| Hard Again | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 10, 1977 [1] | |||
| Recorded | October 1976 [2] | |||
| Genre | Chicago blues | |||
| Length | 45:47 | |||
| Label | Blue Sky | |||
| Producer | Johnny Winter [2] | |||
| Muddy Waters chronology | ||||
| ||||
Hard Again is a studio album by American blues singer Muddy Waters. Released on January 10, 1977, it was the first of his albums produced by Johnny Winter. [1] Hard Again was Waters's first album on Blue Sky Records after leaving Chess Records and was well received by critics.
In August 1975, Chess Records was sold to All Platinum Records and became a reissue label only. Waters left sometime after this, and did not record any new studio material until he signed with Johnny Winter's Blue Sky label in October 1976.
Hard Again was recorded in three days. Producing the session was Johnny Winter and engineering the sessions was Dave Still – who previously engineered Johnny's brother Edgar, Foghat, and Alan Merrill. Waters used his touring band of the time, consisting of guitarist Bob Margolin, pianist Pinetop Perkins, and drummer Willie "Big Eyes" Smith. Other backing members during the sessions were harmonicist James Cotton and bassist Charles Calmese, who performed with both Johnny Winter and James Cotton in the past. [2]
Three of the songs on the album – "Mannish Boy", "I Want to Be Loved", and "I Can't Be Satisfied" – were re-recordings of songs that were previously recorded for Chess Records. One song, "The Blues Had a Baby and They Named It Rock and Roll, Pt. 2", was co-written with Brownie McGhee and another song, "Bus Driver", was co-written with Terry Abrahamson.
An outtake from the recording sessions, "Walking Through the Park", appeared on the 2004 Legacy Recordings reissue CD, while several more unused tracks appeared on King Bee in 1981.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [3] |
| Blender |  [4] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | A− [5] |
| DownBeat | [6] |
| The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings |  [7] |
| Q | [6] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [8] |
| The Village Voice | A [9] |
The album was well received by music critics. John Quaintance of Yahoo! Music called it "a remarkable album" and a "return to form" for Muddy Waters, commenting that "Johnny Winter, ... James Cotton, Pinetop Perkins, Bob Margolin, Charles Calmese and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith are all thrilled to be in the same room with Muddy, and it shows, as they lay down a serious foundation for the old master who struts and brags like it's 1950 again." [10] Q called it "a guaranteed delight" for "students of the post-war blues", while DownBeat stated, "Singing, [Muddy is] playful and proud, brawny and insistent, his free-flow of inspiration spreading to his superlative road band". [6] Dan Oppenheimer of Rolling Stone said that "Mannish Boy" sounded like it was recorded live, [11] while both Oppenheimer and Daniel Gioffre of AllMusic state how powerful Willie "Big Eyes" Smith's drumming is. [3] [11] Oppenheimer and Gioffre both share the opinion that Hard Again is Muddy Waters comeback album. [3] [11] In The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Rolling Stone journalist Dave Marsh said "Johnny Winter provided the sensitive production touch otherwise lacking on some of [Muddy's] early '70s recordings." [8]
In his consumer guide for The Village Voice , Robert Christgau attributed the record's intense quality to "the natural enthusiasm of an inspired collaboration", and remarked on its standing in Chicago blues, "except maybe for B.B. King's Live at the Regal and Otis Spann's Walking the Blues (oh, there must be others, but let me go on) I can't recall a better blues album than this." [9] In a later review for Blender , the critic found Muddy Waters to be in "virile voice" and commented that "all-star musicians and fresh prospects stimulate the excitement promised in the title." [4]
Hard Again peaked at No. 143 on the Billboard 200, which was his first appearance on the chart since Fathers and Sons in 1969. [12] The album won the Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording the year of its release. [13]
All tracks are composed by Muddy Waters (listed as McKinley Morganfield), except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mannish Boy" | Morganfield, Ellas McDaniel, Mel London | 5:23 |
| 2. | "Bus Driver" | Morganfield, Terry Abrahamson | 7:44 |
| 3. | "I Want to Be Loved" | Willie Dixon | 2:20 |
| 4. | "Jealous Hearted Man" | 4:23 | |
| 5. | "I Can't Be Satisfied" | 3:28 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Blues Had a Baby and They Named It Rock and Roll, Pt. 2" | Morganfield, Brownie McGhee | 3:35 |
| 2. | "Deep Down in Florida" | 5:25 | |
| 3. | "Crosseyed Cat" | 5:59 | |
| 4. | "Little Girl" | 7:06 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Walking Through the Park" | 3:55 |
| Total length: | 49:42 | |
The following contributed to Hard Again: [2]
Musicians
Technical
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | January 10, 1977 | Blue Sky | LP | PZ 34449 |
| U.K. | 1977 | Blue Sky | LP | SKY 32357 |
| Europe | 1977 | Blue Sky | LP | SKY 81853 |
| Australia | 1977 | CBS | LP | SBP 234953 |
| U.S. | 1987 | Blue Sky | CD | ZK 34449 |
| Cassette | PZT 34449 | |||
| U.S. | 2004 | Epic/Legacy | CD | EK 86817 |
| Europe | 2004 | Epic/Legacy | CD | EPC 515161 2 |
McKinley Morganfield, known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago blues". His style of playing has been described as "raining down Delta beatitude".
