The Complete Plantation Recordings

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
This is a treasure trove--for the Muddy Waters fan, for the blues historian, for the country-blues enthusiast. Alan Lomax, searching for Robert Johnson (recently deceased), came through and recorded a young McKinley Morganfield. The rest is history. Early versions of future classics can be found on these field recordings from 1941-42, and the guitar and voice that would have unimaginable influence on blues and rock roll. There's no Chicago yet in these often-scratchy recordings, but if you listen, you can hear where it came from.i--Genevieve Williams/i

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2003-02-13 rating:
Muddy Waters' first recordings
If your idea of what a Muddy Waters tune should sound like is the cut-and-shuffle of "Hoochie Coochie Man" or the hard-hitting "I've Got My Mojo Working", the music on this album may come as a surprise to you. This is strictly acoustic stuff, split between solo performances and recordings with the Son Simms Four string band, and the style (if not the voice) recalls Waters' self-professed mentor, the legendary Eddie "Son" House. pStil, if you're interested in country blues, this is an important and interesting document, showcasing the great Muddy Waters before he truly found a style of his own. The 1941 recording of "I Be's Troubled" (later redubbed "I Can't Be Satisfied") shows signs of things to come, but most of what is on here owes a huge debt to Son House first and William "Big Bill" Broonzy second. Waters' heavy-handed slide guitar attack is strongly reminiscent of House, whom Waters mentions several times during the four interview snippets spread across the record.brAccording to legend, listening to himself on acetate for the first time made Muddy Waters believe in himself and his abilities as a recording artist ("I didn't know I sang like that!"), and he eventually made it north to Chicago where his re-working of "I Be's Troubled" became a major local hit in 1948).pAmong the highlights on this album are the House-esque "Country Blues", "I Be's Troubled", and "Rosalie", which is a virtual blueprint for Waters' later approach. Also listen to "You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone" and the Charley Patton-like "You Got To Take Sick And Die Some Of These Days".pAgain, this is NOT the kind of hard-rocking blues and deep grooves that made Muddy Waters the king of Chicago blues in the 50s (well, alongside Howlin' Wolf), but if you are interested in the developement of one of the most important post-war blues musicians, it is well worth picking up. And the music is good, too!

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