Sep 10
22
Muddy Waters – Classic Concerts DVD
Muddy Waters: Classic Concerts presents three smoking live shows from 1960, 1968, and 1977. While the footage is deeply important as a historical document of American music, especially the Newport Jazz Festival from 1960, it also serves as a stunning testament to the power that Muddy could bring to a stage with his near hypnotic and rousing brand of blues.
The first segment comes from the Newport Jazz Festival 1960. This has been available for decades in audio form as one of the greatest blues albums of all time, the raw Muddy Waters At Newport 1960. Muddy and his band, including long time cohort Otis Span on piano and the legendary James Cotton on harmonica, spin through a rousing set of blues numbers with an unstoppable vigor. I always knew these performances were hot, but being able to see the actual footage just makes it all the more powerful and proves, without any doubt, that Muddy had one of the tightest bands on the planet.
The footage is spectacular with wonderful shots of the crowd who seem to be very, very enthralled by what they are witnessing. It is both incredibly creative and emotionally moving. The band, looking sharp in their finely pressed suits, seems playful and feeds off the crowd’s appreciative energy; when Muddy dances with Cotton the crowd goes absolutely nuts and it gives me goosebumps just to think about it.
The next segment comes from the Copenhagen Jazz Festival in Denmark, 1968 and is easily my favorite of the three. This is some of the greatest black and white film footage I have ever seen in my life. The picture is crystal clear and perfectly exposed – it almost looks like moving photographs (yes, I know that essentially that’s what a movie is but take a look and you’ll see what I mean). It is truly, truly stunning and should be applauded for it’s camerawork alone, not to mention the fine work of the audio recording.
As for the performances, the band takes on a more laid back, almost solemn tone in comparison to the 1960 footage. Of course, with Muddy this is actually an advantage since his slow blues were some of the most pure and powerful in the genre. Here, in these almost molasses like jams, Muddy’s voice takes center stage and all his emotion and torment come shining through the already beautiful mix. His work on “Long Distance Call” is mesmerizing and his soul review at the end is a time stopping experience; hearing Muddy sing the blues is one thing but seeing him preach the blues is a whole other world.
The final segment comes from 1977 at the Molde Jazz Festival in Norway. The footage, the only in color on the disc, is fantastic and features Muddy’s late 70′s band rippin’ and snortin’ through a number of blues standards. What’s interesting here is to see Muddy as an old man, sitting on a stool, which is in direct contrast to the more youthful and playful Muddy seen in the previous segments. Still, even as an old man he has lost none of his amazing power and perhaps exudes even more as a wise old blues man.
Booklet Cover
Waters is in complete control of his band, which plays sympathetically behind their leader with an astounding degree of tightness; the band is loose in sound but tight in execution. The playing, and especially Muddy’s still potent voice, is hot with special mention going out to Jerry Portnoy on harmonica who is just blowing up a storm throughout the entirey of the show. Mention also needs to be made of Willie “Big Eyes” Smith on drums as he plays with almost a jazz finesse that is often times missing in blues drummers; he is completely devoted to the material and looks darn happy to be in the presence of all these wonderful musicians.
Muddy Waters: Classic Concerts is a wonderful document that I can easily recommend for any fan of the blues. The performances are stellar, the footage amazing, and the package is very cool indeed. A great booklet featuring comments from blues guitarist Bob Margolin, along with rare photos and a foreword from Rolling Stone Bill Wyman, is included. Great care has been taken in both sound and video and the entire package has all the respect it deserves. There is also some great bonus footage including two interviews with Muddy from ’72 and ’77 and gives even further insight into the man that was a blues legend.
Highly recommended.
Tracklist
Newport Jazz Festival 1960
- “(I’m Your) Hoochie Coochie Man”
- “Tiger In Your Tank”
- “Rollin’ Stone”
- “Got My Mojo Working”
- “Mean Mistreater/Going To Chicago Blues Medley”
Copenhagen Jazz Festival 1968
- “Back At The Chicken Shack”
- “Train Fare Blues”
- “(I’m Your) Hoochie Coochie Man”
- “Long Distance Call”
- “Nobody Knows My Trouble”
- “Cold Cold Feeling”
- “Got My Mojo Working”
- “Tiger In Your Tank”
Molde Jazz Festival 1977
- “Evan’s Shuffle”
- “Prison Bound Blues”
- “Blow Wind Blow”
- “(I’m Your) Hoochie Coochie Man”
- “Baby Please Don’t Go”
- “Can’t Get No Grindin’”
- “You Don’t Have To Go”
- “Got My Mojo Working”
