Hard Again

Not my style

Aujourd’hui, on s’arrête sur une institution, une plaque de marbre. Un truc qu’on ne discute pas sans risquer de se faire lyncher par les barbus en chemise de flanelle : Muddy Waters, avec son album Hard Again, sorti en 1977. Je vais casser le suspense tout de suite : pour moi, c’est un 3 sur 5. Et avant de sortir les fourches et les torches, laissez-moi vous expliquer pourquoi ce disque est à la fois une bénédiction et un putain de somnifère de luxe. Commençons par le positif, parce qu’il faut bien respecter les anciens, bordel. 1 point pour "Mannish Boy" évidemment. Ce morceau, c’est pas de la musique, c’est un acte de guerre. C’est le riff ultime. Cinq notes, pas une de plus, pas une de moins. C’est le genre de truc qui, dès que ça démarre, transforme n’importe quel comptable en chef de gang en puissance. Muddy hurle son nom, il affirme sa virilité avec une arrogance qui ferait passer les rappeurs d’aujourd’hui pour des enfants de chœur à la kermesse du village. C’est lourd, c’est gras, c’est possédé. Rien que pour ces cinq minutes de pure testostérone électrique, l’album gagne son ticket d’entrée dans l’histoire. Ensuite, 1 point pour la légende. Putain, on parle de Muddy Waters, les gars, le mec qui a appris au monde entier ce que "électrique" voulait dire. En 1977, Muddy est un vieux briscard et il revient sur le devant de la scène grâce à Johnny Winter. Winter, c’est le petit blanc albinos tout excité qui a décidé de redonner au King son trône de fer. On sent ce respect dans chaque note, dans chaque cri de joie que Winter lâche en arrière-plan (même si au bout d'un moment, on a envie de lui dire de se calmer). C’est l’album du grand retour, le disque qui dit : "Je suis toujours là et je vais vous montrer comment on fait". Et enfin, 1 point pour le Blues. Parce que c’est la base, c’est le squelette de tout ce qu’on écoute. Sur Hard Again, le son est organique, c’est enregistré quasiment en live et il y a une authenticité qu'on ne peut pas acheter. On sent les doigts qui glissent sur les cordes, on entend le souffle de James Cotton dans son harmonica qui semble vouloir exploser. C’est du blues pur jus, sans additif, sans colorant. Mais voilà, le problème arrive maintenant. Ma note s'arrête là pour une raison très simple : l'ennui. Passé les vingt premières minutes de l'album, une sensation étrange s'installe. C'est une impression de déjà-vu ou plutôt de "déjà-entendu". On a le sentiment d'écouter le même morceau en boucle. Alors attention, je le répète : c'est un BON morceau. Mais c'est le même, bordel ! C’est le syndrome du "12-bar blues" poussé à son paroxysme. On connaît la structure, on connaît les licks de guitare, on sait exactement où le morceau va nous emmener avant même qu'il ait commencé. Pour moi qui cherche le truc qui va me faire dresser les poils, Hard Again finit par être une expérience un peu trop confortable. C'est de la musique pour vieux rockers en pantoufles. On sait que Muddy va grogner, on sait que Winter va balancer un solo plein de slide. Et au bout d'un moment, mon attention décroche. Un album de légende ne devrait pas me faire penser à mes corvées ménagères. Il devrait me hanter, m'obséder, me donner envie de brûler mon appart ou de monter un culte à la gloire de Satan. Ici, on est dans le "bel ouvrage", c'est de l'artisanat de haute volée, mais ça manque de cette étincelle de folie, de ce danger qui fait que le blues devient parfois autre chose qu'une simple suite d'accords. Putain on est en 1977, les gars ! Pendant que Muddy enregistre ça, il y a des mecs qui s'épinglent les oreilles et qui hurlent que le futur n'existe pas. Il y a une urgence ailleurs. Et même si je ne demande pas à Muddy Waters de faire du punk, j'aurais aimé un peu plus de relief, un peu plus de risques. Au final 3 sur 5 c'est la meilleure note que je peux donner car c’est la note de la reconnaissance éternelle et d'un hymne immortel. Mais c’est aussi celle d’un disque qui manque de souffle et de variété sur la longueur. C'est une pièce de musée, c'est beau, c'est historique, mais ça reste derrière une vitrine.

Interesting instrumentation on "I Can't Be Satisfied". Mannish Boy's riff was immediately identifiable! My preferred styling of blues rock, larger sound and abrasiveness! Stopped on "Deep Down In Florida" General mood: 😊 (feeling the rhythm!)

Album- Hard Again (1977) Favorite song from album- I can't be Satisfied Album Rating- 7/10 1 Song added to playlist Not something id typically listen to.

Rock 80’s, sexy. Night, wine, blues, bass.

I'm not big in the Blues, but I enjoyed it.

The Blues is not normally my thing , , but this album brings such incredible energy. It's undeniable. The production is great, you can hear each part without any of them standing out too much.

Satisfying to listen to, but musically a bit too simple to listen to again. Nothing major to fault, but I feel like I’ve heard a lot of this before.

