Edited from a 4star Amazon review.
Only half the 64 tracks are by Muddy Waters and he doesn't take lead vocals on one of those either. But don't let that put you off as this is a very interesting collection.
CD 1 contains the original (or at least an earlier recording) of a song that became a familiar part of Muddy's extensive repertoire which is followed by Muddy's version, or the version he thinly rewrote/retitled to claim composership (something that was common in the Blues at the time) -Memphis Minnie's 'Bumble Bee' becomes Muddy's 'Honey Bee', 'Catfish Blues' becomes 'Rollin' Stone'. What is particularly interesting about this disc is not Muddy's recordings which will be familiar to any fan, though if you are new to the Man this is a good starting point, but the earlier recordings. Two in particular stand out for me. Hambone Willie Newbern's 1929 recording 'Roll & Tumble The Blues' (which Muddy transformed into 'Rollin' & Tumblin'') is a lovely rocking romp decades before rock'n'roll. The absolute revelation here is, however, Ann Cole's rendition of 'Got My Mojo Working'(1957) which is an absolute gem. Cole had the misfortune to be a soul singer before soul was recognised as a genre. Her All-Music Guide entry adds little to that provided by the CD's booklet. She hasn't, despite recording for several companies in the 50's, even got one CD available which, on the basis of this cut, is a shame. Muddy saw her sing it live and a few months later, just after Cole recorded it, laid down his own version.
CD2 is a good 20-track selection of Muddy from 1948-1958. All good stuff, all familiar to me, but good for newbies and a logical follow on from the preceding CD.
CD3 collects a variety of tracks by different artists who were associated with Muddy, either as regular studio musicians (Buddy Guy) or who were members of his band at various times (Little Walter, Jimmy Rogers, Walter Horton, etc). Several of these tracks were actually recorded by the Muddy Waters Band, the most famous being Little Walter with 'Juke'. The success of this under his name caused him to jump ship mid-tour to start a career as a solo artist. Harmonica players tend to dominate (14 out of 20 tracks) as, in addition to LW & WH, we have Junior Wells and James Cotton. Either way, it's all good vintage 50's Chicago Blues.
Disc 4 is a just long enough 45 minute DVD of talking heads: there's musicians, notably harpist Charlie Musselwhite telling tales of his younger days in the Chicago Blues clubs where he watched and jammed with people like Muddy (of course) and the notorious Little Walter who was quite kind to him; and Blues experts like Paul Oliver and Charles Shaar Murray. If the experts tend to recount stuff I already know, the anecdotes more than make up for it.
The neat slim package is rounded off with a good booklet with half of it about Muddy and half about the other featured artists. The third half (ahem) is a 4-page catalogue of other Proper Records Blues box sets. And there's a track listing which in addition to title/artist, usefully includes running time, composer, and year recorded.
So, a nice all-round package with something for both Blues vets and newbies.
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