"The Young Tradition/So Cheerfully Round/Galleries/Chicken On A Raft EP" by THE YOUNG TRADITION – Albums from 1966, 1967 and 1968 on Transatlantic Records in Stereo and a Bonus 1967 EP - featuring Peter Bellamy, Royston Wood and Heather Wood with guests Dave Swarbrick, Sandy Denny and Dolly Collins (only on the "Galleries" LP) (22 July 2013 UK Beat Goes On Reissue – 3LPs onto 2CDs with a Bonus 3-Track EP – Andrew Thompson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Mediaeval Mystery Tour..."

Making available once again to a 2013 digital audience - this fantastically good twofer compilation gives us three ludicrously hard-to-find 60ts Acapella Folk Albums (originally on Transatlantic Records in the UK) and even throws in an EP from 1967 that I've never seen across any counter in any collector's shops anywhere.

Musically were in ye olde Englande territory where men are men and sheep worry and they do it looking cool and with a young buck attitude. There's many minstrels, serving maids, pretty ploughboys, poaching henrys, old misers (are there any other kinds), pigs who do a dance when you hit them with a shovel and fisherman dirges and sea shanties to wade through. So let's don our Carnaby Street garb and have at the watercress...

UK released 22 July 2013 - "The Young Tradition/So Cheerfully Round/Galleries/Chicken On A Raft EP" by THE YOUNG TRADITION on Beat Goes On Records BGOCD 1103 (Barcode 5017261211033) offers 3LPs remastered onto 2CDs with a Bonus 3-Track EP and plays out as follows:

CD1 (72:05 minutes):

1.  Byker Hill [Side 1]

2. The Bold Fisherman

3. Betsy The Serving Maid

4. Henry The Poacher

5. The Lyke Wake Dirge

6. The Banks Of Claudy [Side 2]

7. The Innocent Hare

8. Dives And Lazarus

9. Derry Down Fair

10. The Truth Sent From Above

11. Pretty Nancy Of Yarmouth

Tracks 1 to 11 are their debut album "The Young Tradition" – 1966 UK LP on Transatlantic TRA 142.

NOTE: Although the American album had the same title and artwork, the September 1967 US LP of "The Young Tradition" on Vanguard VRS-9246 (Mono) and Vanguard VRS-79246 (Stereo) was in fact a composite compilation of tracks from the first and second LPs. 

If you want to sequence the 14-track US LP "The Young Tradition" from these CDs, use the following songs...

Side 1: The Innocent Hare, Lake Wyke Dirge, Byker Hill, Knight William And The Shepherd's Daughter, The Truth Sent From Above, The Single Man's Warning, The Banks of Claudy

Side 2: Derry Down Fair, The Foxhunt, The Hungry Child, Pretty Nancy Of Yarmouth, Watercress-O, The Old Miser, The Whitsuntide Carol

12. Daddy Fox [Side 1]

13. The Season Round

14. The Bold Dragon

15. Watercress-O

16. The Old Miser

17. The Foxhunt

18. Knight William [Side 2]

19. The Single Man's Warning

20. The Pretty Ploughboy

21. The Hungry Child

22. The Whitsuntide Carol

Tracks 12 to 22 are their second studio album "So Cheerfully Round" - 1969 UK LP on Transatlantic TRA 155 (no US issue)

CD2 (50:15 minutes):

1. Intro: Ductia [Side 1]

2. The Barley Straw

3. What If A Day

4. The Loyal Lover

5. Entracte: Stones In My Passway

6. Idumea

7. The Husbandman And The Servingman

8. The Rolling Of The Stones

9. The Bitter Withy

10. The Banks Of The Nile

11. Wondrous Love [Side 2]

12. Mediaeval Mystery Tour

13. Divertissement: Upon The Bough

14. Ratcliff Highway

15. The Brisk Young Widow

16. Interlude: The Pembroke Unique Ensemble

17. John Barleycorn

18. The Agincourt

Tracks 1 to 18 are their third and final studio album "Galleries" - 1968 UK LP on Transatlantic TRA 172 and in the USA on Vanguard VSD-79295 in Stereo. It was reissued in June 1973 in the UK as "Galleries Revisited" (same tracks) on Transatlantic TRA SAM 30. The reissue highlighted that Dolly Collins arranged "What If A Day" and that both Dave Swarbrick and Sandy Denny were on the track "Interlude: The Pembroke Unique Ensemble".

