The first 20-bit remastering of any of Muddy's late career work for Johnny Winter's Blue Sky label is of considerable interest.
The fact that, in the wake of the earlier Blues Sky best-of disc, there's enough material to do another 60-minute-plus collection, also speaks well for this catalog.
The clarity of the Super Bit Mapping audio brings out a sharpness in these recordings that the original vinyl and CD issues barely hinted at.
The stuff is finally mastered at the volume it always should have been (this is a potential lease-breaker) and more than justifies the purchase.
The music isn't as viscerally exciting as Muddy's work for Chess -- he's slower, starts at a lower energy level, and takes his time building up intensity, but the climaxes are majestic.
The playing is also as solid as ever, and Muddy still had a considerable amount to say musically.
Blues Sky still has the edge for songs, although the producers here have wisely included Muddy's covers of songs that he liked by John Lee (Sonny Boy) Williamson, Arthur Crudup, and Big Joe Williams, in addition to some of his own tunes.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sad, Sad DayMcKinley Morganfield | Muddy Waters | Play | 05:23 | 12 MB | 32 MB |
| 2 | (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie ManWillie Dixon | Muddy Waters | Play | 03:57 | 9 MB | 21 MB |
| 3 | Rock MeMcKinley Morganfield | Muddy Waters | Play | 03:14 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 4 | Good Morning Little SchoolgirlSonny Boy Williamson I | Muddy Waters | Play | 03:17 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 5 | I'm ReadyWillie Dixon | Muddy Waters | Play | 03:23 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 6 | The Blues Had A Baby And They Named It Rock And Roll | Muddy Waters | Play | 03:35 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 7 | Mannish Boy (Single Version) | Muddy Waters | Play | 02:58 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 8 | I'm A King Bee (Album Version) | Muddy Waters | Play | 03:51 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 9 | Champagne & Reefer (Album Version) | Muddy Waters | Play | 04:35 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 10 | Mean Old Frisco Blues | Muddy Waters | Play | 03:45 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 11 | No Escape From The Blues (Album Version) | Muddy Waters | Play | 02:04 | 4 MB | 12 MB |
| 12 | She's Nineteen Years Old (Live) | Muddy Waters | Play | 05:20 | 12 MB | 26 MB |
| 13 | Nine Below Zero (Live) | Muddy Waters | Play | 05:22 | 12 MB | 26 MB |
| 14 | Howling Wolf (Live) | Muddy Waters | Play | 05:50 | 13 MB | 31 MB |
| 15 | Baby, Please Don't Go (Live) | Muddy Waters | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 60 mins | 139 MB | |||||
| 60 mins | 339 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adam Block | Director |
| 2 | Janet Boye | Art Direction |
| 3 | Lawrence Cohn | Producer |
| 4 | Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup | Composer |
| 5 | Bo Diddley | Composer |
| 6 | Willie Dixon | Composer |
| 7 | David Gahr | Photography |
| 8 | Mel London | Composer |
| 9 | Brownie McGhee | Composer |
| 10 | David Mitson | Digital Mastering |
| 11 | James Moore | Composer |
| 12 | McKinley Morganfield | Composer |
| 13 | Charles Shaar Murray | Liner Notes |
| 14 | Adam Sieff | Director |
| 15 | Muddy Waters | Composer, Guitar, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 16 | Sonny Boy Williamson II | Composer |
| 17 | Sonny Boy Williamson I | Composer |
| 18 | Johnny Winter | Producer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |