Collaborators (to name a few) include Chicago blues greats Willie Dixon and Walter “Shakey” Horton (on Winter’s Columbia debut LP, 1969), post-McCoys Rick Derringer (from 1970 to ’75), Muddy Waters and his band featuring James Cotton, “Pinetop” Perkins, and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith (1977), Dr. In addition, True To The Blues draws tracks from a number of historic Columbia/Legacy archival projects released over the past decade: Fillmore East: The Lost Concert Tapes 12/13/68 (2003), Second Winter: Legacy Edition (2004), Breakin’ It Up, Breakin’ It Down (2007), and The Woodstock Experience (2009).Īlong the way, a myriad of blues and rock kingpins join Johnny Winter (and occasionally his brother Edgar) in the studio and onstage, starting with Super Session hosts Michael Bloomfield and Al Kooper at the Fillmore East in New York, December 1968. the Who’s Tommy) and Johnny’s take on “Prodigal Son.”Īt the core of True To The Blues are the six albums that Winter recorded for Columbia Records, and the six albums that he recorded for manager Steve Paul’s Blue Sky Records (distributed by Epic). ![]() Also from the Atlanta fest are two more previously unreleased numbers, Sonny Boy Williamson II’s “Eyesight To The Blind” (cf. True To The Blues rediscovers the Columbia three-LP event of 1970, The First Great Rock Festivals Of The Seventies – Isle Of Wight/Atlanta Pop, previously unavailable on CD, whose opening track was “Mean Mistreater” by Johnny Winter And (his group with Rick Derringer and bassist Randy Hobbs, with Edgar sitting in on drums). In a career filled with signature songs that frame a litany for loyal fans, True To The Blues covers every base with its mix of studio and live material: “Highway 61 Revisited,” “Dallas,” “Mean Mistreater,” “Mean Town Blues,” “Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo,” “Rock Me Baby,” “It’s My Own Fault,” “Good Morning Little School Girl,” “Bony Moronie,” “Hustled Down In Texas,” “Be Careful With A Fool,” “Johnny B. Music ranges from his independently recorded and released The Progressive Blues Experiment of 1968 (“Bad Luck And Trouble,” “Mean Town Blues”) up through 2011’s all-star duets project, Roots (“Maybelline” with Vince Gill, “Dust My Broom” with Derek Trucks). Nevertheless, the sound is good, and the band filled out competently with sidemen (particularly Pinetop Perkins on piano), making this a satisfactory listen for serious blues collectors, though a little superfluous for most fans.Covering the fullest scope of Johnny Winter’s prodigious recording career, True To The Blues is sourced from 27 separate albums on the Imperial, Columbia, Blue Sky/Epic, Alligator, Point Blank (Virgin), Friday Music, Megaforce, and Columbia/Legacy labels. The songs on which his vocals are prominent (especially "Can't Be Satisfied" and "Trouble No More") kind of dwarf the ones on which his singing is absent or secondary, making the cuts that emphasize Cotton and Winter seem rather workmanlike in comparison. Lenoir ("Mama Talk to Your Daughter"), Lowell Fulson ("Love Her with a Feeling"), and Elmore James ("Dust My Broom"), as well as the famed jump blues "Caledonia." It's undeniable, however, that Waters was, even at this relatively advanced age, by far the most commanding singer of the trio. It's still solid and decent, including some Waters classics ("Can't Be Satisfied," "Got My Mojo Workin'," "Trouble No More"), Cotton originals, and covers of staples by Jackie Brenston ("Rocket 88"), John Lee Hooker ("I Done Got Over It"), J.B. The latter could be said of the material on this disc, which is really just okay, not great, and not even among the best recordings that have been issued of Waters in the mid-'70s. Often these kind of touring combinations are too many cooks in the kitchen, or, if not quite that, at least more fun to attend than to listen to on tape. ![]() It might have been spurred by a Muddy Waters album, but in fact Waters, Winter, and Cotton all took vocals - sometimes alone, and sometimes on the same song - on stage, and these 11 songs feature the vocals of each of the three in about equal measure. This CD, not released until about 30 years later, has an hour of music drawn from three different shows on the tour. In March 1977, Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter, and James Cotton did a concert tour together in support of Waters' then-recent Hard Again LP, on which Winter had played guitar (as well as produced) and Cotton had played harmonica. Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter, James Cotton - Breakin’ It Up Breakin’ It Down (1977)
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