This was alright. Just alright. I wouldn't listen to it again and it is most definitely not my sort of music but I can appreciate its good qualities and instrumental talent.

The name of this album felt a little misleading but maybe that's because we've been forced to listen to a fair few albums of that nature recently. Although I liked this more than I expected I don't think I'll ever come back to it which makes me err between a 2 and 3 but I feel like being generous today.

When people say they've got the blues they've got this guy.

This was a good one. Didn’t have any favorite songs from the album though. Rating: 3/5 stars

Very blue, enjoyed

Very nice, mostly as background music.

How many albums on here can claim to have the same song reinterpreted/performed by the same artist but decades later? I wonder if purists had as much trouble with Chicago Blues as folkies did with Dylan going electric... Pretty fun listen, not entirely sure I'd check it out again.

I Can’t Be Satisfied Deep Down in Florida Crosseyed Cat

It's solid, but it honestly gets a little repetitive. There aren't many good solos, it's just kind of all of the same harmonica riff.

Not a style of music I listen to... really ever, but I found It decently fun. 3 stars for my first listen just because this is something I'll need to have grow on me.

Lovely album, great sound, so easy to listen to and have on in the background. Could it be 1 of any number of blues albums over the years, probably yeah, but I guess if it ain't broke and all that...

Not bad, just the blues really

Hard Again feels more like a glimpse into a time well before a lot of people appreciated music for what it was truly worth, and yet brings the sound to the 70s with such style and swagger that it is hard to look away. Muddy Waters is not an artist I had any knowledge of prior to starting the 1001 albums to hear before you die list, and after hearing this album from the man himself I have to say I am quite impressed by just how groovy he was this late into his career. It is a sound I am pretty foreign to, but still wanted to give my full undivided attention to because I wanted to see if I could learn a thing or two. Mannish Boy is by far the most famous song from this project and I believe I have heard covers of it before or just interpolations without even realizing it was from the mind of Muddy. Other than that I wasn't too blow away by anything here, the theatrics of this project and how it swings around is very interesting and enthralling but struggles to keep me motivated through all 45 minutes of this album. It is a very touching piece for the right kind of people, but personally I thought it was just solid and not much else.

Not my thing

3/5

Not my thing. Alot of talent tho

Undeniably good, but sort of faded into the background. I’m learning I prefer music with a little drama. Also I’d love to hear an album by a woman any time soon - not Muddy’s fault, but this list is warped.

sooooulful blues. Not my shtick, but i was stank facing and bobbing the head throughout. Very cool. Mannish Boy was the pick of course, bad to the bone!!! 3.5/5

Pretty cool, great guitar work , the blues has always been an area where I am very not educated and it was nice to hear an album from Mr. Muddy Waters (65 years old here!).

I randomly went to watch Johnny Winter not knowing who he was. Good show. Relevant because he produced this album. Didn't do the same with Muddy Waters, but bet he would have been fun to see. His music is tainted by association with the restaurant Red Hot and Blue, so I now need to go eat some barbeque after listening to that.

From a period for sure, cool to compare to a new age album but for sure tough to add to a modern playlist.

Классная обложка Музыка однообразная Довольно тяжело послушать полностью в 2025 Хороший инструментал

i liked it!

Bästa Muddy hittills

Inte min favoritgenre men detta var stabilt!

The sound is awesome and great for its time. However, listening to the entire album start to finish now is very repetitive

Long instrumentals at certain points that I could have done without but still a very good album and would have been fun to see live.

I like it muddy, not repetitive.

I enjoyed this album, it had a nice bluesy vibes to it. Made for a great album to listen to on my way to work this rainy morning. Some songs got a little repetitive but overall I found it very enjoyable and fit the vibe very well!

It's good, but boy do the instrumental riffs drag after a while. Good in small doses, but a long listen all at once.

Really enjoyed this blend of blues that is modern in chronology but traditional in sound. It features many rhythms and themes of classic blues rock and roll, but features a more upbeat sound that kept my toes tapping.

Solid blues album. Thought some songs dragged on a bit too long.

Bus driver is fun. Overall really fun but feels like the same song the whole album Crosseyed cat stands out

3 stars - fun! okay

Mannish Boy alone makes this worthwhile listening

So, this is hardcore blues. The first song is just one repeated riff - that's too repetitive for my taste. There's no doubt about the quality of the musicians, the energy and the artist. But I get tired of it way too soon.

Love the raw, roots, blues sound. Excellent guitar- such a talented player. I really feel the guitar solos. Deep powerful voice. I haven’t listened to much of this music before. Great to be introduced to his sound. Know the name of course. Sounds like music I would expect from the 1950’s. Surprised to hear it’s 1977.

it was quite loud

Would be absolutely fine if I never heard a blues song again for the rest of my life.

might revisit someday

Back-to-blues. Isn't really my thing but I can appreciate the rhythms and electric sound

Não senti nada muito forte ouvindo este disco. Não sei exatamente o porquê, mas suponho que Blues não seja meu gênero favorito. A voz dele é potente, e as composições são cheias de energia, mas algumas canções acabam ficando repetitivas (é a natureza do gênero) e monótonas. Eu particularmente prefiro um som mais progressivo, mas consigo ver o apelo deste álbum, só não apela pra mim mesmo. 3/5

Mannish Boy is a monster of a song, always has been always will be.

