Nothin' but the Blues | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 1977 | |||
Recorded | 1977 | |||
Studio | The Schoolhouse | |||
Genre | Chicago Blues | |||
Length | 36:11 | |||
Label | Blue Sky | |||
Producer | Johnny Winter | |||
Johnny Winter chronology | ||||
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Nothin' but the Blues is a 1977 album by guitarist and singer Johnny Winter. [1]
On this album Winter moved away from the rock and blues blend of previous albums to a more blues-oriented album. It also saw a marked change in source of material, being almost exclusively written by Winter, apart from one song by Muddy Waters with whom Winter had recently collaborated and who featured on the album along with his band.
A statement in the album liner notes says, "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"
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | (Not rated) [4] |
On AllMusic, William Ruhlmann said, "After a long period making rock records, Winter fronts the Muddy Waters band on the aptly titled Nothin' but the Blues.... Winter sounds happier than ever before on this Chicago blues workout." [2]
Parallel Forces wrote, "Released in the wake of [the Muddy Waters album] Hard Again , Nothin' but the Blues has the distinction of being recorded with the same musicians. These two albums mark the return to grace of [Johnny Winter] in the world of blues that he had somewhat neglected in previous years, devoted more to rock." [5]
All songs written by Johnny Winter, except "Walkin' thru the Park" by Muddy Waters.
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.
John Dawson Winter III was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums, live performances, and slide guitar playing from the late 1960s into the early 2000s. He also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues singer and guitarist Muddy Waters. After his time with Waters, Winter recorded several Grammy-nominated blues albums. In 1988, he was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and in 2003, he was ranked 63rd in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
"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.
The Progressive Blues Experiment is the debut album by American blues rock musician Johnny Winter. He recorded it in August 1968 at the Vulcan Gas Company, an Austin music club, with his original trio of Tommy Shannon on bass guitar and John "Red" Turner on drums. The album features a mix of Winter originals and older blues songs, including the standards "Rollin' and Tumblin'", "Help Me", and "Forty-Four".
"Rollin' Stone" is a blues song recorded by Muddy Waters in 1950. It is his interpretation of "Catfish Blues", a Delta blues that dates back to 1920s Mississippi. "Still a Fool", recorded by Muddy Waters a year later using the same arrangement and melody, reached number nine on the Billboard R&B chart. "Rollin' Stone" has been recorded by a variety of artists.
White, Hot and Blue is a 1978 album by Johnny Winter. Following on from the previous year's Nothin' but the Blues, it again focuses on blues music but moves back to Winter's traditional formula of mixing original tracks, of which there are three, with cover versions.
Bob Margolin is an American electric blues guitarist. His nickname is Steady Rollin'.
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. Hard Again was Waters's first album on Blue Sky Records after leaving Chess Records and was well received by critics.
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The water-treading of Raisin' Cain suggests that a new approach is in order, maybe an outside producer who can bring a different perspective or somebody to look for good songs, if the artist isn't going to write his own material.
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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.
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