MOG

The celebrated "British Blues Revival" of the mid to late sixties spelled hard times for true blues Titans. We were all convinced that "the blues" was extended guitar solos and neon clothing. Alexis Korner, John Mayall, and others nurtured up and comers in the music, the structure of the blues, but really.....these kids didn't know from The Blues. Oh, they knew the records, they knew the songs, but they didn't know the blues. They'd sing of The Crossroads, They'd sing of Rollin' an' Tumblin', they'd Dust Their Brooms all over the place. But not a one of them ever rode that gray dog through the next crossroad, hat an' guitar in hand, travlin' to the next gig. Playin' for drinks an' smokes, Rollin' an' Tumblin' with a Saturday night crowd dancin' and sweatin' and bleedin' out the week's indignities all within arm's reach. Dustin' the broom in the mornin' for extra eatin' money. From the lofty perch of their early twenties, the "British Blues" guys played the blues. In an effort to cash in on this trend record companies tried to "update" the timeless sounds of some true giants. Now the great Muddy Waters needs no introduction from the likes of me. His awesome body of work speaks far more eloquently of the man than any words could. A true Folk Giant, Bluesman, and Gentleman, Muddy lives forever. But Electric Mud was a miss-step. There is no way in hell that Muddy picked this track to record. One can sense an unfamiliarity and it certainly is not in sync with his oeuvre. It's ironic to me that anyone would think that this man, who's recordings from the forties and fifties still pulse with an elemental, timeless raw energy, needed "updating". And that the updated sound now sounds so quaint, so dated.