Базовый нормисняй блюз

Не потому, что плохо. Просто не нравится классический джаз.

Cholera… Bus Driver? Tea… szkoda tylko, że nic nie byłam w stanie później zrozumieć. Album przyjemny, fajna gitara. Problemem jest zrozumienie wokalisty? Gdyby to był album instrumentalny 4/5, a tak to 3/5 i to będąc łaskawą.

Reminds me of working at Record Town, my boss loved this album.

Not my type.

Not my typical type, but worth the listen! I had one song that I recognized by him off this album, but can't speak much to the others.

The screaming on Mannish Boy almost put me off the whole thing, and I wasn't sure if this was just going to be one of those “important genre-defining but not necessarily for me” albums. That the album then goes and does something a bit more interesting than just playing the basic blues, really won me over, and I quite enjoyed my time overall. Highlights: Bus Driver, Jealous Hearted Man, and I Can’t Be Satisfied Muddy Waters has a proper set of pipes on him too.

That was fine, repetitive but I get why it is here.

Mannish Boy is simply a blues classic and sets the album up perfectly. The live vibe of the track certainly gives it even more depth. Bus driver continues the good times with plenty of blues guitar and honking on the hobo. There’s a lot to like about this album, i especially enjoyed the good old blues of The Blues had a Baby and they Named it Rock and Roll. Overall i think this is a3.5/5 but there isn’t quite enough for a 4/5 so we are where we are

Lovely voice. Lots of 12 bar blues. The Levi's advert from the late 80s where the bloke takes his jeans out of the fridge. Harmonica solos. I Can't Be Satisfied was great. The Blues Had a Baby and They Named It Rock and Roll, Pt. 2 is an amazing name for a song. I am feeling very bluesy. Maybe a bit too bluesy (I think this slightly outstayed it's welcome for me despite the obvious quality). 3/5

I was really thinking from track one, it would be just a bunch of riffs in the same vein of track one. But I never heard the riff again. Instead it was cool guitar work and muddy blues. And the more I want to enjoy the blues, I find it a bit samesy. There was one called Little Girl that went on for 7 minutes! Get out of here! 3 Stars.

Started our strong. Nice guitar licks and a good howl. Some questionable lyrics though and after awhile all started to sound like the same song.

Норм, не то что я добавлю в любимые, но , включив на фоне, бесить не будет

Kind of a banger

Good

Buen álbum, pero no se si volvería a escucharlo

i do like a good bluesy album. 3.5

My what a forward young man you are. Can you try playing a different song, though? I think we've heard this one before.

Okay, but ended up being a bit samey.

kenns glaub von papa

Disco de Blues, me gustan algunas canciones. Tiene algunas un poco largas. Me flipan las bases.

Bra blues, men blues är ju ändå en lustig genre. Simpla låtar samma tre ackord, fyllda med klyschor på klyschor och största skillnaden är hur mycket ”in the pocket” man spelar. Det här gänget är ju dock galet mycket i den fickan. Stark trea. 5a från pappa. ”Detta känns ju som grunden till så mycket. Så skönt gung som man blir glad av. Dessutom passar det bra att lyssna på när man spacklar en vägg.”

I respect the rawness and "realness" of this album. It has soul and identity. I just don't like the blues.

I like the tune of most songs Not something I specifically would go out of my way to listen to but I enjoyed this album Not my usual music taste (I love pop lol) Added a couple to my playlist

not for me

Ok blues

Album felt very repetitive. Most of it blended together. A lot of the songs dragged and were hard to understand on the first listen. Tracks 3 and 5 were high point of the album for me. The rest blended together

I really liked the first song. They all had a fun swag to them. Had me dancing like Elvis with the hip thing. It’s ultimately charming in a way and just fun.

blues ist nicht so meins aber ich mochte das album trotzdem. würde aber nicht nochmal hören bzw mir songs davon anhören

There are no bad tracks on this album…but not much that stands out to me either. I don’t think I’m much of a Blies fan. Most of the songs sounded very similar to me. While I wouldn’t mind it as background music, I don’t think it’s something I would actively choose to listen to again.

It's everything blues, which I really like! Almost has a 'live in a dive'-vibe, that comes through.

Kinda my first time listening to blues and I don’t hate it, I prefer listening to more like slow jazz or alternative jazz but this is good, the guitar is really what stands out to me, Also my first time listening to this artist so this is a plus

Ніколи раніше не слухала блюз. Вайбік рок-н-ролу. Цікаво. До середини першої пісні повторюваний патерн гітари починає набридати. Занадто монотонно. 2 пісня вже кантрі нагадує. 3 досить непогана. 4 теж. 5 таке собі, зовсім шось странне, десь посередині кантрі між і блюзом. 6 вже більше рок-н-рол, ця досить гарна. 7 шось задовга якась. 8 гарна. 9 задовга.

wonderful album, so fun and out of my comfort zone. i really enjoyed it.