19. Chicken On A Raft [Side 1]

20. Randy Dandy-O

21. Shanties (4 Tracks): Fire Maringo/Hanging Johnny/Bring 'Em Down/Haul On The Bowline

Tracks 19 to 21 are the 6-track 1967 UK "Chicken On A Raft" EP on Transatlantic Records TRA EP 164

THE YOUNG TRADITION was:
PETER BELLAMY with HEATHER and ROYNSTON WOOD - All Three Acapella Vocals for the first two LPs, played instruments for some of album number three - "Galleries"
Guests on the "Galleries" album - Sandy Denny, Dave Swarbrick, Dolly Collins, Chris Hogwood, Arrangements by Bert Jansch and John Renbourn on "Mediaeval Mystery Tour"

The outer card slipcase adds these BGO releases a touch of the special while the 20-page booklet is impressively chunky with fantastically detailed new liner notes from JOHN O’REGAN. The first half of the booklet repro’s the liner notes of each original album that explained in knowledgeable and witty tongue the history of the largely Acapella songs – so you get a huge swath of info as well as visuals. There is little hiss apparent as the three voices harmonize in that ‘nowt lad’ old England way and when the songs come accompanied by a lone acoustic guitar – the audio is gorgeous. These are beautiful transfers and for those used to the crackly original LPs – the clarity will come as a shock.

The debut album is stark reminder of the power of English Male and Female voices – three harmonizing as they sing lyrics about fire and fleet and candle neat in "The Lyre Wake Dirge". We hear of Royston sing about the poor in "Dives And Lazarus" and a marriage to a sailor for "Pretty Nancy Of Yarmouth" who couldn’t be true to her man away on the wide ocean blue. In truth, you either love this finger-in-the-ear kind of stark Folk or you don’t – but if you do – what a treat.

Album number two opens with more ordinary folk filling soft pillows with thoughts of true love in "The Season Round" and spending tuppence-a-basket on "Watercress-O". A wee squawler is born to a hassled young lad in "The Single Man's Warning" - but his wife is gossiping instead of making him dinner when he staggers home from a hard day's graft.

The third album finally introduced a Guitar, Whistle, concertina, tambour - and part of accompanying group The Early Music Consort turned out to have future Fairport Convention and Fotheringay leading lights Dave Swarbrick (Fiddle and Mandolin) and Sandy Denny (Piano) amidst their ranks (they are on "Interlude: The Pembroke Unique Ensemble"). Future Harvest Records recording star Dolly Collins is in there too playing something called a Portative Organ (I think its on the instrumental "Medieval Mystery Tour"). It makes songs like "The Barley Straw" feel so much fuller. The "Galleries" album also allowed each a solo performance – Heather Wood on "What If A Day" and "The Rolling Of The Stones", Peter Bellamy on "Ratcliff Highway" and Royston Wood on "Brisk Young Widow". They even went in for some faux scratchy 78” Blues with the cleverly disguised "The Loyal Lover". Fotheringay fans will recognize "The Banks Of The Nile" (maybe Sandy heard it here first) and Traffic fans their "John Barleycorn". The "Galleries" is accomplished and feels like the album the first two were trying to be.

For sure three whole albums of ye olde Acapella English Folk by THE YOUNG TRADITION may be too much for even the committed – but its beautifully rendered and if you're a fan – an absolute must own…

"Woodsmoke And Oranges/Jack-Knife Gypsy" by PAUL SIEBEL – February 1970 and March 1971 on Elektra Records David Bromberg, Richard Greene, Weldon Myrick, Buddy Emmons, Ralph Schuckett and Russ Kunkel with Bernie Leadon (of The Flying Burrito Bros and Eagles) and Doug Kershaw (August 2004 UK Elektra/Warner Strategic Marketing Reissue – 2LPs onto 1CD Plus One Bonus Track - Bill Inglot and Dan Hersch Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Long Afternoons..."

A little like Fred Neil – New Yorker PAUL SIEBEL made a couple of rather gorgeous but commercially unsuccessful albums and then left the industry abruptly.

