By 1971, the year of these recordings, the firmament of popular musical taste had shifted decisively beneath the promethean figure of Muddy Waters.
As the man who electrified the Delta Blues. Muddy's historical importance was beyond question now, and after making a remarkable recovery from a near fatal auto accident three years earlier, he had resumed touring. But most of the black radio programmers and record buyers who hoisted Muddy into the R&B Top Ten in the mid-Fifties had long since moved on the sophisticated soul sounds of Memphis, Muscle Shoals, and Motown.
This audience's loss of interest in what Z.Z. Hill called "those downhome blues" coincided with the rediscovery of this same music by a new audience of hip whites, who'd been guided to the deep blue headwaters of rock and roll by truth-seekers like The Rolling Stones, Paul Butterfield and Mike Bloomfield, John Mayall and Eric Clapton.
The London Muddy Waters Session was not Chess Records' first attempt to capitalize on these events. In 1969, Muddy had teamed with Butterfield and Bloomfield for the epochal double album, Fathers and Sons; the following year.
SIDE A
Bass – Rick Grech
Drums – Herbie Lovelle (tracks: A1, B2, B4), Mitch Mitchell
Guitar – Rory Gallagher, Sam Lawhorn
Harmonica – Carey Bell Harrington
Piano, Organ – Georgie Fortune, Steve Winwood (tracks: A2, A4, B3)
Producer – Esmond Edwards, Ian Green (2)
Saxophone [Tenor] – Seldon Powell
Trombone – Garnett Brown
Trumpet – Ernie Royal, Joe Newman
Vocals – Rosetta Hightower (tracks: A1)
Vocals, Guitar [Slide] – Muddy Waters
This audience's loss of interest in what Z.Z. Hill called "those downhome blues" coincided with the rediscovery of this same music by a new audience of hip whites, who'd been guided to the deep blue headwaters of rock and roll by truth-seekers like The Rolling Stones, Paul Butterfield and Mike Bloomfield, John Mayall and Eric Clapton.
The London Muddy Waters Session was not Chess Records' first attempt to capitalize on these events. In 1969, Muddy had teamed with Butterfield and Bloomfield for the epochal double album, Fathers and Sons; the following year.
SIDE A
A1 Blind Man Blues 3:31
A2 Key To The Highway 2:23
A3 Young Fashioned Ways 4:21
A4 I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town 3:55
A5 Who's Gonna Be Your Sweet Man When I'm Gone 5:03
SIDE B
B1 Walkin' Blues 3:00
B2 I'm Ready 4:09
B3 Sad Sad Day 5:17
B4 I Don't Know Why 4:03
The core band for "London Sessions" was a by-then-typical blend of withe English rockers and black Chicago blues veterans.
This time, the guest guitar here is Irish blues-rocker Rory Gallagher, who's recently begun a solo carrer following the demise of his Cream-style trio, Taste. Gallagher's bitten-off riffs and slightly speedy edge on tracks like "Young Frashioned Ways" clearly distinguish him from Sammy Lawhorn, the "South Side" (so to speak) of this two guitar team.
Steve Winwood reprises his keyboards role on The Howlin' Wolf sessions, making low-key appearances on three tracks. Drummer Mitch Mitchell worked with George Fame's Blue Flames prior to joining the "Jimi Hendrix Expirience", and drew his greatest inspiration from jazzman like Elvin Jones. The English bassist Rick Grech is best (only?) known as one-fourth of "Blind Faith", the short lived "supergroup" which also included Winwood, Clapton and Ginger Baker.
Drums – Herbie Lovelle (tracks: A1, B2, B4), Mitch Mitchell
Guitar – Rory Gallagher, Sam Lawhorn
Harmonica – Carey Bell Harrington
Piano, Organ – Georgie Fortune, Steve Winwood (tracks: A2, A4, B3)
Producer – Esmond Edwards, Ian Green (2)
Saxophone [Tenor] – Seldon Powell
Trombone – Garnett Brown
Trumpet – Ernie Royal, Joe Newman
Vocals – Rosetta Hightower (tracks: A1)
Vocals, Guitar [Slide] – Muddy Waters