Bluesy and fun but wouldn’t probably listen to again

Good casual listen

good but meehhhh

The musical embodiment of "I THINK I GOT MY SWAGGER BACK" (7/10, 4/5 on this scale) (Update: 3/5 on this scale)

I really liked the guitars and the up eat nature of the album. it made me want to go to a jazz club and go dancing and shit

All the songs sounded fairly similar.

Love the sound of this album, amazing blues. Great instrumentation, voice is incredible. Songs are just VERY long for how one dimensional some of them are. First song is one riff repeated for over 5 minutes. Great riff... Way too long Bus Driver, felt like it was building for the entire song... all 7 minutes of it. No release.

banger to start the album can't lie

Not bad

The riffs are great but the songs are two to three times too long. Didn't fall in love with this one.

Blues are not my groove. This was ok. ★★★

Just ok.

Day 3 of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die with @marmeu. This is pretty good, but to me, it's boring, like painfully boring. The tracks averaged out to a 70 but I'm giving it a 61 because like this is so just average, and I don't know why? It sounds like something that I would really like, but I guess not. It's a solid record. 61/100

Classic blues , fun listen

Hard Again was the name of Houmous & Chutneys famous viagra sponsored album. Commercially it just didn’t work. Music shouldn’t be written purposely towards the promotion of the product. 3.4 2/10 Bus Driver

Favourite Songs: I Want To Be Loved #2

This is great

I don’t mind the Blues but this one just didn’t smack me in the face. Maybe there’s better Muddy Waters albums?

Not a huge blues guy, sounds cool but not really my thing. 5/10

It doesn't get much more classic blues than this. What kind of guitar is that at the end of Jealous Hearted Man? It reminds me of the one in Train Kept Rollin by Aerosmith.

First track is a classic and sounds great here. Gets a bit samey eventually.

Bluesy goodness.

At Newport 1960 was one of the first 25 albums I had to listen to for this challenge and I can’t say it was a favorite – there wasn’t a whole lot of variety on show and I didn’t find its “live” aspect to be particularly compelling. That said, I want to like Muddy Waters and the experience certainly wasn’t awful last time around, so I was happy to get a proper studio album from him as today’s assignment! Unfortunately, I think I’m going to have to throw in the towel and take the L because Hard Again still isn’t really doing it for me. I hate to be the guy who doesn’t “get” an artist as beloved and influential as Muddy Waters, but I can’t make myself love an artist whose entire output I’ve heard is the same 3-4 formulas reused over and over. There are nine tracks on Hard Again and seven of them are twelve-bar blues. These songs are fine (perhaps even great) in a vacuum, but hearing one after another in an album format gets old fast. “Bus Driver” felt like a highlight until I heard the nearly-identical “Jealous Hearted Man” two tracks later and I couldn’t really connect with the rest of the twelve-bar tracks after that point. I truly mean no disrespect to Muddy and his influence on popular music, but legacy only elevates my enjoyment so much and I have to judge Hard Again by the same metrics as any other album. Any LP where 75% of the material is the same genre/structure/progression is probably not going to be one I’m eager to jump back into, even if listening through it was generally a positive experience. Highlights: Mannish Boy, I Can’t Be Satisfied

Not my favorite Muddy record, but it’s still him.

Yes!

Good blues

Hard to bat against a legendary name such as muddy waters but this album is essentially 9 retreads of mannish boy (which is still excellent)

A good blues album. And that can't go over 3/5 for me, unfortunately. It gets a little boring after a while.

Vill också ha sån energi vid 64! Är ju också svag för evigt gitarrunk :)

Damn, this would be fun in a pool hall with a few beers. Plus, Mannish Boy!!

ну

not bad, all songs sound similar

Not too much to say on it, but fairy enjoyable album

Smooth blues, harmonica sounds reminds me of Roseanne at times

Mannish Boy and the rest!

I really enjoyed this.

Pretty consistent album and nice rock with blues. Honestly basic blues 1970s album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-bZSTLHJm4

Now this is some hard blues. It's good, with an impressive flow, but the further you get into the album the less each song stands out.

The opening track, Mannish Blues, uses THE iconic blues riff. Blues done on the electric guitar is new to me and something that I welcome. It's more raw and transcends time. Blues isn't really my thing with how samey it can sound and this album suffers from it. I feel like there's only a couple ways to play a harmonica, but my god do they play it well.

Very fun oldies

I hope the title doesn't mean what I think it means. Saved a song: N RYM: N

A blues- album full of energy and great harmonica- play. And "Mannish Boy" rocks ("Hard Again)"! Not my every day choice. Nonetheless strong three stars! 3,5

solid

Classic

Good, have LP

Nasty good mix on the first track I can't be satisfied guitar is awesome - this is my favorite track The blues had a baby named rock 'n' roll and I definitely have an easier time listening to said baby due to the twelve bars of it all

Enjoyable but some of the songs sounded a bit similar by the end. Nice change of pace, slower album

some of this is really very nice. especially CrossEyed Cat but it's so samey it all sort of bleeds together.

