Muddy Waters - Blues & Rhythm Series Classics 5029: The Chronological Muddy Waters 1948-1950 (2002)

Muddy Waters made his first records down home in rural Mississippi in 1941, came up to Chicago in 1943, and began working for the Aristocrat label in 1947. This exciting chronological compilation presents everything he recorded from April of 1948 up through February 1950, when Aristocrat was renamed Chess Records. The Classics Blues & Rhythm Series enables listeners to study Muddy's artistic progress step by step, literally following a trail of old records from the plantation to the crowded, noisy clubs of the big city (see Classics 5008, Muddy Waters 1941-1947). On the first two tracks, Muddy receives excellent support from ace pianist Sunnyland Slim, alto saxophonist Alex Atkins, and string bassist Big Crawford. The next six sides are guitar and bass duets, including the number 11 Billboard R&B hit "I Feel Like Goin' Home" backed with "I Can't Be Satisfied." Muddy's passionate hollering turns each of these records into a mind-altering listening experience. He gnaws at the words, squeezing his guitar and rubbing its neck until it whines and moans. "Sittin' Here and Drinkin'" and "Standin' Here Tremblin'" are unfiltered reports describing emotions that most humans could understand and relate to. "Muddy Jumps One" is a grand example of this man's early rockin' blues style, kicking hard with Crawford's slapped bass and rhythm guitar support from "Baby Face" Leroy Foster. "Last Time I Fool Around with You," one of the few records Muddy would make in the year 1949, has a boogie-woogie piano line by one Johnny Jones and percussion accompaniment by Leroy Foster. The two-part "Rollin' and Tumblin'" rocks like a freight train going 60. Muddy's first Chess recording was a powerful solo performance entitled "Rollin' Stone." Issued as Chess 1426 with "Walkin' Blues" on the flip side, this apparent return to his earlier style actually signaled the beginning of Muddy Waters' artistic maturity, an uncanny blend of furrowed fields, tobacco barns, crowded clubs, and big-city streets. ~arwulf arwulf