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More albums like "Muddy Waters - Folk Singer" please!

Fathers and Sons pre-dated a couple other records which mixed the timeless appeal of the original Chicago blues and the devoted musicianship of the new breed, the Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters London Sessions. Neither of which neared the impact of the original. IMO getting Bloomfield to pick is the linchpin, he was probably the greatest white blues player of his time, quite possibly ever. Of course there are flashier and faster players, but Bloomfield got it like no one before. His albums are just so-so for the most part, as his Electric Flag era, but some of his live (and live studio) stuff is incomparable.
Plenty of great music has been offered up in this thread so far. I think the OP should follow the advice and dig in. The Junior Wells record Bob suggested is as good as it gets. We'll have to see what else floats the OP's boat. I'll leave you with this noisy but soulful piece from an 18 year old Bloomfield


 
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KrisM said:
I'll chime in.

For me this request has a couple of different angles to it.
Is it Muddy that hooked you? If so, there is PLENTY to explore. FS is great, but the prime Muddy stuff is (mostly) amplified. IMO, and all that, but I'm not alone on this.
Is it the acoustic nature of the recording? If so, that's another topic.

Give me enough time, and I can go off on both topics, lol, right @Mystic
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It is the acoustic nature and muddy's singing...! awesome lyrics and that feeling of the recording. it is so live and wide!
 
bikingbuddha said:
It is the acoustic nature and muddy's singing...! awesome lyrics and that feeling of the recording. it is so live and wide!
Click to expand...
Well then, let's get back to Muddy!

As mentioned earlier, FS is a one off. You won't find anything like it in his catalogue. Straight acoustic didn't happen much, and he usually had harmonica and piano in the picture.
But, the fruits in that catalogue? Whoah boy. Buckle up.

If you just want a good sample, search out The Chess Box. One of the best box sets ever. If what you find is too pricey(I have no idea where it's at these days), there are a couple of Best Of comps that are stellar. They are these:
https://www.allmusic.com/album/his-best-1947-to-1955-mw0000099683
https://www.allmusic.com/album/his-best-1956-to-1964-mw0000022665
Careful if you find grey market knockoff ****. It's not worth it, usually.

Want a live album? At Newport 1960 is IT. Try and find the CD version with the studio bonus tracks from the same era. Good stuff.

Not the same as his Chess stuff, but the Complete Plantation Recordings is acoustic Muddy, from back in the beginning. Raw as hell, but essential.

Plays Big Bill (Broonzy) is great.

Late in his career he did a few albums with Johnny Winter as producer. They don't replace the Chess era stuff, but they're still great. And I read awhile back that Winter said that a big part of the final mix was a big ol' mono mic in the middle of the room, so you get a bit of that FS room sound mojo. Just more rambunctious.

If you're the readin' type, and you want to dig deeper, there's a bio called Can't Be Satisfied that is a solid read.
 
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