The man knew what he was doing

Holy 1-4-5 Batman! Ya that's definitely a bluesy album. That first one was pretty repetitive. I think the rest weren't too bad.

Pas trop mon style mais c'est sympa

this restored my faith in the harmonica

Blues from a master.

The best version of Mannish boy.

Any of these songs sound like they could be the theme to Roseanne.

It’s blues well past its prime, felt a bit stale but ok I guess

Good album. Hilarious name and cover. The only things that I think hurt this album is just sort of the way classic blues music has aged. If you are like me and you grew up with classic rock and stuff like that, than you are intimately familiar with the classic blues chord progressions. Which is iconic, but also hearing that same riff over and over again my whole life has made it lose some luster. I really enjoyed all of the album, like I never felt that skip urge. However I didn’t save a lot of songs cause they were so homogeneous and similar only like 3-4 songs ended up getting my attention. If I knew someone liked classic blues/rock I’d definitely recommend this album….AFTER I recommended my favorite blues rock band, Geese.

A fun album that sounds like a southern swanky club. All of the songs do sound the same though. Favorite track was crosseyed cat

Do I like the blues? Yes. Do I see its influence on rock? Also yes. Am I having a hard time distinguishing songs? Absolutely yes. Is it a vibe? Still yes

I'm not typically a fan of blues, but this list is slightly changing my opinion. There's not a ton of variety, but Muddy Waters' electric blues is a cut above the rest, and makes for an entertaining listen.

Funky

Album 35/1001 Listening to Muddy's vocals, combined with some fine slide guitar and blues harp playing, is like eating a warm delicious bowl of soul food in musical form. Favourite lyrics: THE BLUES HAD A BABY AND THEY NAMED IT ROCK AND ROLL "Otis Redding said it, you know the blues got a soul Queen Victoria said it, you know the blues got a soul Well the blues had a baby and they named the baby Rock & Roll" BUS DRIVER "My baby run off with a bus driver And you know that don't seem right He used to give her rides in the daytime Now she gives him rides at night" Favourite song: Mannish Boy 💪🧒 Honourable mention: Bus Driver 🚌👨‍✈️ Deep Down in Florida ⬇️🐊 The Blues Had a Baby and They Named It Rock and Roll 🪕🎺👶🎸🥁 3½ / 5

Mój problem z bluesem jest taki, że pierwsze trzy piosenki mega mi się podobają, zastanawiam się czemu nie słucham więcej bluesa, po czym wszystkie kolejne brzmią prawie tak samo i mam odpowiedź xdd ale pierwsza nutka bardzo dobra!

pierwsze tracki BDE energy na pełnej - 5/5 ale potem troche monotonnie

Każda pojedyncza piosenka nawet nieźle buja ale puszczone jedna po drugiej dają uczucie podobne do choroby lokomocyjnej

Geen flauw idee. Na het luisteren: veel Ohja die ken ik. Een heel album is teveel maar mooie toevoeging aan mijn "sitting on the dock of the bay playlist" welke voor het uitgebreide ontbijt in het weekend wordt gebruikt

שומעים את הבלוז הוא מאוד מורגש אלבום נחמד כניראה מי שאוהב בלוז או ג׳אז יהנה יותר

Decent proper blues

The songs get repetitive. I like hos voice and the instruments are exquisite. Not much to dislike here honestly. I can jam out to this, but it's not my first choice.

[6/10] Blues is not my thing but you can’t deny the stank on this one

Hoochie coochie blues

Cheating paranoia never sounded so smooth. (See also: Jimi Hendrix/Hey Joe.)

A classic and major influence on all of my faves.

noisy. better than expected

I grt why people love this. I peaked at mere enjoyment

Please don't cancel me, but a little of this goes a long way for me. An entire album of it was grueling TBH.

This is such fundamental, foundational stuff, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. It sounds like what I think stereotypical blues music sounds like, and I'm pretty sure that's because of this man. The only song that connected for me was I Want to Be Loved #2. But I can definitely see the merit of this album and feel grateful to have heard it.

Bloody good stuff that.

Ugh, Muddy Waters! This guy knew blues like nobody else, and him on the guitar is something else. The way he played the guitar had to be unique, partly for the electronic guitar, but the way his sound can be smooth yet increasing in tempo while remaining the blues. It's no wonder that he was such an inspiration for so many rock artists to come after him. One criticism is that the album comes across as one note since differentiating between songs can be difficult.

I am not super knowledgable on the discography of Muddy Waters, but I have to say, judging by "Hard Again" alone, I feel like the name "Muddy Waters" is SO appropriate. If you think of the blues genre as the "waters" (blue = water, right?), then this is blues that is a bit dirty, gritty, and funky...hence, muddy. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk on musical metaphors. Anyway, blues is rarely my preferred genre, but Muddy Waters just knocks it out of the park. His riffs on this album are absolutely raw and biting in the best way possible.

Tom and I “80 out of 5, too much history, I mean I might be wrong”

Enjoyable, and has opens strong. Drags on a little too long, but not anything unbearable. 3/5.

Det va bra, va nare ikkje blå nok

I get it but the riffs are repetitive (which I think is the point?). Anyways, I get it but not for me.

