Main menu
Fretplay home Submit tabs

Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters tabs Muddy Waters discography

Channels
Guitar channel Bass channel Guitar videos Reviews

Message Forum
Guitar forum Bass forum Bands and artists Promote your band Recent discussions All categories

Fretplay.com

Muddy Waters guitar tabs

CD reviews

The Chess Box :Muddy Waters

Muddy Waters - The Chess Box :Muddy Waters Audio CD

A fair review of the Muddy Waters "The Chess Box :Muddy Waters" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Muddy Waters reviews here, or go back to the Muddy Waters tabs.

Band: Muddy Waters
Title: The Chess Box :Muddy Waters
Rating:

Release Date: 1989-10-13
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Gypsy Woman 2: Good Looking Woman [#] 3: Mean Disposition 4: I Can't Be Satisfied 5: I Feel Like Going Home 6: Train Fare Home 7: Mean Red Spider [#] 8: Streamline Woman 9: Little Geneva 10: Rollin' and Tumblin', Pt. 1 11: Rollin' Stone 12: Walking Blues 13: Louisiana Blues 14: Evans Shuffle (Ebony Boogie) 15: Long Distance Call 16: Honey Bee 17: She Moves Me 18: Still a Fool 19: Stuff You Gotta Watch 20: Standing Around Crying 21: Flood [#] 22: Baby Please Don't Go 23: Blow Wind Blow [#] 24: (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man [Alternate Take][#] 25: I Just Want to Make Love to You 26: I'm Ready 27: Smokestack Lightning 28: Young Fashioned Ways 29: Mannish Boy 30: Trouble No More 31: Forty Days and Forty Nights 32: Just to Be With You 33: Don't Go No Farther 34: Diamonds at Your Feet [#] 35: I Love the Life I Live, I Live the Life I Love 36: Rock Me 37: Look What You've Done [#] 38: Got My Mojo Working 39: Good News [#] 40: Evil [#] 41: She's Nineteen Years Old 42: Close to You 43: Walkin' Thru the Park 44: Blues Before Sunrise [With Dialogue & False Starts][#] 45: Lonesome Road Blues 46: Take the Bitter With the Sweet [False Start, Dialogue & Alternate Take] 47: She's into Something 48: Southbound Train 49: Double Trouble 50: I Feel So Good [Live] 51: You Shook Me 52: You Need Love 53: Twenty-Four Hours [#] 54: Elevate Me Mama [Alternate Take][#] 55: So Glad I'm Living [#] 56: My Love Strikes Like Lightning [#] 57: You Don't Have to Go [Alternate Take][#] 58: Things That I Used to Do [#] 59: My Home Is in the Delta 60: Good Morning Little Schoolgirl 61: Same Thing 62: You Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had 63: Short Dress Woman [#] 64: Making Friends 65: Black Night [Alternate Mix][#] 66: Bird Nest on the Ground 67: Country Boy [Live][#] 68: Sugar Sweet [Fathers and Sons Alternate Take][#] 69: All Aboard [Fathers and Sons Alternate Take][#] 70: Going Down Slow [Live][#] 71: Who's Gonna Be Your Sweet Man When I'm Gone [Original Hornless Londo 72: Can't Get No Grindin' (What's the Matter With the Meal)

Gonna make pretty women jump and shout.
Muddy was unquestionably one of the all time greatest blues singers, as the 72 songs included here amply prove. This three CD box set covers the Chess Records recordings of Muddy Waters. The earliest song here is from 1947 and the last song is from 1972. There are more songs from the early years than the later years, and rightly so, because most of his "classics" were recorded early in his career. The box does include all his classic songs, plus several rare and unreleased songs. This is a must get for any fan of the blues.

This Muddy guy just couldn't go wrong

The Plantation Recordings from the early 40's and his late 70's albums produced by Johnny Winter are all fine, because again, he just couldn't open his mouth and sing a BAD song. 72 tracks on this compilation, and not a single flaw.
But leave these ones alone, and get The Chess Box (Everything he has done for Chess between 1947-1972). Just like other Chess artists (Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy) - the Chess years are his best by far, and the tracks put chronologically here serves you ear and historic sense great.
The music here is absolutely astonishing - Muddy's clear, throaty famous vocal and whining slide work, Little Walter's/James Cotton's weeping harmonicas, Otis Spann on piano and all the other members of this legendary blues band.

5 stars without a doubt. Just get it. .

Great Compilation, but not the best versions of the songs
The only problem I have is, there are recordings of these songs that are much longer. I love all these songs. Mannish boy, Long distance call, Got my mojo working, She's 19 Years old, and many others have versions where the song is over 5 minutes. Unfortanately, these are all short versions. .

There are simply not enough stars.......
He was given the name of Muddy Waters by his grandmother at an early age. McKinley Morganfield was born in Mississippi in 1913.

Muddy Waters was one of the Blues musicians who was deftly able to make the transition from the cotton field, delta, acoustic blues, to the electric sound which has remained with us since. He not only made the transition, but set an example for others.

Disc one of the box set covers the period 1947-1954. Disc two covers the hits of the 1950's, many of which inspired English rockers who were preparing to hit the shores. And Disc three covers the latter period from 1960 through 1972. It should be noted that there are recordings before and after the time periods on this box, and as such, this box set could not be termed "all inclusive". Not covered are the very early years of Muddy's singing, as covered by The Complete Plantation Recordings. And the Blue Sky recordings (I'm Ready; Hard Again; King Bee) of the 1980's cover the latter part of his career. This box set covers the meaty, main portion of his career and are definitely the set to get if you are going to get just one for your collection. The book that comes with this 3-CD set also gives a very nice overview of Muddy's life and career, something that the mp3 downloads cannot do.

Muddy Waters was one of the most influential blues singers of all time and influenced generations of singers who came after him. If you plan on getting only one collection of Muddy Waters, I would strongly recommend this 3-CD set. You can now buy the songs individually through Amazon, but it is strongly recommended to buy the box set en total.

They get no bluer than this. Muddy was, and is, the real deal.

Highly recommended. 5 Stars.

Best ever
It makes you long for music that can be felt and not just heard like most anything recorded in the last quarter century. This is simply the best collection of blues recordings ever! If you like the real blues, you must add this set no matter the cost. .

You can see a complete list of all Muddy Waters discography, or go back to the Muddy Waters tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.