 "Oh man, this is the electric blues!" | 2009-03-25 |
| - Reviewed By rationalcognition |
I bought this album as a kid, and it was my introduction to Muddy Waters. I was stunned when I first dropped the needle on this record and the intro of "Mannish Boy" hit my ears and made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. This is some powerful music, and Muddy Waters is most deserving of the term "blues legend". I wore out my old vinyl version of this album years ago, and just replaced it with this CD version. The clean mastering and clarity of this powerful music only makes me love it all the more.
I have since gone on to buy most of Muddy's catalog (on both vinyl and CD), and had the opportunity to see Muddy open up for Eric Clapton many years ago, shortly before he passed away. Muddy will always embody the true spirit of the electric blues guitar to me, and the album "Hard Again" will always be at the top of my ever-growing blues collection. The standout tracks on this album are the powerful "Mannish Boy", "The Blues Had a Baby and They Named it Rock and Roll" and "Little Girl". This was a comeback for Muddy while he was in his 60's, but he sounds as vital and powerful here as he ever did on any of his earlier works. Having Johnny Winter as part of his band for this only makes it all that much stronger.
If you like electric blues, pick up this CD...you won't be sorry.
|
| |
| "Hard Is Right!" | 2008-05-03 |
| - Reviewed By runkthepunk |
| Not much new I can say about a classic, but I will say that it's very rare anymore to listen to a band and say to yourself, "Hey, these guys sound like they're having a real good time". In a world dominated by plastic sounding music(Plastic People! Oh, baby now you're such a draaaaaag! Sorry about that, I couldn't resist), it's so refreshing to listen to a group that doesn't sound like it's playing music simply because it's their job. Now while this was an attempt for Muddy to make a comeback, these guys sound like they love what they're doing so much that they couldn't care less if they sold one copy of the album, or even gave a hoot if they were being recorded at all! Muddy had a fantastic musical career long before this album, but in teaming up with Johnny Winter and his crew, he showed the world that Waters hadn't lost his edge but aged like a fine wine. Purchase!! Purchase NOW!!!!!!! |
| |
| "HE'S THE M-A-N" | 2008-03-15 |
| - Reviewed By User: ADG536J5D7FJY |
| He's the man alright. Muddy Waters, lays it out from Mannish Boy to Little Girl. That's what the blues is all about. |
| |
 "Blues you can dance to!" | 2007-04-02 |
| - Reviewed By dfle3 |
A long, long time ago, I listened to a flatmate's LP of this title and immediately liked two songs in particular: "Mannish Boy" and "I want to be loved". So, when I saw that a Muddy Waters compilation [Anthology] was listed in promotional list of 100 cds you must own, I bought it. Trouble was, the music in Anthology was NOT like I remembered it in Hard Again. For that reason, I'd only give Anthology about two or three stars out of five.
So, I basically bought Hard Again on CD [the remastered version] to see if I had misrembered the sound of that cd. I hadn't. The sound is near flawless and has great presence. It is often bold and brassy. In "Anthology" the music is more sedate and not as present.
In this album, the music is the offspring of Blues and Rock, and it really is the blues as I now like it. Comparing "Anthology" to "Hard again" is like comparing Bob Dylan to Midnight Oil. Both are socially and politically conscious, but you can dance to Midnight Oil, which is why I always will prefer the Oils to the Bob. The tragedy of The Bob is that other acts always do the definitive versions of his songs...poppier or rockier.
"Hard Again" has spanking drums, a free-wheeling harmonica, electric guitar, bass, piano line-up, with perhaps a banjo and washer-board or some such on one song. It is also more up-tempo and energetic than the music in "Anthology".
"Mannish Boy" is still my favourite Waters' song, and this new version of the song is the king of them all y'all. It's boldy, brassy, swinging and with a big beat. It's a raucous party song.
Another song could be renamed "My ol' lady, she done run off with the bus driver blues". It includes an amusingly saucy line to the effect that his ol' lady would be 'riding' the bus driver tonight, or some such. The song features a very cool note picking guitar melody.
"I want to be loved" swings more in this cd than in "Anthology" and has that classic 50's style bass sound, which pops up in other songs in this cd. The song doesn't match my memory of it the first time I heard it [i.e.it's not as catchy as I remembered it, but maybe my tastes have changed].
"I can't be satisfied" is probably my second favourite song on this cd. It has a nice swing to it and some cool note picking on the guitar. Not sure if the "wa wa" effect on vocals is just Muddy or a glitch in the recording...not a major drawback if it's a glitch.
"The blues had a baby and they named it rock'n'roll" is good with some amusing lyrics...for instance "Queen Victoria said it-'you know the blues got soul'. Well the blues had a baby and they named him rock'n'roll".
