Search - Muddy Waters :: Rollin Stone: Golden Anniversary Collection

There Was But One Muddy Waters...

BluesDuke | Las Vegas, Nevada | 08/26/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"And by putting onto a single disc the first fifty recordings he produced for what began as Aristocrat Records and soon enough became Chess, MCA/Universal has done an even stronger service than with that luminous "Chess 50th Anniversary Collection" of a couple of years ago. The moment Muddy Waters plugged his guitar in was the moment the blues graduated from merely American earth music to a universal feeling of the soul, though of course it took some time and tribute to bring material fact in line with actuality. To have heard these recordings in any context was revelatory enough; but to have them now, in just about the order in which the man produced them, is the music gift of the year and then some. The earliest and in many ways most revelatory exercises of his barely-urbanized, drawling vocal style, amplified Delta-cured guitar throb (Waters, almost alone among his disciples, never really left the Delta entirely behind, no matter how advanced or more polished he may have become as the years rolled by), and vivid, near-poetic songwriting get perhaps the most elemental hearing you will ever have at ready hand. If this were a court session, here would be the final argument to the jury that Muddy Waters was the most important bluesman to emerge in full flower after World War II. But you should not need a jury to tell you that he was, at least, the true father and, in only too many ways, the never-equaled godhead of Chicago blues."

The Genesis of Muddy's Career at Chess

Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 10/28/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Not counting his 1941-42 field recordings for the Library of Congress (available on The Complete Plantation Recordings) and a few tracks he recorded for Columbia in 1946, this two-disc collection represents the beginning of Muddy Waters' recorded legacy on the Aristocat (later to become Chess)label between 1947 and 1952.Waters' powerful vocals and stinging slide guitar playing would become his trademarks on such singles as "I Can't Be Satisfied," "I Feel Like Going Home," "Mean Red Spider" and "Streamline Woman"--all released in 1948. On disc one (1947-1950) Waters is accompanied only by Sunnyland Slim (bass) and Leroy Foster (second guitar on nearly half the tracks). The only exceptions are the addition of drum and piano on "Screamin' and Cryin'," "Where's My Woman Been" and Last Time I Fool Around with You." On disc two (1950-1952) Waters has added Little Walter on harmonica and Jimmy Rogers is in the second-guitar seat. This disc features classic blues like "Rollin' Stone," "Louisiana Blues," "Long Distance Call," "Honey Bee" and "All Night Long." This is powerful music and belongs in any serious music fan's library. You can't own too much Muddy Waters. And even if you bought the Chess Box Set, only a third of these tracks were included. ESSENTIAL"

Very good, but not the place for newcomers to start

Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 03/27/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This excellently remastered MCA compilation presents every known track Muddy Waters recorded for the Aristocrat and Chess labels between 1947 to 1952, which means that "Rollin' Stone" is a find for serious Muddy scholars, but not a good choice for those who are just looking for a comprehensive career overview.Most of Muddy Waters' best-known songs are missing...signature tunes like "Got My Mojo Working", "Hoochie Coochie Man", and "I Love The Life I Live" were all recorded after 1952, and some will certainly find that these fifty songs are too similar to be listened to in one long sitting. Most of the songs on disc one feature just Waters and bassist Ernest "Big" Crawford, and percussion doesn't show up until disc two has almost run out.But these early tracks have a lot going for them as well. They show what a great slide guitarist Muddy Waters used to be, and songs like "Gypsy Woman", "I Can't Be Satisfied", "Country Boy", "Honey Bee", and Muddy's rendition of "Rollin' And Tumblin'" are essential parts of the bedrock of Chicago blues.
If you already have the electric stuff, this is where you go for the rest. If you don't, get "The Anthology 1947-1972" or "The Chess Box" first, and then come back to this fine collection."