This truly beautiful sounding CD for Siebel is part of the 2 Classic Elektra Albums Series that started in late 2001 and continued into the summer of 2004 (see list below). The series primarily gathered together two rare Elektra Records Folk albums from the Sixties and Seventies onto 1CD (including some Blues and Country acts too). Paul Siebel's two lone albums "Woodsmoke And Oranges" (1970) and "Jack-Knife Gypsy" (1971) are firmly in the Country Rock vein with occasional flourishes of Folk Tunes and singer-songwriter Rock. Both have been compared both vocally and stylistically to Bob Dylan's "Nashville Skyline" from 1969 where the Bobster embraced Country Music big time – and that’s an accurate comparison. Let’s get to the nasal details...

UK released August 2004 – "Woodsmoke And Oranges/Jack-Knife Gypsy" by PAUL SIEBEL on Elektra/Warner Strategic Marketing 8122 76507-2 (Barcode 081227650728) is part of the 2 Classic Elektra Albums CD Reissue Series of Remasters and breaks down as follows (77:15 minutes):

1. She Made Me Loose My Blues

2. Miss Cherry Lane

3. Nashville Again

4. The Ballad Of Honest Sam

5. Then Came The Children

6. Louise [Side 2]

7. Bride 1945

8. My Town

9. Any Day Woman

10. Long Afternoons

Tracks 1 to 10 are his debut album "Woodsmoke And Oranges" – released February 1970 in the UK and USA on Elektra EKS 74064. Produced by PETER K. SIEGEL – all songs were written by Paul Siebel.

PAUL SIEBEL – Acoustic and 12-String Guitar

DAVID BROMBERG – Acoustic, Electric Guitar and Dobro

DON BROOKS – Harmonica (on "Then Came The Children")

RICHARD GREENE – Violin (on "Miss Cherry Lane" and "The Ballad Of Honest Sam")

JEFF GUTCHEON – Piano And Organ

WELDON MYRICK – Pedal Steel Guitar

GARY WHITE – Bass

JAMES MADISON - Drums

11. Jasper & The Miners

12. If I Could Stay

13. Jack-Knife Gypsy

14. Prayer Song

15. Legend Of The Captain’s Daughter

16. Hillbilly Child [Side 2 – see Note]

17. Pinto Pony

18. Miss Jones

19. Jeremiah’s Song

20. Uncle Dudley

21. Chips Are Down

Tracks 11 to 21 are his 2nd album "Jack-Knife Gypsy" – released March 1971 in the UK and USA on Elektra EKS 74081. Produced by ZACHARY – all songs were written by Paul Siebel.

Note: Side 2 of original UK and US vinyl LPs had the track running order as follows 21, 17, 16, 20, 18 and 19. For some unexplained reason the CD track list lines them up in a different configuration (as listed above).

PAUL SIEBEL – Rhythm Guitar And Vocals

BOB WARFORD and CLARENCE WHITE – Lead Guitars

JIMMY BUCHANAN – Violin and Viola

BUDDY EMMONS – Pedal Steel Guitar

DAVID GRISMAN – Mandolin

RALPH SCHUCKETT – Piano and Organ

BILLY WOLFE – Bass

RUSS KUNKEL – Drums

Other Sidemen – Paul Dillon, Peter Ecklund, Doug Kershaw, Peter Kuvashka, Bernie Leadon (of Dillard & Clarke, Flying Burrito Brothers and Eagles), Ralph Lee Smith and Gary White

BONUS TRACK:

22. Nervous (Take 5 - Previously Unreleased Outtake)

The card-wrap that accompanies all of these '2 Classic Elektra Albums' CDs lends the release a very classy feel. The 12-page booklet features most of the original artwork for these two rare early Seventies albums - the track lists, musician credits and a small essay on the reclusive singer by Peter Doggett of Record Collector magazine fame (author of several music books too). There’s even lyrics to "The Ballad Of Honest Sam" and "Louise" against the backdrop of colour photos. It’s nicely done. But the really big news for fans is a truly gorgeous remaster from original tapes by DAN HERSCH – an Engineer familiar to many collectors who’ve bought any Rhino CD reissue in the last 30 years. This CD sounds stupendous – clear, warm and never over-amped for the sake of it. When you play the two stunning acoustic-only tracks on "Woodsmoke And Oranges" – "My Town" and "Long Afternoons" – the audio can only be described as perfection.