Pretty good. Has a good vibe.

Never should've gone electric (jk [kinda]).

Great blues album full of horn and moida.

Some blues staples in here, but it just doesn't resonate well with me.

Tror de havde det pisse sjovt da de optog den her og det smitter af!

Pretty badass. Opening the album with Mannish Boy was perfect. It let you know what you were in for. This kind of music is great, but without some variation, it could get pretty boring. Which is why I was pleased to hear livelier, different songs like I Want to Be Loved and “swampy” tunes like Down in Florida. This reminds me a lot of of my childhood and where I was born. And also the Blues Brothers, which is never a bad thing.

Johnny Winter (who also produced it) was credited on this album for "miscellaneous screams." This version of "Mannish Boy" may be the definitive one (thanks to Johnny's miscellaneous screams, of course.)

the only song i really enjoyed was “the blues had a baby and they named it rock and roll”. it had very nice guitar solos. instrumental skills are off the charts from everyone ofc. i just don’t love this. 3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Flottur blús en allt voðalega svipað

Great musicianship and a fun time but I don't think any blues song needs to be more than five minutes long.

Mannish Boy hits so hard, it set me up nicely for a record that I would have otherwise not been overly excited for. Muddy Waters’ sexually charged and dramatic take on soul is quite arresting initially, but I did find that the experience lulled into a bit of a pattern by the end.

Although I’m not a huge Blues fan this was still a very enjoyable album. I don’t know a lot about blues or blues history but if I had to imagine what a highly regarded blues album sounded like, it would sound like this. I added the entire album to my library. A lot of the songs sound similar (I think that’s just the nature of Blues?) but they were all very good.

Tasty blues. But blues is like chocolate to me, just can't eat too much of it.

This was one of the better blues albums I’ve listened too, but I think blues can get a tad repetitive after like 30mins

Classic 12 bar blues. Which after 40 straight minutes does get a bit repetitive. Any one of these songs in isolation is great. But one after the other lessens the experience.

Solid old school blues. Worth a second listen

Not a great deal of variety on this album. Great for historical value.

It's a good listen. Same ol' blues sound as always but not in a bad way, just really nothing surprising on here. Performances are passionate and mostly stay interesting throughout. 6/10

Genre: Chicago Blues I like the blues as much as the next guy, but I feel like this album is sort of an odd selection. I feel like picking one of Muddy Waters early, more influential releases makes sense here, and not his “return-to-form” record. This book kind of has a weird obsession with those. “Woah, this artist came back when they were older and made a hit album” is not necessarily deserving of the “essential” title. This is a fine record, with some songs that go on far too long for what they’re doing, but it’s fine. It’s the blues. You’ve heard it all before. 3/5

The Blues!!!!!! 3.5

I liked this, but not sure it would be aometbing I’d actively like to listen to for pleasure. U enjoy the raucous nature of the music, it’s wild and feels loose, like anything can happen. Not sure if it was recorded live but had that vibe. Lots of background hollering and interjections that give it a “performing with an engaged crowd.” Clearly performed by people who are the top of their game. Blues music for me feels like stuff I’ve heard again and again, though, similar structure and patterns repeated across artists and songs. And the predictability is comforting in some ways, but can get repetitive and boring to my ears.

Some good ol' fashioned blues and killer harmonica work, but it tends to grow a bit stale after listening to it a while.

This kind of blues can get a bit repetitive to me, but I liked it for the most part.

Very bluesy Great mixing, very clear instruments A nice relaxed vibe but no absolute stand out songs, it's more of a background vibe. But still very enjoyable

If you don’t like the blues this is not for you. I loved the energy and intensity. It sounds like a live album. Muddy is an authentic America original. Only criticism after listening to the entire album is it all starts to sound the same.

The og

Muddy Waters is the best - this is a good blues album, but I think his Chess Records blues style was more unique and impactful, whereas this record is more like polished bar-blues

I like blues sometimes, but this one is very repetitive... it's fine background music, but it's just not very engaging.

Not memorable to me, but not bad. Felt pretty repetitive, but that's probably just blues, baby.

Good

5,8/10 Mannish Boy est absolument génial mais le reste de l'album est vite répétitif.

3,4/5

Good, but quite traditional sounding, electric blues. 3.5 stars

I love the version of "Mannish Boy" here, but the rest is a little less successful for me. There's some other good tunes like "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "Crosseyed Cat", but a lot of it just veers into generic Chicago Blues territory. Still good though. 3.5 stars.

Not rock hard but maybe a medium 3.5 and a semi-classic late career Chicago Blues effort. Mannish Boy makes for a fine, firm start and there are fits and bursts of engorged blues greatness and vigour later on amongst the floppiness.

Don't like blues

Epic songs. Also, very many blues tunes. Fantastic record.

Off the cuff remark: well some blues I enjoy some I don't, this is the former. Though it never blows me away, I think I get why it does some people. Catching me at the right time is important and this time around it didn't, nt sure I have ever listened to a whole Muddy Waters album before and I may enjoy it more in short doeses? Standout track: the sheer bravado of The Blues Had A Baby and Named it Rock And Roll has to be worth something right? Revisit?: Love to listen to odd songs but not a whole album, I don't think.

i've wanted to listen to more blues albums so i thought this was a good one, needs the right vibe though

Great album

Ricardo y ojo: éstos tipos inventaron la mitad del rock argentino Nota: 3.2

Nicely produced but not my thing. Does not touch me.

