on Chess 2085.

The studio tracks (1 to 14) were recorded 21, 22 and 23 April 1969 in Chicago, Illinois, while the live tracks were recorded on 24 April 1969 (with the same band) at the "Super Cosmic Joy-Scout Jamboree" also in Chicago, Illinois.

The band for the sessions was:

MUDDY WATERS - Vocals and Guitar

OTIS SPANN - Piano

MIKE BLOOMFIELD - Guitar

PAUL BUTTERFIELD - Harmonica

DONALD "DUCK" DUNN - Bass

SAM LAY - Drums

Guests were:

PHIL UPCHURCH - Bass on "All Aboard" only

JEFF CARP - Chromatic Harmonica on "All Aboard" only

PAUL ASBELL - Rhythm Guitar on "Walking Thru The Park", "Forty Days & Forty Nights" and "Sugar Sweet" only)

BUDDY MILES - Drums on "Got My Mojo Working, Part Two" only

Digitally remastered by ERICK LABSON of Universal - the sound quality is typically fantastic (he has over 1000 mastering credits to his name for audio restoration and transfer) and reflect the superb original Production skills of NORMAN DAYRON. The 12-page booklet has typically brilliant and informative liner notes by Blues and R'n'B expert BILL DAHL and features a few photos of the sessionmen (Butterfield, Donald "Duck" Dunn etc) - clearly enthused to be playing with a legend.

Highlights would include Muddy's mournful yet fun cover of Eddie Boyd's "Twenty Four Hours" (lyrics from the song title this review), the live version of Willie Dixon's sex song "The Same Thing" and the in-your-face rocking of "Blow Wind Blow". Then there's the accompaniment - Donald "Duck" Dunn of Booker T & The MG's providing tight-as-a-nun's-knickers bass playing, Mike Bloomfield blissed out and licking away on Guitar - while Paul Butterfield and his mean harmonica simply blast their way through the songs like a pair possessed (Butterfield is particularly brilliant on “Forty Days And Forty Nights”). The icing on the cake is the four studio cuts that make “Fathers And Sons” even stronger than before - "Country Boy" being intense Blues Rock with Butterfield laying down a harmonica storm that would have made Little Walter proud - wow…

This is a great Muddy Waters record - not just a good one - and this cool CD reissue (at less than five quid from some retailers) does that vinyl-double proud - and then some…

Titles in the Universal US-Only 

Blues Classics - Remastered & Revisited CD Series

1 and 2 are SUHA GUR remasters

 3 to 11 are ERICK LABSON remasters (I've reviewed most)

1. Bad News Is Coming - LUTHER ALLISON

(1972 Gordy LP, 2001 CD Remaster + Four Previously Unreleased Bonus Tracks) - Universal 440 013 407-2 (Barcode 044001340727)

2. Luther’s Blues - LUTHER ALLISON

(1974 USA 9-track LP with 3 Previously Unreleased bonuses, 70:28 minutes)

Universal 440 013 409-2 (Barcode 044001340925)

3. Two Steps From The Blues - BOBBY BLAND

(1961 USA 12-track LP on Duke with 2 bonuses, 35:12 minutes)

MCA 088 112 516-2 (Barcode 008811251628)

4. The Real Folk Blues/More Real Folk Blues - JOHN LEE HOOKER

(October 1966 and September 1991 LPs on Chess, 2LPs on 1CD, 79:44 minutes)

MCA/Chess 088 112 821-2 (Barcode 008811282127)

5. The Real Folk Blues/More Real Folk Blues - HOWLIN' WOLF

(January 1966 on Chess and January 1967 on Chess, 2LPs on 1CD, 66:45 minutes)

MCA/Chess 088 112 820-2 (Barcode 008811282028)

6. Tell Mama: The Complete Muscle Shoals Sessions - ETTA JAMES

(January 1968 US 12-Track LP on Cadet - 13-22 being bonuses, 57:11 minutes)

MCA/Chess 088 112 518-2 (Barcode 008811251826)

7. Live At San Quentin - B.B. KING

(1990 13-Track Compilation on MCA, no extras, 64:09 minutes)

MCA America 088 112 517-2 (Barcode 008811251727)

8. At Newport 1960 - MUDDY WATERS

(1960 US 9-Track LP on Chess with 10-13 being 4 Mono Studio Tracks from June 1960 as bonus tracks, 44:41 minutes)

MCA/Chess 088 112 515-2 (Barcode 008811251529)

9. Fathers & Sons - MUDDY WATERS (with Paul Butterfield, Otis Spann, Mike Bloomfield, Donald 'Duck' Dunn and Buddy Miles)

(Tracks 1-10 and 15-20 is the August 1969 2LP set on Chess in Full with Tracks 11, 12, 13 being previously unreleased - and 14 previously unreleased in the USA). (77:38 minutes)