The first album opens with the hick Country of "She Made Me Loose My Blues" with the Pedal Steel of Weldon Myrick to the fore. We get a little Randy Newman with "Miss Cherry Lane" which was actually put out as a single in the UK (B-side) in March 1970 on Elektra EKSN 45085 with "Bride 1945" on the A-side. Of all the Country tracks on here my personal fave is "The Ballad Of Honest Sam" – a song about a card cheat who fooled sad-eyed losers by appearing to be 'honest' (Siebel sounds identikit to Dylan on "Nashville Skyline" – a good thing in my book). Both the lovely "Louise" and "Any Day Woman" were covered by an 18-year old friend of Siebel – Bonnie Raitt (as well as others after her). But my crave on this superb debut album is the two acoustic-only tunes – "My Town" and "Long Afternoons" – both as gorgeous as Seventies singer-songwriter gets. "My Town" laments a friend who gave his life in Vietnam while "Long Afternoons" is a straight-up love-song about a lady with a kindly touch and "...soft brown hair in the sun on long afternoons..."

Despite the larger crew of musicians (some big names too) - the second LP is weaker in my eyes than the first. On the upside you get “Prayer Song” where he successfully mixes Pedal Steel with Richard Green strings – a lovely builder of a song. “Pinto Pony” jaunts along nicely too while “Chips Are Down” pours on the melodrama about being a man when the "chips are down". The Bonus Track turns out to be Take 5 of a song called "Nervous" - it's good but hardly great. In fact Siebel’s nasal whine and the over-reliance on Country Rock with Pedal Steel can make some of the songs seem repetitive – but that first album “Woodsmoke And Oranges” has magic on it more than once or twice - it really does. And with that gorgeous audio – and those powerfully humane lyrics - this CD reissue is a shoe-in to touch your heart more than you would guess. Dig in and enjoy...

Other titles in the '2 Classic Elektra Albums' CD series are:

1. David Blue (1966) / Singer Songwriter Project (1965) - DAVID BLUE

2. Tim Buckley (1966) / Goodbye And Hello (1967) - TIM BUCKLEY

3. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band (1965) / East West (1967) - THE BUTTERFIELD BLUES BAND

4. The Resurrection Of Pigboy Crabshaw (January 1968) / In My Own Dream (August 1968) - THE BUTTERFIELD BLUES BAND

5. Heads & Tails (March 1972) / Sniper And Other Love Songs (October 1972) – HARRY CHAPIN

6. A Maid Of Constant Sorrow (1961) / Golden Apples Of The Sun (1962) - JUDY COLLINS

7. Judy Collins No. 3 (1963) / The Judy Collins Concert (1964) - JUDY COLLINS

8. Wildflowers (1967) / Who Knows Where The Time Goes (1968) - JUDY COLLINS

9. Back Porch Bluegrass (1963) / Live!!!! Almost!!!! (1964) - THE DILLARDS

10. Earth Opera (1968) / The Great American Eagle Tragedy (1969) – EARTH OPERA

11. Judy Henske [Live] (1963) / High Flying Bird (1964) - JUDY HENSKE

12. The Incredible String Band (1966) / The 5000 Spirits Or The Layers Of Onions (1967) – THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND

13. Blues, Rags & Hollers (1963) / Lots More Blues, Rags & Hollers (1964) – "SPIDER" JOHN KOERNER, DAVE "SNAKE" RAY & TONY "LITTLE SON" GLOVER

14. All The News That's Fit To Sing (1964) / I Ain't Marching Anymore (1965) - PHIL OCHS

15. Ramblin' Boy (1964) / Ain't That News (1965) - TOM PAXTON

16. Outward Bound (1966) / Morning Again (1968) - TOM PAXTON

17. Tom Rush (1965) / Talk A Little Walk With Me (1966) - TOM RUSH

18. Woodsmoke And Oranges (1970) / Jack-Knife Gypsy (1971) - PAUL SIEBEL

"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)