Muddy Waters (1913–1983) was an American blues artist who is considered a pioneer of the electric Chicago blues and a major influence on the development of blues and rock music. He popularized several early Delta blues songs, such as "Rollin' and Tumblin'", "Walkin' Blues", and "Baby, Please Don't Go", and recorded songs that went on to become blues standards, including "Hoochie Coochie Man", "Mannish Boy", and "Got My Mojo Working". During his recording career from 1941 to 1981, he recorded primarily for two record companies, Aristocrat/Chess and Blue Sky; they issued 62 singles and 13 studio albums.
Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins was an American blues pianist. He played with some of the most influential blues and rock-and-roll performers of his time and received numerous honors, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and induction into the Blues Hall of Fame.
James Henry Cotton was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many fellow blues artists and with his own band. He also played drums early in his career.
"Mannish Boy" is a blues standard written by Muddy Waters, Mel London, and Bo Diddley. First recorded in 1955 by Waters, it serves as an "answer song" to Bo Diddley's "I'm a Man", which was in turn inspired by Waters' and Willie Dixon's "Hoochie Coochie Man". "Mannish Boy" features a repeating stop-time figure on one chord throughout the song.
Blues is a compilation album of blues songs recorded by American singer/songwriter/musician Jimi Hendrix. Compiled by interim Hendrix producer Alan Douglas, it was released April 26, 1994, by MCA Records. The album contains eleven songs recorded by Hendrix between 1966 and 1970, six of which were previously unreleased. Hendrix wrote seven of the pieces; other writers include Muddy Waters, Booker T. Jones, and Elmore James. Most are demos, jams, and live recordings, which Hendrix may or may not have completed for release.
Folk Singer is the second studio album and fourth album overall by Muddy Waters, released in January 1964 by Chess Records. The album features Waters on acoustic guitar, backed by Willie Dixon on string bass, Clifton James on drums, and Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar. It is Waters's only all-acoustic album. Numerous reissues of Folk Singer include bonus tracks from two subsequent sessions, in April 1964 and October 1964.
Nothin' but the Blues is a 1977 album by Johnny Winter. The album has the following dedication: "I'd like to dedicate this album to all the people who enjoy my kind of blues and especially to Muddy Waters for giving me the inspiration to do it and for giving the world a lifetime of great blues." - Johnny Winter.
Bob Margolin is an American electric blues guitarist. His nickname is Steady Rollin'.
Willie Lee "Big Eyes" Smith was an American electric blues vocalist, harmonica player, and drummer. He was best known for several stints with the Muddy Waters band beginning in the early 1960s.
Muddy "Mississippi" Waters – Live is a live album by Muddy Waters, released in January 1979. It was recorded during the 1977–78 tour to support Muddy Waters' album Hard Again (1977) and features the same musicians, including James Cotton and Johnny Winter, who had produced the album.
I'm Ready is a studio album by the Chicago blues musician Muddy Waters. The second of his Johnny Winter-produced albums for the Blue Sky Records label, I'm Ready was issued one year after he found renewed commercial and critical success with Hard Again. The album earned Waters a Grammy Award in 1978. It was reissued in 2004 by the Epic/Legacy, with three additional songs.
The Legendary Blues Band was a Chicago blues band formed in 1980 after the breakup of Muddy Waters' band.
King Bee is the fourteenth and final studio album by blues singer and guitarist Muddy Waters. Released in 1981, it is third in a series of records done for the label Blue Sky Records under producer/guitarist Johnny Winter. Recorded in three days some of the band members, namely Winter and guitarist Bob Margolin, were not happy with the result. As his health deteriorated, Muddy was forced to cancel an increasing number of shows. He died of a heart attack on April 30, 1983.
Calvin "Fuzz" Jones was an American electric blues bassist and singer. He worked with many blues musicians, including Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, the Legendary Blues Band, Mississippi Heat, James Cotton, Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson, Little Walter and Elmore James.
Breakin' It Up, Breakin' It Down is a blues album by Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter, and James Cotton. It was recorded live in 1977, and released in 2007. It reached number 3 on the Billboard Blues Albums chart.
Can't Get No Grindin' is an album by blues musician Muddy Waters released by the Chess label in 1973.
The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album is an album by blues musician Muddy Waters released by the Chess label in 1975. The album features Levon Helm and Garth Hudson from The Band and Paul Butterfield.
Live at Mister Kelly's, often stylized as "Live" , is a live album by blues musician Muddy Waters released by the Chess label in 1971.
Too Wet to Plow is a studio album by the American blues musician Johnny Shines, released in 1977.
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