Hard Again

"Hard Again" was the first in a series of four albums recorded by Muddy Waters between 1976 and 1978 for the Blue Sky label (which was Johnny Winter's manager' own imprint). This album was released in 1977 and was duly received with a lot of acclaim, not only from seasoned blues aficionados but - more importantly - by a lot of younger rock fans who mostly knew the man by the countless cover versions of his songs by rock/blues bands.

This record was also a boon for Muddy Waters who had become ill served for years by his old, crumbling Chess label.

Johnny Winter, who masterminded both the record deal and the recording sessions, was astute enough, artistically at least,

not to drown the main man in a sea of well-known "hot shots" rock guitarists and singers (Winter himself could really play the blues, curbing here his own excesses). Muddy plays with his great sounding road band, augmented by former band member Jimmy Cotton (ace harmonica!).

The result was seen as a startling "comeback" and a gritty demonstration of the master who was really at the top of his game, whilst thoroughly enjoying the proceedings.

It has been argued that the material here relies too much on familiar material but this is not the point; one of Winter's objectives - besides recording with one of his blues heroes - was to get Muddy Waters across a new audience and this was easier to do with his better known tunes. Besides, the "new" material sounds very much like ... the old (which is a compliment, by the way.) I think one has to rejoice that a blues giant like Muddy Waters finally got a deal with a major record distributor (Columbia) enabling him, aged 62, to tour and play to bigger and younger audiences with so much panache.

I wonder why Muddy did not play his own electric slide Telecaster on these recordings. I had the good fortune to see him live at the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague in July 1977 (not long after the release of "Hard Again") and his slide playing was truly ... wow ... visceral, powerful and truly magical (Johnny Winter was not there and Paul Oscher - I think - played the harp). By the way, I feel that, at times, Johnny Winter's slide "embellishments" distract from the "true grist" of the music. This is, however, a minor complaint.

This Epic/Legacy remastered edition features one additional track. The sound on the original US LP was already very much "in your face" (I assume this was due to both artistic and commercial choices.) However, I feel that the new remastering emphasizes this effect. The overall sound becomes somewhat fatiguing to me after listening for a while (when playing the CD at "realistic" - not excessive - loudness levels.) This indicates that too much compression has been used in both original recording and new remastering to make the album sound "louder" but at the expense of the shadings in the music (could this be another reason why the chosen title was "Hard Again"?)

The booklet, including recollections by original guitarist Bob Margolin, is very well done and informative. Margolin really puts the whole project in proper perspective.

Anyway, this CD is certainly a good one to listen to Muddy Waters, especially for those unfamiliar with the artist. If you enjoy this CD, try to listen to the wonderfully remastered double CD: "The Anthology: 1947 - 1972". You sure will not regret it. Enjoy.

Most of the old blues legends hit their peak in the 40s or 50s and then petered out. Muddy Waters however had a remarkable resurgence of energy and creativity right at the end of his life, when he teamed up with Johnny Winter and a killer band to record three stunning albums for the Blue Sky Label. This, from 1977, is the first of them. Sleazy, greasy R&B is what you get here. James Cotton on harp. Pintetop Perkins on the piano. Sizzling stuff.

Great album with great musicians,some great harp playin by mr Cotton.
A must for Blues fans 10 out of 10 Get it!