"Electric Mud" by MUDDY WATERS – October 1968 US LP on Cadet Concept Records (January 1969 UK on Chess Records) in Stereo featuring Phil Upchurch, Roland Faulkner and Pete Cosey on Guitars, Gene Barge on Saxophone and Production, Charles Stepney on Organ and Production, Louis Satterfield on Bass and Morris Jennings on Drums (November 1996 US, January 1997 and March 1999 UK, and April 2001 UK/EU CD Reissues on MCA/Chess Records – The Chess Legendary Masters Series – Erick Labson Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

US Original LP on Cadet Concept from October 1968 in a gatefold sleeve with insert

UK Original LP on Chess from January 1969 in a Single Laminate Sleeve 

US 1996 CD Reissue and Remaster Using Original US Artwork

UK/EU CD Reissue from 1997 (reissued 1999, 2001) with Alternate Artwork

"...Where You Gonna Run To?..."

A Marmite Blues album from Muddy Waters! Who would have thought it? Or even bought a copy of the ornery bugger when it was first unleashed on an unsuspecting and fractured America in October 1968? Despite "Electric Mud" being a genuine example of a love it or hate it record, many actually bought the plain covered gatefold LP in the autumn of 1968. And almost five decades later – the album is now virtually defied by many in the Hip Hop community - digging its out there nature, fuzzed-up guitars and whack-sample drums. Blues purists would however probably laugh as the thought-police quite rightly disemboweled your unworthy opinion – you saying that "Electric Mud" is wicked man and should be judged on its own merits.

But before we get into the wonder-world of Psych Blues - let's talk about CD digital reissues because there are four on my last count when it comes to this astonishing and divisive album and some have artwork that doesn't reflect the original, different countries with same barcodes etc. Here goes...

First up came the November 1996 American CD variant (36:57 minutes) on MCA/Chess CHD-9364 (Barcode 076732936429) that sports the 'white' worded artwork of the original October 1968 LP on Cadet Records LPS 314 in Stereo. The foldout inlay contained within stretches to six leafs (12 pages double-sided) and shows the weird 8-page insert that came with the original American gatefold vinyl copies - a series of black and white Ron Borowski photos of McKinley Morganfield at the hairdressers getting his beehive pompadour seen too - complete with hairnet and glass-bubble hairdryer shots and a final standing outside the beauty parlor photo. Quite why someone thought that was a great idea escapes me.

The British issue of that American based CD came in February 1997 (itself reissued in March 1999) on MCA/Chess MCD 09364 or Chess 329 364-2 (it has both catalogue numbers on the spine and labels) and was part of 'The Chess Legendary Masters Series' group of CD reissues. These variants came in card digipaks but not only did "Electric Mud" have different artwork, confusingly it had the same Barcode as the American 1996 issue. So when you order using the Barcode, check which issue you're getting. This British variant talked of 32-Bit Digital remasters but it’s the 1996 transfer done by Erick Labson in America. That Remaster was also used for…

Variant number three, an April 2001 UK/EU CD Reissue on MCA/Chess 1125422 (Barcode 008811255428) that appears to have been reissued to promote the massive 15-Disc Box Set "The Chess Story" and the Arum Publishing Book about Chess Records called "Spinning Blues Into Gold". That variant uses the altered artwork too.

Box number four is an October 2011 pairing by England's Beat Goes On Records on BGOCD 1011 (Barcode 5017261210111) that puts his 1969 follow-up album on Cadet "After The Rain" on the same disc as "Electric Mud". That version has a 2011 Andrew Thompson Remaster.

So if you want the original artwork on its own – you need the 1996 US issue – if you're OK with reconfigurations or doubling up – then any of the other three will do. To the music...

1. I Just Want To Make Love To You [Side 1]

2. I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man

3. Let's Spend The Night Together

4. She's All Right

5. I'm A Man (Mannish Boy) [Side 2]

6. Herbert Harper's Free Press News

7. Tom Cat

8. The Same Thing

Tracks 1 to 8 are his fifth studio album "Electric Mud" - released October 1968 in the USA on Cadet Concept Records LPS-314 and January 1969 in the UK on Chess Records CRLS 4542 in slightly altered artwork – both issues in STEREO. Produced by MARSHALL CHESS, CHARLES STEPNEY and GENE BARGE - it peaked at No. 127 on the US LP charts (didn't chart UK)

