I'm Ready in Bloomington, MN

For the middle album of his
Johnny Winter
-produced, late-'70s musical trilogy,
blues
giant
Muddy Waters
brought a new spirit to some familiar material. Starting with members of
Waters
' touring band -- pianist
Pinetop Perkins
, bassist
Bob Margolin
, and drummer
Willie "Big Eyes" Smith
--
Winter
added underrated guitarist (and longtime
foil)
Jimmy Rogers
and extraordinary harp player
Big Walter Horton
to the mix. The songs recorded for
I'm Ready
offer a mix of new material and vintage hit singles like the title cut, the mid-'60s jewel
"Screamin' and Cryin',"
or the
Willie Dixon
-penned
"I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man."
and band provide these well-worn gems with a little new studio polish, but it is with the newer songs that the performers really shine. On the powerful
"33 Years,"
punctuates his tale of lost love with snaky slide guitar, assisted by
Horton
's wailing electric harp.
"Who Do You Trust"
features some of
' dirtiest vocals, the bluesman growling the lyrics while
layers his twangy slide above
's harp and
Perkins
' mournful ivories.
"Rock Me"
is old-school
,
revisiting this classic cut for the umpteenth time as
Rogers
and
support his vocals with smoky guitar and guest player
Jerry Portnoy
adds some subtle but assertive electric harp to the affair.
closes with the
Sonny Boy Williamson
chestnut
"Good Morning Little Schoolgirl,"
the high-spirited
sounding in good form as
Portnoy
's harp flails away in the background. Although nearing the end of his career,
experienced a well-deserved artistic and commercial resurgence thanks to the three albums recorded with
for
Blue Sky
.
Hard Again
, and
King Bee
all bring a harder edge to
' classic performances, with
's production heavy on the guitar and lighter on the brassy
Chicago blues
sound unfamiliar to the
rock
-oriented target audience. For new listeners trying to get a feel of what the
is all about,
and its bookends are the albums to start with. Once you experience a taste of
, you'll be ready for more. ~ Rev. Keith A. Gordon