Muddy Waters is a pioneer of Blues, this was a great record and I always enjoy his sound.

Obviously a legend but this is whatever for 1976

Great blues album, it really defines the genre well.

Blues is new for me! So while the songs blended a bit for me. I was head dancing - it was great.

Blues blues blues

Love the power of Mannish Boy.

I didn't think I liked the blues, but I would for sure give this another spin. 3.5

Classic blues, love it, feels like the brink of rock and roll

It’s about as good as the blues get. Very raw and energetic, and the production is pretty crisp and sounds like it was recorded live. Weirdly albini like. But it’s the blues and it’s hard to get excited about that at this point, to be honest

Maybe just not the biggest blues person? It's fun but I won't be going back to it.

Fand, die Songs sind etwas zu einem zusammengeflossen, hat mich weder umgehauen, noch genervt oder gelangweilt. Ganz gut gemacht.

3.0 Got tiring towards the end, songs just started to blend into one. Blues standards, good in small doses, but think I need a lie down now.

Great, familiar music. Was it groundbreaking? No idea, but it sounds good.

Straightforward blues with good performances throughout. The opening track "Mannish Boy" stood out to me the most. It has an great energy on the lead vocals and background vocals. The rest of the album blurred together for me.

So good! Love a bit of trad blues

It was okay, not my favorite but not bad.

It was interesting to step into the world of electric blues, and there’s no denying Muddy Waters’ presence. The raw energy and the swagger of the band are awesome. But after a while, the repetition and hyper-masculine energy wore thin for me.

Recognizable

A solid ten tracks of stomping Chicago Blues. Mannish Boy and I Can't Be Satisfied were standouts for me with the rest of it becoming a little one-note for my tastes.

Not too bad

I like but don't love blues. Enjoyed my listen and will keep the album in mind when I'm in the mood for more.

This is really well done, just not really a big blues fan

A solid blues album. I don't really know enough about blues to say much else.

Zoey liked it a lot.

Rating: 2.5 I usually try my best to get the blues thing but it’s hard when it’s so repetitive and every song never really goes anywhere. I understand the appeal of just kicking back and having a good time but my brain couldn’t find anything to latch onto. I can’t fault them for just getting a bunch of legendary skilled players together and seeing if magic would happen. In reality, it was fine.

Heard one, heard em all

Never really active listened to Blues, so that was an experience!

I never much cared for Mannish Boy. Some of the rest was pretty good but the blues just don’t get me if it’s not live and in person.

Probably a classic of the blues genre but not really my bag

Enjoyable enough, fun energy, but blues just ain't my cup of tea.

Unrelenting, don't really care for the blues but Muddy Waters is one of the best to do it. One of the best album titles I've ever heard.

I really enjoyed this album.

Good stuff. Very blue.

Meh

6/10

This is was mediocre album if I’m being honest. It did have great songs, but I feel like I’ve heard better blues elsewhere. I have heard of the artist, but I don’t know if I’d come back to the album. Since I don’t love it and I don’t hate it. I’m gonna have to give it a 3 out of 10, But honestly, it could be higher and it could be lower. Not exactly sure but I’m just gonna put it in the middle to be safe.

I can appreciate it, but not my cup of tea.

Muddy Waters - classic - Love the blues

Never really "got" blues like this... I mean, one song once in a while is fine. But an entire album of more or less the same shit is just not for me. But it does have its charm, I can't deny it that...

Good blues, got a little monotonous after a couple of songs

Long long blues

Blues muuuuy norteamericano. Está bien, pero para escucharlo de vez en cuando, ya que es bastante duro.

I like the second one I like the beat

I really enjoyed the first half of this album, especially the opener Mannish Boy, but started getting a bit bored while listening to the second half. This might be a bit sacrilegious for a guitar player to admit, but I can only listen to so much blues.

***A good album

Muddy Water - Hard Again 1977 I like the tones, the performances and the energy. I understand completely why this is included in the list. I get how foundational MW is to rock n roll and you'll never catch me being dismissive of him. That said, the blues bores the shit out of me. I've been playing music for 30 years and like any good rock n roller, I started with the blues, Muddy Waters included. I seem to remember having a Jimi Hendrix album where he just covered MW. I'm not going to claim I could join a blues jam and be amazing, but the mechanics of this style are so familiar, there's nothing that surprises me. I'll still give this three stars because the overdriven harmonica is pretty rad and MW will always get my respect.

I guess I enjoy it in the sense of how it inspired the artists I enjoy a lot, but I don't think I got much more out of it besides that

clear

Solid blues album, but very much middle of the road in my tastes.

