Michael Fremer Rated 9 out of 10 for Music, 10 out of 10 for Sound
Cut at 45 RPM For The First Time Ever.
Mastered by Bernie Grundman From the Original 1964 Chess Analog Masters.
Pressed at Quality Record Pressings on 180 Gram Vinyl.
Folk Singer has been an audiophile staple for years. It always gets a bunch of play at hi-fi shows. It's a no-doubter demonstration disc. But never before has it sounded like this! Never has it been cut at 45 RPM!
There are a handful of landmark albums in any genre. In the blues, one of them is Muddy Waters' Folk Singer. Originally released in 1964, Folk Singer was the only acoustic album Waters ever recorded, thus becoming the first and perhaps best blues concept album ever. Muddy of course started out playing acoustic blues in the Delta, and he's clearly very comfortable in this return to his roots, which was designed to appeal to the mid-1960s surge of interest in folk music.
Folk Singer represents a departure from the electric 'urban' blues sound that Muddy Waters pioneered. This all-acoustic collection of recordings illustrates his deep-rooted rural blues influences, reminiscent of the sides he made nearly twenty-five years prior in Mississippi. This release features McKinley Morganfield (Muddy Waters) on vocals and guitar, supported by a very young Buddy Guy on guitar, blues legend Willie Dixon on upright bass and Clifton James on occasional drums.
Muddy's supporting cast includes a very young Buddy Guy on guitar, Willie Dixon at the upright bass and Clifton James on drums.
This recording has enormous presence with ample room for Muddy's booming voice to resonate.
It's been ages since I've heard LP surfaces this quiet - as in dead quiet. The air, dynamic range, harmonic complexity, instrumental texture, verve in Waters' voice, and sheer sense of four guys making music together bring this recording to life as never before. It's by far the best sounding and most engaging version yet... analog lovers will be in hog heaven.
-Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound, May/June 2012
(753088148378)
SKU | 753088148378 |
Barcode # | 753088148378 |
Brand | Chess Records / Analogue Productions |
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