The Best Of Muddy Waters

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The material this artist cut for Chess during this period is nothing short of a blues revelation. There has never been anything quite like it, before or after, and when one has heard Muddy Waters from this period, one has simply heard the best blues has to offer. The Best of Muddy Waters is a 1958 greatest hits album by Muddy Waters released by Chess Records in April 1958. With gaining popularity for 33 & 1/3 rpms (commonly called LPs) Chess Records started releasing its first LPs in 1958. The Best of Muddy Waters (released sometime in April 1958 according to Billboard magazine) was the third LP that Chess released. The profile of Muddy Waters on the front of this album is a classic bit of color portrait photography. The bluesman seems to be staring up at something, a glazed look of wonder in his eye. What could it be? Perhaps a vision of all the different “best of” sets and repackagings of his material that would happen in the future. In the end, it comes down to “That Same Thing” that Waters used to sing about, although he was talking about something else. The material this artist cut for Chess during this period is nothing short of a blues revelation. There has never been anything quite like it, before or after, and when one has heard Muddy Waters from this period, one has simply heard the best blues has to offer. This collection was the first “best of” Chess created, obviously mindful that what they had on their hands was nothing less than a tray of gold. The earliest piece, such as “Louisiana Blue,” are just marvelou, the country blues slide guitar augmented just so slightly by string ba, the harmonica of Little Walter, and the barest trace of percussion. Rhythmically, these performances are flawless and drenched with the feel as if they were slabs of chicken that had spent the day simmering in a jerk sauce. From there, one hears the classic Chicago blues combo sound emerging, which it does with great glory on tracks such as “Standing Around Crying.” Yet with all the more extensive material that has been released of this artist since the late 50, it is hard to conceive of why a consumer looking for Waters would settle for this collection. It is not a question of “less is more,” as there is great consistency to the Watersdiscography from this period; listeners who enjoy this material will want more, more, more. Review by Eugene Chadbourne/AMG Track listing All songs written and composed by All songs written by McKinley Morganfield, except where noted. Side one 1. “I Just Want to Make Love to You” (Willie Dixon) Chess #1571 2:49 2. “Long Distance Call” Chess #1452 2:38 3. “Louisiana Blues” Chess #1441 2:49 4. “Honey Bee” Chess #1468 3:20 5. “Rollin’ Stone” Chess #1426 3:05 6. “I’m Ready” (Dixon) Chess #1579 3:01 Side two 1. “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man” (Dixon) Chess #1560 2:49 2. “She Moves Me” Chess #1490 2:54 3. “I Want You to Love Me” unknown 3:01 4. “Standin’ Around Cryin’” Chess #1526 3:19 5. “Still a Fool” unknown 3:14 6. “I Can’t Be Satisfied” Aristocrat #1305 2:41 Personnel Muddy Waters – lead vocal, guitar Ernest “Big” Crawford – bass on “Long Distance Call”, “Louisiana Blues”, “Honey Bee”, “I Want You To Love Me”, and “I Can’t Be Satisfied” Willie Dixon – bass on “I Just Want To Make Love To You”, “I’m Ready”, and “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man” Little Walter – harmonica on tracks A-1, A-2, A-3, A-6, B-1, B-2, and B-4; guitar on B-5 Walter “Shakey” Horton – harmonica on B-3 Jimmy Rogers – guitar on tracks A-1, A-4, A-6, B-1, B-3, and B-4 Otis Spann – piano on A-1, A-6, B-1, B-3, and B-4 Fred Below – drums on A-1, A-6, and B-1 Elgin Evans – washboard on A-3; drums on B-3 and B-4 Leonard Chess – bass drum on B-2 and B-5 .

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