Listenable.

solidan bluz

listened like a week ago. so idk

Blues ain't my thing... yet... maybe

Solid Muddy album but Folk Singer and Electric Mud are better

Vibey for sure 3

As this is a full notch below her other entries on this list, it makes sense that it never sold. One's a fan but doesn't hear much here to get excited about –  it's all too theatrical, melodramatic, stiff, non-flowing and excessively arty. Her view that it was a "she's gone mad" record shows considerable (and admirable) self-knowledge. It would seem that the "KB is the female Bowie" theory applies equally to the lowlights as well as the highlights.

This offered absolutely no surprises, it was fun though.

Rehtiä ja rehellistä bluesia. Ei omaa lempparia, tuntuu ehkä vähän liian toistavalta. Mutta silti ihan hyvä meno sen mitä levy kestää. Parhaat: Little Girl, Mannish Boy

This feels like something I'm supposed to really like. I think it's fine. It can get repetitive and long - especially if it's meant to be in the foreground. If it's a sideshow to drive the background, it works really well. It's as classic as classic gets on blues riffs, but that doesn't mean I want to dive into the deep end of it for the whole time. I think live would be a different story.

Better than I thought it was going to be, is this the original blues? If not, a lot of copy / paste going on as every song had that stereotypical blues elements.

Good bluesy rock 'n roll. What an opener with Mannish Boy! The rest of the album didn't live up to the first track, but was enjoyable nonetheless. Favourite tracks: Mannish Boy & I Can't Be be Satisfied Worth revisiting. 3.5/5

-Chicago blues music is cool as hell honestly. that harmonica feels like it’s trying to murder me in the best way… i do love the energy. impossible to hate on this really -and yet i will kind of almost try just by saying it went on for a bit too long… like damn. very strong first half though, i’m intrigued by this guy’s over-the-top swag -Favorites are I Want To Be Loved #2 and I Can’t Be Satisfied

Listened to the album while shoveling chicken shit and it felt great. I didn’t love Mannish Boy, too one idea for 6 minutes for me, but the rest was some great one idea for 6 minutes. It really was that mannish boy stayed on that one riff and never went to the 4 or 5 or anything. The rest was great blues music and some of it was too long. High three.

Liked listening to this album, but it felt pretty 1 dimensional. Obviously blues will be blues, but it felt that Muddy found something that works, and stretched it out across the album. Mannish Boy was a trip. Weak 3/5

very pleasant, i kinda couldn't tell the different songs apart but there wasn't anything i disliked. i feel like it would be fun to hang out in a bar or saloon with this music.

Wasn't that a man!? Fitting to have this followed by The Band. I rewatched The Last Waltz on repeat as a kid and it started by (literally) fast forwarding over most of the The Band songs and finding the guest performances. Muddy Waters 'Manish Boy' was one of those. In that performance they have Paul Butterfield playing one continuous droning note on the harmonica (which is fucking sick). The song was originally written and recorded in 1955 but this version is the lasting one. Its burned into my mind in the downfall sequence of Goodfellas. I've heard a lot of "this was the first rap song" but IMO this is it. Closing thought on this song - it is fucking GREAT. That said - the rest of the album did not do it for me. Blues really is just too limiting compared to other genres and to make it work everything else has to be perfect. In this case it fell short. Some of the guitars i thought were pretty weak. Either way, Muddy Waters was more man than I'll ever be and props to him for that.

A whole lot of rollicking bass and wailing harmonica and twanging guitar and mourning blues...over and over. I guess this was a Historically Important Album, but taken out of context it's just a pretty one-note. Seems unfair to judge it now. One star for fun bluesiness, one star for being apparently extremely influential on rock and roll, and one star for a great name. I should have named my son Muddy Waters

Öreg hobo zene

Cool

Pretty good! Sets a really nice vibe, although it is more background music than something I could listen to with full attention. I loved the guitar.

Clearly very good…I just still don’t really like the blues.

It just feels too constrained in its own pattern, a systemic problem with Blues. The first minute is great, it its repeated for the next 4. It gets tiresome.

Good vibe but once you've heard one song you've heard them all.

Solid album but it didn't set my world alight. I wouldn't choose to put this on but wouldn't complain if someone else did.

I like Mannish Boy and the rest of it is good too...

Как джаз норм, но джаз - не моё

Yeah. Muddy knows his traditional blues.

3.5 - some classic blues. Although it got a little repetitive

MW sounds great at 71 and there’s no doubt these musicians are at the top of their game. Strangely the electrification (Judas!) makes it more rock and somehow less blues.

I do like some blues and this was great, a great vibe. Probably wouldn't listen to again specifically but I did enjoy it while getting through my to do list this evening!

Really distinctive sound.

Great stuff!

All of the songs sound identical

Мадди Вотерса всегда предпочту Роллинг Стоунз. Но альбом особенно не тронул.

Muy monótono. Con excelente solos de guitarra

Beatið í fyrsta laginu er soldið eins og trouble með elvis tihihi Þetta er kinda groovy Ekki alveg mitt vibe en ég appreciatea þetta samt

Muy divertido, muy clásico. Si te gustan las guitarras debe ser un disco a venerar. Me guardo "Mannish boy" y "I can't be satisfied".

Not a blues guy but still a fun listen. The quality of the production is really what carries it for me.