I purchased Muddy Waters’ Chess Blues Masters Series around 1978, when I was a mere 20 years old. This great double-record set was originally released in 1971 as McKinley Morganfield a.k.a. Muddy Waters and is a compilation of many classic Muddy recordings spanning 1950 to 1956. At the time, I had enjoyed a few of the great bluesman’s tracks, but when I saw this album’s cartoonish cover, I knew it was the LP for me. Soon after buying it, I became a Muddy Waters disciple. I listened to him at home and when I drove, and if I was going over to a friend’s house to play Monopoly, I’d bring a Muddy Waters cassette. Basically, if I was awake, I was listening to Muddy Waters.
Muddy is known as the father of modern Chicago electric blues, and his singing and songwriting have made indelible marks on our musical culture. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan each owe a debt to him. When the Beatles first visited the United States in 1964, John Lennon said he wanted to meet Muddy and went on to mention him by name in his song “Come Together.”
“She’s All Right” is the first track from this record that I’ll spin for the uninitiated. It features a repetitive riff that speeds up perfectly as the band’s emotion grows to a fury. The lyrics swell in intensity too: Muddy sings, “I could’ve had religion” and “Let the poor boy pray,” while the band digs in even harder. It’s so raw, it’s bloody. On the other hand, “The Same Thing” plays like a great pop song, with strong hooks and an almost film noir atmosphere, as Muddy sings, “What makes a man go crazy when a woman wears