"Deep down in Florida" marks a change of pace for Muddy-it's more sedate and has a heavy bass sound. Listening to "Anthology" you are struck by how nearly identical the music is in a few songs [the cliched Blues sound]. "Hard Again" doesn't fall into that trap...no recycled sounds.
"Crosseyed cat" is a whimsical song...not sure if the title is a slang term or innuendo of some sort. It does have another Blues trait though...repeating lyrics. This to me is less of a minus than recycling the same music for different songs.
"Walking through the park" is another track with the classic 50's style rock'n'roll bass sound. His woman in that song is not to be trifled with either..."My girl she may cut you. She may shoot you too". I'd feel safer with her in a walk through the park than with Muddy...at least I'd know she could handle herself if my big mouth got me into trouble with some unsavoury types.
I wont put up a review of "Anthology" as I am not particularly positive about it. But listening to it I wondered if my pick as the greatest rock band of all time, AC/DC, were influence by Muddy's Blues.
In tracks like "I'm ready", I think you can hear its echoes in AC/DC songs like "TNT", "Livewire" - I mean lyrical content wise. Muddy's song "You shook me" is perhaps more obviously echoed in AC/DC's classic [though by now flogged to death on Australian FM stations] song "You shook me all night long".
Since I'm not reviewing "Anthology" on its own, I'll just jot some of my notes on that cd here: I think one of my notes says that 5 or 6 songs have the same intro as "Louisana Blues". "Still a fool" has a cool sound with a good riff and cool gurgling/howling vocals. Track 23 [didn't jot down its title in my notes" Muddy's vocals are distinctly different-phlegmy, in fact.
Well, that's it for my review. I think Hard Again is the perfect marriage of Blues and Rock and would appeal to the rock crowd easily. Not sure how Blues "Purists" view this album, but to me it is Muddy Waters as I want him to sound.
P.S. I've also reviewed at this site Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra and Midnight Oil, amongst others [including punk cds and heavy metal cds].
|
| |
| "Classic" | 2007-03-13 |
| - Reviewed By User: A359GBH51TXJ1 |
Great album, great to listen to over and over whether in the background chillin with friends or on your own. Awesome for a comeback. Only wish it were longer...You may notice many now too-familar riffs from rock music today, that originated right here.
The Blues Had a Baby, and They Named it Rock N Roll! |
| |
| "Never mind the blues, this is as good as MUSIC gets" | 2007-02-13 |
| - Reviewed By chawkin |
There's not really anything about this album not to like.
Muddy Waters? Forceful, energized, professional, singing with the same incomparable power and vigor he possessed in the 50s, and which he had struggled to recapture in the decade preceding this album. Moreover, he sounds like he's having the time of his life. The phrase "infectious enthusiasm" is very apropos here.
Johnny Winter? All he does is handle the equally demanding jobs of lead guitarist and producer, and does both flawlessly.
Bob Margolin, James Cotton, Willie Smith, Charles Calmese, Pinetop Perkins? All play in an inspired fashion, driving the songs like a freight train and pushing each other to new heights seemingly by the minute. Cotton's harp screams like no harp before or since, while Smith lays down the kind of pocket that guitarists and bass players dream about at night. Calmese's playing has just enough of a funky '70s edge to make the material sound contemporary and relevant while not detracting from its Chicago roots. Margolin plays with a tastefulness and restraint which belies his young age at the time, and Pinetop is...well, Pinetop.
Old songs? This isn't a popular sort of thing to say, but the reworkings of Muddy's '50s classics presented here (particularly "Mannish Boy" and "Walkin' Through the Park") sound as good or better than their original Chess counterparts. That's not an insult to Jimmy Rogers or Little Walter, it's just the way it is.
New songs? "Crosseyed Cat," "Jealous Hearted Man," and "The Blues Had a Baby" are as good as any blues music ever recorded. Ever.
In summation, if you don't already own this album, stop wasting your time with this silly review and buy the damn thing. Right now. |
| |
![Muddy Waters - Hard Again [Expanded]](http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/69/69/98/68/0069699868172_100X100.jpg)
Expedited Available
![Johnny Winter - Johnny Winter [Expanded]](product_images/3829000/3829703_thumb.jpg)
![Check Prices on Johnny Winter - Johnny Winter [Expanded]](images/v2/check_prices.png)
![Johnny Winter - Second Winter [Legacy Edition]](product_images/3828000/3828932_thumb.jpg)
![Muddy Waters - Fathers and Sons [Expanded]](product_images/152000/152978_thumb.jpg)
![Muddy Waters - King Bee [Expanded]](product_images/3828000/3828205_thumb.jpg)
