Best
14 tracks, 57 minutes
Inadequate Spotify playlist
I feel like I’m not getting to include enough stuff in this list by the real masters of blues music from right at the beginning of the genre’s recording to about the early 1960s. Before then, albums weren’t really a thing, it was all singles. The most that we hear of these artists, then, come in the form of compilations, and when there are so many Best of Whoever albums floating around, all with more or less the same assortment of tracks on there, it’s really hard to pick any in particular as a ‘favourite album,’ so they’ve sort of been left by the wayside here, which is a shame, because (as you already know when I’m talking about seemingly any other type of music) I absolutely adore the blues, especially the stuff of these earlier eras.
But I’m glad The Algorithm chucked up this particular album for me. Yes, it’s a Best of, and to be honest, it’s another one of those cheap bargain bin style releases. That rough image of the cover was the only one I could find online anywhere. Can’t find any release date for it, and I actually can’t find the same recordings anywhere online, they were just recorded at some mystery concert I-don’t-know-when, probably by bootleg (and if it is a bootleg recording, it’s a really good one) – the Spotify playlist I made and linked to up there contains the same songs as this compilation, but not the same versions, and it doesn’t even have some of the songs at all. If you want to hear the versions I’m listening to, get in touch.
The reason I chose this particular album instead of any other Best of – or even one of the albums the he made after the LP became a thing – is simply because it was the first time I’d ever heard a full album of Muddy’s music. It’s a great selection of tracks – it is missing some of his most classic songs such as ‘I Just Wanna Make Love to You’, ‘I’m Ready’ and his amazing solo version ‘Rollin’ Stone’, but most of the rest are there, and it does include some lesser-known ones – and Muddy and band are clearly on top form for this gig. It’s pure Chicago blues too, before his renaissance where he added a lot of influences from the rock his music helped create in the first place.
Obviously, Muddy Waters is a compete icon of blues music. He’s the most famous artist that represents the movement of blues northwards, learning his craft on the acoustic guitar in the Mississippi Delta from the old masters before moving up to Chicago, plugging in and defining that city’s sound for decades to come. This album captures that sound – the rawness and folkiness of delta blues with the groove (and solos) of the Chicago style.
Best may not be the most quintessential – or essential – of the compilations and live albums of Muddy Waters that are available out there, and despite (well, probably because of) its cheapness, it’s dropped into full obscurity and it’s probably almost impossible to get your hands on. But if you can, you may as well. It’s a great example of a master at work…and if you can’t, just give Muddy a listen in general. He’s always great and even if you think you like him, he’ll always surprise you.
No comments:
Post a Comment