MCA/Chess 088 112 648-2 (Barcode 008811264826)

10. The Real Folk Blues/More Real Folk Blues - MUDDY WATERS

MCA/Chess 088 112 822-2 (Barcode 008811282226)

11. The Real Folk Blues/More Real Folk Blues - SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON

(January 1966 and January 1967 LPs on Chess, 2LPs on 1CD, 65:28 minutes)

MCA/Chess 088 112 823-2 (Barcode 008811282325)

"Muddy Waters At Newport 1960" by MUDDY WATERS – November 1960 US LP on Chess Records (September 1961 in the UK on Pye Jazz) featuring James Cotton on Harmonica, Otis Spann on Piano, Pat Hare on Guitar, Andrew Stephenson on Bass and Francey 'Francis' Clay on Drums with guest vocals from John Lee Hooker on the encore (March 2001 US MCA/Chess CD Reissue in the Blues Classics – Revisited & Remastered Series – Eric Labson Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

"...Got My Mojo Working..."

Muddy Waters was a formidable thing in the Chess Studios – but let loose in a live environment with his red-hot band cooking, his deep Mississippi voice growling and his ebullient persona effortlessly enthralling the audience – Morgan McKinleyfield could slaughter all in his path.

Some albums deserve their legend and "Muddy Waters At Newport 1960" is one of them. This superb 2001 Reissue/Remaster expands that Stereo masterpiece with four studio tracks from the same year (one a rarity in the USA). And even though this CD is short (just over 44 minutes) – you only have to hear five minutes of it and the word 'essential' immediately jumps to mind. Here are Mojo Working details with some Hoochie Coochie Men thrown in...

US released March 2001 – "Muddy Waters At Newport 1960" by MUDDY WATERS on MCA/Chess 088 112 515-2 (Barcode 008811251529) is an Expanded Edition CD reissue (part of their Blues Classics – Revisited & Remastered Series) and plays out as follows (44:41 minutes):

1. I Got My Brand On You [Side 1]

2. (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man

3. Baby, Please Don't Go

4. Soon Forgotten

5. Tiger In Your Tank

6. I Feel So Good  [Side 2]

7. I’ve Got My Mojo Working

8. I’ve Got My Mojo Working, Part 2

9. Goodbye Newport Blues

Tracks 1 to 9 are the album "Muddy Waters At Newport 1960" – released November 1960 in the USA on Chess LP 1449 in Stereo (recorded and partially filmed Sunday afternoon, 3 July 1960 at the Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island). The album was released September 1961 in the UK on Pye Jazz NJL 34.

BONUS TRACKS (all Studio versions):

10. I Got My Brand On You – first appeared on the 1994 Muddy Waters 2CD Set "One More Mile: Chess Collectibles Volume 1" on Chess CHD2-9348

11. Soon Forgotten – Previously Unreleased in the USA

12. Tiger In Your Tank

13. Meanest Woman – Tracks 12 and 13 are the A and B-sides of Chess 1765, a 7" single released in the USA in October 1960

Muddy sang Lead Vocals and played Electric Guitar, James Cotton was on Harmonica, Otis Spann on Piano, Pat Hare on Guitar, Andrew Stephenson on Bass and Francey ‘Francis’ Clay hit the Drums. The MC for the show was Langston Hughes – a noted Black Poet of the day. Otis Spann famously improvised "Goodbye Newport Blues" on the day - takes lead vocals initially and is later joined by all the Blues Men who were playing on the bill that day (including John Lee Hooker).

It starts out rather sedately – the audience probably not knowing what to expect. We get a workmanlike version of his 'new' song "I Got My Brand On You" which sets the scene. You also notice the fantastic 'Stereo' mix adding so much space and body to the overall sound. But then something kicks in halfway through "(I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man" - you can literally 'feel' the atmosphere and especially the crowd's abandon being to grow and loosen as Track 2 progresses. In the center of "Baby, Please Don't Go" – James Cotton rips into a wild Horn solo and things are now cooking rather than simmering. The crowd-cheers are now enthusiastic and real - like they've stumbled onto something fantastic and can't believe their luck (it was a sunny Sunday afternoon in 1960 - this kind of thing didn't happen every day of the week). Muddy then slows it right down with the melancholy Blues of James Oden's "Soon Forgotten" – another 'new' single for 1960 on Chess (it's really, really good too). But Side 1 ends with a total winner – another new 45 that's aimed to please – the bopping "Tiger In Your Tank" penned by the mighty Chess tunesmith Willie Dixon. It's on "Tiger In Your Tank" that the fluid piano playing of Otis Spann comes to the fore. At the end of it - there's an explosion of wolf whistles and cheers – and you can just see all those students and hip people getting down and letting go (it's a wonderful moment).

