Muddy Waters/Tokyo,Japan 1980 & more

A rare live recording of Chicago blues giant Muddy “Mississippi” Waters. A coupling recording of the sound source from the first performance in Japan, which has surprisingly not been available until now, and the sound source from when they appeared at a jazz festival in Finland about two months later. Both are based on radio sound sources, so they are described as soundboards, but the Finnish sound source may have been recorded by the audience, judging from the cheers. In any case, the sound quality is good enough that even non-maniacs will be able to enjoy it. For the Tokyo performance, perhaps because it was their first visit to Japan, they greeted the audience in Japanese with “Arigatto” and even included the word “TOKYO” in their lyrics, making the audience happy. I never thought I’d be able to hear Japanese from Maddy’s mouth. “Got My Mojo Workin”, where the band performs giant spins and sprints, is a masterpiece. The vocal interaction with Pinetop Perkins is also great. Willie Smith’s drumming, which takes a lot of work but firmly supports the groove, is also double circle. Although it was in 1980, which is Maddy’s later years, the slide guitar is still as bad as it gets. It’s already too much, but no matter how wild the boss’s guitar is, it’s okay because Bob Margolin and Luther Johnson are there! Bob Margolin is a white guitarist who served as Maddy’s right-hand man in the latter half of his career, and is seen firmly supporting Maddy in the performance scene of The Band’s “The Last Waltz.” Although Muddy had a great influence on white blues rock bands such as Eric Clapton and the Rollins Stones, he was also heavily influenced by white blues rock band styles from the 1970s onwards in the form of re-imports. That’s what I’m doing. If I played it to someone like Clapton, I’m sure they’d say, “Wow, Muddy is really good. It’s the best.” I mention this every time I write an introduction to a blues item, but I would like white blues rock fans to give this a listen. We invite you to step into the Mississippi swamp. DISC 1 Recorded Live at Koseinenkin Hall, Tokyo, Japan, May 24, 1980 EX-SOUNDBOARD Recording // 2020 Original Remaster // 40 min 1. fade in – CHICKEN SHACK 2. Intro to Muddy Waters 3. BLUES BEFORE SUNRISE 4. NINE BELOW ZERO 5. BABY, PLEASE DON’T GO 6. HOOCHIE COOCHIE MAN 7. KANSAS CITY 8. CALDONIA 9. GOT MY MOJO WORKING 10. MANNISH BOY DISC 2 Recorded Live at Jazz Festival, Pori, Finland, July 11, 1980 EX -SOUNDBOARD Recording // 2020 Original Remaster // 47 min 1. fade in – KIND HEARTED WOMAN BLUES 2. NINE BELOW ZERO 3. HOWLIN’ WOLF 4. EVERYTHING’S GONNA BE ALRIGHT 5. BABY PLEASE DON’T GO 6. NINETEEN YEARS OLD 7. LONESOME IN MY BEDROOM 8. MANNISH BOY – fade out Muddy Waters – vocals, guitars Joseph “Pinetop” Perkins – piano, vocals Jerry Portnoy – harmonica Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson – guitars Bob Margolin – guitars Calvin Jones – bass Willie ” Big Eyes” Smith – drums