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Hard Again | 
| Artist: Muddy Waters
Label: Sony Jazz
Category: Music
List Price: £8.99
Buy New: £6.47
You Save: £2.52 (28%)
New (26) Used (5) from £3.68
Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 58782
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
EAN: 5099751516125
ASIN: B00022GJ4M
Release Date: May 31, 2004
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Tracks:
| • | Mannish Boy | | • | Bus Driver | | • | I Want To Be Loved | | • | Jealous Hearted Man | | • | I Can't Be Satisfied | | • | The Blues Had A Baby And They Named It Rock And Roll #2 | | • | Deep Down In Florida | | • | Crosseyed Cat | | • | Little Girl | | • | Walking Through The Park |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
It's seems strange now to think of Muddy Waters's having to make a "comeback," but that's what the 1977 Hard Again came down to. The great bluesman's first post-Chess recording after 30 years with that company, it marked Waters's major-label debut and eventually went gold. The over-60 Waters lived up to all the attention with one of his most energetic, sustained performances, bettering his original version of "Mannish Boy," pushing "Bus Driver" to a raging peak, and generally sounding like the wisest man on record. Harp player James Cotton and producer-guitarist Johnny Winter are among the support; they both stay out of Waters's way and give as good as they get. --Rickey Wright
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
Truly a great album March 21, 2008
I bought this album when it came out and I still can't hear it enough! Muddy Waters was a true great, of course, and so much of what he has done is cherishable, but this one with it's band of great blues artists and the new sound that Johnny Winter put together for them is just so outrageously, raucously contemporary (it still sounds that way after all these years) ... . Buy this one and buy it's true companion (Johnny Winter's "Nothin but the blues") now!
Hard Again? Well, I never knew he ever got soft ! September 1, 2006
24 out of 25 found this review helpful
"Hard Again" was the first in a series of four albums recorded by Muddy Waters between 1976 and 1978 for the Blue Sky label (which was Johnny Winter's manager' own imprint). This album was released in 1977 and was duly received with a lot of acclaim, not only from seasoned blues aficionados but - more importantly - by a lot of younger rock fans who mostly knew the man by the countless cover versions of his songs by rock/blues bands.
This record was also a boon for Muddy Waters who had become ill served for years by his old, crumbling Chess label.
Johnny Winter, who masterminded both the record deal and the recording sessions, was astute enough, artistically at least,
not to drown the main man in a sea of well-known "hot shots" rock guitarists and singers (Winter himself could really play the blues, curbing here his own excesses). Muddy plays with his great sounding road band, augmented by former band member Jimmy Cotton (ace harmonica!).
The result was seen as a startling "comeback" and a gritty demonstration of the master who was really at the top of his game, whilst thoroughly enjoying the proceedings.
It has been argued that the material here relies too much on familiar material but this is not the point; one of Winter's objectives - besides recording with one of his blues heroes - was to get Muddy Waters across a new audience and this was easier to do with his better known tunes. Besides, the "new" material sounds very much like ... the old (which is a compliment, by the way.) I think one has to rejoice that a blues giant like Muddy Waters finally got a deal with a major record distributor (Columbia) enabling him, aged 62, to tour and play to bigger and younger audiences with so much panache.
I wonder why Muddy did not play his own electric slide Telecaster on these recordings. I had the good fortune to see him live at the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague in July 1977 (not long after the release of "Hard Again") and his slide playing was truly ... wow ... visceral, powerful and truly magical (Johnny Winter was not there and Paul Oscher - I think - played the harp). By the way, I feel that, at times, Johnny Winter's slide "embellishments" distract from the "true grist" of the music. This is, however, a minor complaint.
This Epic/Legacy remastered edition features one additional track. The sound on the original US LP was already very much "in your face" (I assume this was due to both artistic and commercial choices.) However, I feel that the new remastering emphasizes this effect. The overall sound becomes somewhat fatiguing to me after listening for a while (when playing the CD at "realistic" - not excessive - loudness levels.) This indicates that too much compression has been used in both original recording and new remastering to make the album sound "louder" but at the expense of the shadings in the music (could this be another reason why the chosen title was "Hard Again"?)
The booklet, including recollections by original guitarist Bob Margolin, is very well done and informative. Margolin really puts the whole project in proper perspective.
Anyway, this CD is certainly a good one to listen to Muddy Waters, especially for those unfamiliar with the artist. If you enjoy this CD, try to listen to the wonderfully remastered double CD: "The Anthology: 1947 - 1972". You sure will not regret it. Enjoy.
First of three killer albums March 23, 2006
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
Most of the old blues legends hit their peak in the 40s or 50s and then petered out. Muddy Waters however had a remarkable resurgence of energy and creativity right at the end of his life, when he teamed up with Johnny Winter and a killer band to record three stunning albums for the Blue Sky Label. This, from 1977, is the first of them. Sleazy, greasy R&B is what you get here. James Cotton on harp. Pintetop Perkins on the piano. Sizzling stuff.
Oh yeah! February 26, 2006
6 out of 14 found this review helpful
If you like real blues you`ll love this. The album has a terrific feel, and at the end of each track you can hear the artists making enthusiastic comments - "Get that one down!", "All right!" etc. It`s obvious they`re having a ball. Do buy this one.
True Muddy Waters December 2, 2004
9 out of 17 found this review helpful
This is a great Muddy Waters album with a useful contribution by Johnny Winter (can be heard in the background).
In difference to much of the Water's back catalogue, the sound quality is exceptional.A MUST buy for Blues Fans.
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