Their version of the classic Rocket 88 would have been great, but the vocal mic doesn’t appear to be turned on at this point, with the vocals coming through very weakly, a flaw which is duly acknowledged on the album track listing.Ĭotton’s harp is parping away in the background most of the time, with a solo here and there, but he doesn’t really come into his own until the opening number of the second disc, a 12-minute epic titled simply ‘Instrumental’. Guitar hero Freddie King had died literally a fortnight before the release of Hard Again, and the band pays tribute with a couple of King numbers, the instrumental Hideaway and the slow blues You’ve Got To Love Her With A Feeling, featuring some fine piano work from Perkins. The first number, The Blues Had A Baby And They Named It Rock’n’Roll, having already started off-air, fades in with the DJ voicing over the top. So the set must be taken for what it is – a riotous celebration a stellar event in gig history. Don’t get me wrong, if I’d had the opportunity to see this stellar cast anywhere close to my home town, I’d have been there in a shot, and it’s clear that the audience are loving every moment – the applause is thunderous for every number, but subtlety and restraint were never going to be on the menu. They are all clearly pumped up by the occasion, and it seems a bit pernickety to point out that actually, it’s not all that good – everyone’s amp is turned up to 11 and the whole event has something of the quality of an end-of-evening jam session. The album retains the original show format over two CDs, including regular voice-overs from the WBCN radio presenter, and two brief interviews at the end, one with Pinetop Perkins lasting just under two minutes before he is called back to the stage for an encore, and then a longer one featuring all three stars. Now, over 40 years later, the set has been dusted off and released as a live album by Retroworld as part of its Great American Radio series. The second night took place at the famed Boston Music Hall in Massachusetts, relayed live on local radio station WBCN as well as being recorded for posterity. The 16-date tour featured the same line-up as the album, with Muddy’s touring band of Bob ‘Steady Rollin’’ Margolin on guitar, Joe ‘Pinetop’ Perkins on keys, Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith on drums, and Charles Calmese on bass, augmented by Winter and Cotton. James Cotton, Johnny Winter, Muddy Waters Cotton had been Waters’ harp player for over a decade in the ‘50s and ‘60s before breaking away to front his own band, and had reunited with him on the aforementioned Winter-produced album, so his presence on the tour was an absolute requirement. ![]() And it worked out perfect, ‘cos everybody felt the same way.” And so the scene was set for a dream team triple header, with Winter and Waters sharing the stage, both playing guitar and singing, with harmonica powerhouse James Cotton on the side. So I said, we either play together or I don’t want to do it. The way he tells it, “I won’t do that, I refuse to have Muddy Waters opening the show with his band. Winter was having none of it though, finding the idea of Waters potentially opening for his own band particularly odious. Not surprisingly, a tour was then mooted, featuring both bands. He jumped at the chance to work with the mighty Muddy as any blues player would, and produced an album that garnered a Grammy award and effectively rebooted both his and Waters’ careers. So it’s 1977, and guitar-slinger Johnny Winter has just produced and played guitar on blues legend Muddy Waters’ latest album Hard Again. ![]() Kudos should go to ‘Big Eyes’ and Calmese for coming back in at the same time after most of the stops…
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