Electric Mud

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
IElectric Mud/I is the infamous "somebody-put-something-in-the-Waters" LP from 1968. A relative hit for Chess, it features the exalted bluesman bellowing over psychedelicised arrangements that owe more to Steppenwolf than Willie Dixon. Waters himself complained that the drums were too busy and the lead guitar sounded like a cat's meow. Not a bad critique. I--Steven Stolder/I

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Customer reviews

review by: carole_bristol date: 2008-05-14 rating:
Ahead of its time, possibly
I like the blues, I like the electric '50s Chess blues a lot and I like what people like Johnny Winter did with the blues in the '60s (I am thinking Second Winter here) and I really do like this album. br / br /It is everything the other reviewers have said, it has wah-wah, fuzz bass, weirded out stuff and it has Muddy. It is also an album that is really very 1960s, possibly a bit hard for a purist but for a rock audience it works just fine. br / br /With hindsight it works ever better, I think. If you think about what the likes of Sly Stone, Hendrix, Cream, Johnny and Edgar Winter, Jeff Beck, Led Zeppelin, Mountain and others were doing with the blues and R'n'B tradition then this album really does make sense. Bearing in mind where the likes of Jon Spencer, Walter Trout and others have taken the blues since this album looks like a landmark. br / br /If you listen to it with an open mind, it has a lot to offer.

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review by: date: 2006-12-06 rating:
trippy tricks from the old master
i like this album. yes its a pshycedelic blues romp very much removed from anything muddy had done before, and he didnt like it. however the the jazz muscicans who were drafted in do a superb job and muddy hollers as good as he as ever done. its not his his late fifties/ early sixties apogee but this is his next best stuff.

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review by: andyalfa156 date: 2005-11-24 rating:
Acid Rain makes Electric Mud
I’ve got a few recordings by the blues legend in my collection, but this is one I missed. In fact, it would have stayed missing had it not been for an episode of the excellent BBC4 series “The Blues”, featuring the story of the original Electric Mud and a modern re-make. Anyway, after watching the archive footage and listening to tracks from the original album, I decided to buy it the next day. Unfortunately, so did a fair few of the other viewers. Imagine now, a company that sells 30, maybe 40 copies of an old blues album a year, suddenly gets requests for thousands all on one day. Just a guess, but maybe that’s why it took over 2 months to arrive.pSo when I got back off holiday, the first thing I did was start playing the eagerly awaited disc. On first play, I was a little disappointed. I was listening on headphones due to the lateness of the hour, which maybe didn’t help. Also, the quality of early stereo recordings leaves a bit to be desired and the ‘phones emphasised the left ear only, right ear only stereo effect. The choice of material was good though, and I thought it showed promise. The next day, after catching up on my sleep, I played it again, this time through speakers. Mmmm. Maybe something is stirring here. This is actually quite good. The mix sounded much better; the speakers smoothing out the apparent disjointed nature of the recording and making the vocals breathe more. By the end of the second play, I wanted to put it on repeat for the rest of the evening. I was hooked.pThere are only a couple of self penned songs on the album, which consists mostly of well known, yet heavily reworked covers of material by Willie Dixon, Charles Williams and James Cotton. Also included, is a version of Jagger/Richards track “Let's Spend The Night Together”, perhaps as thanks for the Stones taking their name from one of his songs or maybe for covering many of his early hits, helping revive his own career when it was at a low ebb. pStylistically, the music is very much of the period. Jimi Hendrix was recording Electric Ladyland and Miles Davis released the controversial electric jazz album Bitches Brew around this time and this record sounds very much like a blend of the two. Wailing guitars and funky bass licks provide the backing with Muddy’s monumental voice soaring over them, distorted and full of reverb. Spinetingling stuff now, imagine the impact in 1968. pThing is, it’s not so much a Muddy Waters record, but a record featuring Muddy Waters, if you know what I mean. This is an album loathed and despised by many blues purists, but I’m not one of those. To me, music is music, and if you listen to this album with an open mind, then the marriage of late 60’s electric jazz and psychedelia with the one of the most distinctive blues voices of them all, produces something quite unique and extraordinary. Just give it the space it needs and enjoy.pIncidentally, the sleeve notes were pretty comprehensive and the pictures of Muddy at the hairdressers, complete with curlers and a hairnet were worth the price of the disk alone. All in all, a cracking album and well worth the paltry eight quid or so it costs.


review by: Crimson Ghost date: 2004-05-13 rating:
OLD MUDDY TURNS ON TO HENDRIX
Well this is a suprising cd and I actually like it.Muddy goes tripping Hendrix style,I think Howlin Wolf done a similar album.Most of the tracks work out.If you like acid rock,this is a must...BLUES ACID.Check out the pictures of Muddy at the barbers in Curlers....

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