Muddy Waters

Muddy Waters virtually created the blues “band” format, which shaped the post-war Chicago blues sound and laid the cornerstone for rock and roll. He deftly transitioned from the cotton field, Mississippi Delta, acoustic blues, to the electric sound which has remained with us since. Waters was a great singer of American vernacular music, a vocal artist of astonishing power, range, depth, and subtlety. His presence was that of a king, and his blues sounded simple, but it was so deeply rooted in the traditions of the Mississippi Delta that other singers and guitarists found it almost impossible to imitate convincingly.

Long unavailable on vinyl, this quintessential collector’s edition presents Muddy Waters’ classic album, At Newport 1960, recorded live at Newport Jazz Festival (Sunday, July 3, 1960), and originally released by Chess Records in November that same year. This masterpiece comes from an era when Muddy Waters was at his creative peak. He performed such classics as “Hoochie Coochie Man” and “Baby, Please Don’t Go”. The set kicks off with a version of “I’ve Got My Brand on You” that has much more fire than the relatively tame (in comparison) studio take. The remaining songs are exemplary blues hollers, including “I’ve Got My Mojo Working”, “Soon Forgotten” and “Tiger in Your Tank”, where Waters and his band unleash the full force of the blues upon a transfixed audience.

Waters is backed on these tracks by a virtual who’s who of fabulous musicians, such as James Cotton, Otis Spann, Pat Hare, Andrew Stephenson, and Francis Clay, who helped define the exact nature of the Chicago electric blues sound. This great band used amplification to make the music more visceral and raw instead of simply making it a little louder.

PERSONNEL:

MUDDY WATERS, vocals and guitar, plus:

James Cotton (harmonica)
Pat Hare (guitar)
Andrew Stephenson (bass)
Otis Spann (piano on all tracks, vocals on “Goodbye Newport Blues”)
Francis Clay (drums)

Langston Hughes (MC Newport Jazz Festival).
Recorded on July 3, 1960, during a performance at the Newport Jazz Festival, Newport, Rhode Island.

SIDE 1
1. I GOT MY BRAND ON YOU
2. (I’M YOUR ) HOOCHIE COOCHIE MAN
3. BABY, PLEASE DON’T GO
4. SOON FORGOTTEN
5. TIGER IN YOUR TANK

SIDE 2
1. I FEEL SO GOOD 2:55
02 I’VE GOT MY MOJO WORKING (Part 1)
03 I’VE GOT MY MOJO WORKING (Part 2)
04 GOODBYE NEWPORT BLUES