Muddy maintains the pace and momentum with a rip-roaring version of Big Bill Broonzy's "I Feel So Good" – the crowd now wild and vocal to the max. He tells them there’s one more (but they clearly want more) and the band launches into a brilliant "I Got My Mojo Working" – boogieing along like a goodun – the handclaps steady and furious. Cotton warbles that harmonica as Francis Clay lays into the drums and cymbals – it builds and builds in excitement and that sedate opener is now years away. By the time he does his "Mojo" word-mumbling routine – the day is won – and how. Muddy then hits them with an Encore Reprise of "Got My Mojo Working" where he sings "...I want to love you so bad...I don't know what to do...". He gives it a witty call-and-response with the band after which Cotton stumps up a fantastic Harp solo - followed by a clearly inspired Otis Spann on the piano. We slow down then to a crawl and Otis Spann takes over Vocals for the final track "Goodbye Newport Blues" - joined at the end by all the Blues voices of the day (including we are told John Lee Hooker).

The four Bonus Tracks are all studio efforts – a cool outtake of the Newport opener "I Got My Brand On You" from a 1994 2CD compilation called "One More Mile: Chess Collectibles Volume 1" – Cotton playing a wicked Harp solo. Uber slow Blues follows with a haunting version of "Soon Forgotten" (a great inclusion) while "Tiger In Your Tank" ups the boogie pace as it did at the concert. The R&B shuffle of "Meanest Woman" is a total gem – a B-side – the kind of Little Walter warbler that sends me over the edge. Absolutely brilliant...

So there you have it – a masterclass live LP that you wish there was more of (it broke him through to a wider audience) and a cluster of great studio additions. Muddy Waters has his brand on the hearts of millions – let him make his mark on yours. Buy this and enjoy...

Titles in the "Blues Classics - Remastered & Revisited" CD Series 

All are US releases

1 and 2 are SUHA GUR remasters

3 to 11 are ERICK LABSON (I've reviewed most)

1. Bad News Is Coming - LUTHER ALLISON

(1972 Gordy LP, 2001 CD Remaster + Four Previously Unreleased Bonus Tracks) - Universal 440 013 407-2 (Barcode 044001340727)

2. Luther’s Blues - LUTHER ALLISON

(1974 USA 9-track LP with 3 Previously Unreleased bonuses, 70:28 minutes)

Universal 440 013 409-2 (Barcode 044001340925)

3. Two Steps From The Blues - BOBBY BLAND

(1961 USA 12-track LP on Duke with 2 bonuses, 35:12 minutes)

MCA 088 112 516-2 (Barcode 008811251628)

4. The Real Folk Blues/More Real Folk Blues - JOHN LEE HOOKER

(October 1966 and September 1991 LPs on Chess, 2LPs on 1CD, 79:44 minutes)

MCA/Chess 088 112 821-2 (Barcode 008811282127)

5. The Real Folk Blues/More Real Folk Blues - HOWLIN' WOLF

(January 1966 on Chess and January 1967 on Chess, 2LPs on 1CD, 66:45 minutes)

MCA/Chess 088 112 820-2 (Barcode 008811282028)

6. Tell Mama: The Complete Muscle Shoals Sessions - ETTA JAMES

(January 1968 US 12-Track LP on Cadet - 13-22 being bonuses, 57:11 minutes)

MCA/Chess 088 112 518-2 (Barcode 008811251826)

7. Live At San Quentin - B.B. KING

(1990 13-Track Compilation on MCA, no extras, 64:09 minutes)

MCA America 088 112 517-2 (Barcode 008811251727)

8. At Newport 1960 - MUDDY WATERS

(1960 US 9-Track LP on Chess with 10-13 being 4 Mono Studio Tracks from June 1960 as bonus tracks, 44:41 minutes)

MCA/Chess 088 112 515-2 (Barcode 008811251529)

9. Fathers & Sons - MUDDY WATERS (with Paul Butterfield, Otis Spann, Mike Bloomfield, Donald 'Duck' Dunn and Buddy Miles)

(Tracks 1-10 and 15-20 is the August 1969 2LP set on Chess in Full with Tracks 11, 12, 13 being previously unreleased - and 14 previously unreleased in the USA). (77:38 minutes)

MCA/Chess 088 112 648-2 (Barcode 008811264826)

10. The Real Folk Blues/More Real Folk Blues - MUDDY WATERS

MCA/Chess 088 112 822-2 (Barcode 008811282226)

11. The Real Folk Blues/More Real Folk Blues - SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON

(January 1966 and January 1967 LPs on Chess, 2LPs on 1CD, 65:28 minutes)

MCA/Chess 088 112 823-2 (Barcode 008811282325)