look: Muddy Watrs - Classic Concerts - Reelin' in the Years Production, 2005 - BUY

buy:

I really doubt is anyone would argue that Muddy Waters is the greatest bluesman of all time. If your in doubt at all, then you need to own this DVD. If contains 90 minutes of concert footage from the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960, the Copenhagen Jazz Festival in 1968 and the 1977 Molde Jazz Festival in Norway. Of the five songs featured from the Newport festival, Hoochie Cootchie Man and Got My Mojo Working are the most recognizable. While the video is grainy black and white (as it should be), the audio has be re-mastered and is very good. Look for James Cotton and Otis Spann as well as Jimmy Rushing and others.

The eight song show from Copenhagen in 1968, seen here for the first time, is actually better. The audio is clean and the band rocks. I'm still a little mystified as to why the director would focus on drummer S.P Leary's hands during other players' solos, but all in all it's some great material featuring songs like Back at the Chicken Shack, Cold, Cold Feeling, Train Fare Blues, and Long Distance Call.

By the time we get to the 1977 Molde festival, the personnel has changed, and Bob Margolin (who wrote the booklet notes) and Jerry Portnoy stand out (but they are all aces). By now Waters has pretty much confined himself to a stool during the performance, but it's still a strong presentation. Featuring Blow, Wind, Blow, Baby Please Don't Go, Can't Get No Grindin' and of course Got My Mojo Working and Hootchie Coochie Man.

A couple of brief interviews and a bonus track add up to a wonderful DVD. Muddy Waters died in 1983, but his spirit will live on, thanks to his music and the images seen here.

(©) 2006, Tim Richards
BluesSource.com