MUDDY WATERS – Vocals

PHIL UPCHURCH, PETE COSEY and ROLAND FAULKNER – Guitars

GENE BARGE –Tenor Saxophone

CHARLES STEPNEY – Organ

LOUIS SATTERFIELD – Bass

MORRIS JENNINGS – Drums

Purists as you can imagine went nuts - seeing the new direction as a Dylan goes Electric mutinous traitor moment (oh dear). But as Leonard Chess explained in the MARK HUMPHREY penned liner notes, both he and his artist were forged in their times. The album was recorded in May of 1968 - just after globally publicized street fights had rocked France and one month after the assassination of Martin Luther King in Memphis, Tennessee that then shut down 125 American cities with racial rioting. Change and danger was everywhere. And against a backdrop of Timothy Leary dropping acid in his white robes while people read the "Tibetan Book Of The Dead" - Jimi Hendrix played Muddy Waters songs in his live sets while the man who had made them famous went broke.

But Leonard Chess of Cadet Records (the 'concept' label of Chess) was savvy enough to know that white kids were rediscovering the Blues via Cream and Hendrix – re-imported also by The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and The Yardbirds and so on. So surely they would be ripe to rediscover the old hands digging the new hybrid Blues Rock sound or even having the sheer kahunas to go further into the emerging area of Psychedelia.

So Leonard got his brother Marshall Chess, Arranger and Rotary Connection leading light Charles Stepney, along with Engineer and Saxophonist Gene Barge, to record Morgan at Tel Mar Studios in Chicago with hip session-types like guitarist Phil Upchurch, future Mile Davis fuzz-axeman Pete Cosey and drummer for Donny Hathaway and Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly - Morris Jennings. They re-jiggered Willie Dixon standards made famous by Muddy and others like "I Just Want To Make Love To You", "The Same Thing" and "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man" - but in a Psych Blues way that would excite an accepting new audience. They gave the nod to British Lads who worshipped Blues and R 'n' B by covering "Let's Spend The Night Together" and its rumoured that Hendrix would play "Herbert Harper's Free Press News" for inspiration.

It's also common knowledge from later interviews that MW thought the album was a deposit on the pavement – but despite his personal opinions and the fury of purists who claimed he was watering down his legacy - the reach for that new crowd worked. Leonard Chess recalls that "Electric Mud" shifted somewhere between 150,000 to 200,000 units in late 1968 into early 1969 which was unheard of for a Blues album at the time. So despite his decades of living legend status, "Electric Mud" became Muddy's first album to dent the Rock LP charts – albeit at a lowly No. 127 (stayed on chart for eight weeks).

Fuzz guitar, wah-wah pedals and huge drums come screaming out of the speakers as Muddy roars "I Just Want To Make Love To You" - the Remaster so damn good as the guitar goes wild. You can so hear Hendrix and Buddy Miles on the Funk-Rock of "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man" - everybody knows I'm here - cat-meowing guitar - great. Sounding like Cream with a new Fuzztone delivery - "Let's Spend The Night Together" is actually radical in its reworking of the Stones classic - Muddy's voice in fab form (feel so strong). Those opening Bass notes and Cymbals on Morgan's own "She's Alright" are frightening - fabulous remaster of a heavy-heavy guitar blasting chugger.

You have to love those cock-a-doodle doo backwards guitar notes that open the craziest version he ever did of "Mannish Boy" - Stepney giving it some bottom-end funk on his piano accompaniment. None other the I-came-from-another-Universe guitarist Jimi Hendrix is said to have played the "Herbert Harper's Free Press News" track to inspire - and on this remaster that emphasizes genuinely wild guitar work from Cosey - you can so hear why. And what a stunning back beat - the rhythm section locked in and kicking. Sounding like a Soft Machine rehearsal, "Tom Cat" worms its horn-funky way into your room like a belly dancer enjoying those mushroom entrees just a little too much. "Electric Mud" finishes on "The Same Thing" - a slow Blues about attraction turned into a Mike Bloomfield guitar funk.

For sure there are those who will say this is a 'big-legged-woman' Muddy Waters album you should ignore, but they is squares man. This is a different version of the Mannish Boy - Little John The Cock-A-Roo gets trippy and fuzzed-up - mad, bad and dangerous to know. And isn't that what Muddy Waters the man...