Muddy Waters - Hoochie Coochie Man: Complete Chess Masters, Vol. 2: 1952-1958
Release Date: December 2004
Label: Hip-O Select
The Vol. 2 designation of this limited-edition double CD may confuse some people, who might reasonably wonder where "Vol. 1" is. Actually, "Vol. 1" was Rollin' Stone: The Golden Anniversary Collection, which came out as a regular retail release in stores and covered Muddy Waters' complete recorded output from 1947 through September of 1952. Picking up right where that release left off, this much more elaborately packaged 51-track double-CD set captures Muddy at the peak of his game, dominating the Chicago blues scene (and, almost equally so, the national blues dialogue) and bursting with understated confidence and energy — in his playing as well as his singing — in the early years. The set takes listeners song by song across the mid-'50s, coinciding with the arrival of rock & roll and the subtle changes the latter caused in even his music — switching away from playing guitar and turning that responsibility over to younger musicians in the course of trying to compete in a world dominated by ever younger rock & rollers. The producers have done an impressive technical job, the sound on the individual songs being consistently clean and sharp, even if many of the early-'50s masters don't exactly lend themselves to high-resolution playback. They're also offering a large handful of alternate takes scattered throughout the two discs, illuminating Muddy and his band working through some of these pieces to get to the finished versions with which they were happy. The annotation by Mary Katherine Aldin paints a vivid picture of the participants (especially Willie Dixon) and the backgrounds to the individual sessions and songs — her notes are appended by a very handsome color and black-and-white photo array and a full sessionography. One factor that may cause potential buyers to hesitate on this set is the cost — as a Hip-O Select release it lists for $50, and that is steep; on the other hand, the listening will keep any serious blues fan busy for quite a while. And given the fact that Muddy Waters only recorded singles in those days — he didn't do an actual album session until the Big Bill Broonzy tribute LP at the end of the decade — a set like this is the logical way to absorb his work from this phase of his career. --Bruce Eder, AllMusicGuide
I do have one complaint with this release from Hip-O Select, and it deals with the packaging. Although it LOOKS incredibly handsome on the surface, they have the discs fitting into these tight cardboard slots that are tailor-made to get the discs scratched up, and that's just ridiculous. In this day and age, these guys should really know better.
Still, I say hunker down and grab a couple spare jewel cases to put the two discs of this set in. Because they are truly incredible discs. Muddy was playing with a rhythm section by the time where this set begins--he was in absolute peak form, and innovating in ways that may go underappreciated nowadays but shouldn't be dismissed.
Due to the strict chronological sequencing and thoroughness of the set, there are cases where the same song appears twice in a row, but it's hardly a problem, because songs like the riffy "She's All Right" and the stomping "Baby Please Don't Go" are so great that you won't mind hearing them twice in a row, and the little differences between the two versions are intriguing.
A case can be made that Muddy Waters paved the way for rock & roll more than any other performer. Beyond that though, his music is simply timeless, and resonates in a way those who followed in his footsteps (i.e. the Rolling Stones) have been woefully unable to duplicate. Yes, Muddy's vocals are obviously the REAL DEAL. But also a key 'secret weapon' was Little Walter's brilliant, utterly natural and earthy harmonica playing--just listen for his absolutely hair-raising solo on "I Just Want To Make Love To You" to cite one example.
This wonderful two disc set piles up one soulful classic after another, whether it's the irresistibly swaggering "I'm Ready", "Don't Go No Farther", and "Rock Me", the mind-blowingly swinging-yet-gutsy "Trouble No More", or mournful slow blues numbers like "Standing Around Crying" or "Sad, Sad Day", just to name half a dozen more in addition to the ones mentioned previously.
A couple songs, particularly "Hoochie Coochie Man", have absolutely been done to death, both by Muddy's own endless re-recordings, not to mention all the other artists' covers, but that's a minor gripe.
Ultimately, this set is a treasure. Just buy it, it's beyond essential. --Dave "missing person", Amazon.com
Track Listing:
Disc:1
1. Standing Around Crying
2. Gone to Main Street
3. Iodine in My Coffee
4. Flood
5. My Life Is Ruined (Landlady)
6. She's All Right
7. She's All Right (Alternate Take)
8. Sad, Sad Day
9. Turn Your Lamp Down Low (Baby Please Don't Go)
10. Baby Please Don't Go (Alternate Take)
11. Loving Man
12. Blow Wind Blow
13. Mad Love (I Want You to Love Me)
14. (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man (Alternate Take)
15. (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man
16. She's So Pretty
17. I Just Want to Make Love to You
18. Oh Yeh (Oh Yeah)
19. I'm Ready
20. Smokestack Lightning
21. I Don't Know Why
22. I'm a Natural Born Lover
23. Ooh Wee
24. This Pain
25. Young Fashioned Ways
Disc:2
1. Want to Be Loved
2. My Eyes (Keep Me in Trouble)
3. Mannish Boy
4. I Got to Find My Baby
5. Sugar Sweet
6. Trouble No More
7. Clouds In My Heart
8. Forty Days and Forty Nights
9. All Aboard
10. Just to Be with You
11. Don't Go No Farther
12. Diamonds at Your Feet
13. I Love the Life I Live (I Live the Life I Love)
14. Rock Me
15. Look What You've Done
16. Got My Mojo Working
17. Good News
18. Evil
19. Come Home Baby, I Wish You Would
20. Let Me Hang Around
21. I Won't Go On
22. She's Got It
23. Born Lover
24. She's Nineteen Years Old
25. Close To You
26. She's Got It (Alternate Take)
Muddy Waters in his prime, the blues doesn't get better than this!
Personal picks: Iodine in My Coffee, Baby Please Don't Go (Alternate Take), (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man, Mannish Boy, Rock Me and Got My Mojo Working.
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