Muddy Waters - Electric Mud (1968/1997 32 Bit Remastered Edition)
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Album: Muddy Waters - Electric Mud 32 Bit Remastered Edition
Released: 1968 (1997)
Styles: Psychedelic Blues
Biography: AMG
Chess Legendary Masters Series MCD 09364
Often derided by cynics who see it as an ill-conceived attempt to update Muddy's sound, ELECTRIC MUD actually makes an odd kind of sense. In retrospect, its mating of Muddy's Chicago blues with a Cream-like, semi-psychedelic blues-rock sound merely places the blues godfather in amidst the world he helped inspire, if not create. Heavy blues-rock bands of the late '60s like Cream and Led Zeppelin would never have existed had Muddy not harnessed the power of electricity as a vehicle for his big-sounding blues in the '50s. ELECTRIC MUD is dominated by a fuzz guitar so unabashedly over-the-top it's downright endearing. All the trappings of the period are thrown into the mix: funky/heavy grooves, fuzz bass, wah-wah pedal, etc. There's even a rush of backwards tapes at the beginning of a rocked-up take on "Mannish Boy." 30 years later, hardcore blues artists like R.L. Burnside would benefit from an analogous approach by working with samples and loops, so hindsight makes this album seem more canny than misguided (it did create a marked increase in Muddy's poor late-'60s record sales). Besides, it's worth the price of admission just to see the photos that show Muddy's trademark "conk" hairdo in various stages of preparation. - Waters, Muddy Electric Mud CD at CD Universe
Muddy Waters had been popular in the early blues movement, but his career was in a slump during the late 1960's, mostly in part because of the growing popularity of more modern rock and roll.
His base audience, who made him a success in the 1950's, had forgotten about him - his last hit album was in 1958. Marshall Chess, son of the founder of Chess Records, wanted to change all of that. He wanted to attract those who bought albums from artists like Jimi Hendrix to a new Muddy Waters sound. Enter the electric and synthesized world which put a "modern" spin on his older songs.
Muddy had always played an electric guitar, but this was his first record where fuzz tones, big amps and wah-wah pedals were used by the back-up studio jazz band. For Muddy, this was totally different from what he was used to. The psychedelic sounds weren't his style, he didn't care for it, but this brought him back on top.
He began touring, the album sold anywhere from 150,000 to 200,000 copies, and Muddy set the stage for the coming styles of funk and disco. In 1968, this was a truly ground-breaking record and is worth getting a copy. One might even notice that some of these tracks have been sampled by various rap artists throughout the years. This album truly does withstand the test of time as one of the greatest albums ever. - Mark Flatt - EXAUDIO! Magazine - Classic Album Review: Muddy Waters - Electric Mud
1. I Just Want to Make Love to You - 4:19
2. (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man - 4:53
3. Let's Spend the Night Together - 3:12
4. She's Alright - 6:36
5. Mannish Boy - 3:50
6. Herbert Harper's Free Press News - 4:40
7. Tom Cat - 3:42
8. The Same Thing - 5:42
Gene Barge - Sax (Tenor)
Pete Cosey - Guitar
Roland Faulkner - Guitar
Morris Jennings - Drums
Louis Satterfield - Bass
Phil Upchurch - Guitar
Muddy Waters - Guitar, Vocals
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