| The London Muddy Waters Sessions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1972 | |||
| Studio | IBC, London. Horns at The Record Plant, New York City | |||
| Genre | Blues | |||
| Label | Chess | |||
| Producer | Esmond Edwards, Ian Green | |||
| Muddy Waters chronology | ||||
| ||||
| London Sessions chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B[1] |
| The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings |    [2] |
| Select |   [3] |
The London Muddy Waters Sessions is a studio album byMuddy Waters, released in 1972 onChess Records. A follow-up to 1971'sThe London Howlin' Wolf Sessions, the concept was to combine American bluesmen with British and Irish blues/rock stars. The album was an attempt to capitalise on the increasing popularity of traditional blues music and blues artists in Britain.[4][5]
The London Muddy Waters Sessions won the 1972Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording; it marked the second of six times that Muddy Waters would win that award.
The album features Waters onslide andacoustic guitar, backed bySammy Lawhorn and IrishmanRory Gallagher on guitar,Carey Bell Harrington on harmonica,Rick Grech on bass,Georgie Fame (credited as "George Fortune") andSteve Winwood on piano and organ,Mitch Mitchell fromJimi Hendrix Experience and Herbie Lovelle on drums andRosetta Hightower on vocals, Ernie Royal and Joe Newman on trumpet, Garnett Brown on trombone and Seldon Powell on tenor saxophone.
Irish blues-rocker Gallagher, who began a successful solo career following the demise of his trio,Taste, played on three tracks, providing solos on "Young Fashion Ways" and two others. Winwood reprised his keyboard role on the Howlin' Wolf sessions, making appearances on three tracks. Fame, a swinging-jazz-blues player who went on to collaborating with Van Morrison, played on the remaining tracks.
Mitchell, who had worked with Georgie Fame's Blues Flames prior to joining theJimi Hendrix Experience and drew his greatest inspiration from jazzmen such asElvin Jones, played on most of the album. On the shuffles like "I'm Ready" and "Blind Man Blues", the drummer is New York session veteran Lovelle.
Grech was best known as one-fourth ofBlind Faith, together with Winwood. It is also noteworthy that Blind Faith included two ex-Cream members,Ginger Baker andEric Clapton – the latter having played onThe London Howlin' Wolf Sessions, while Grech had previously been a member ofTraffic, another band featuring Winwood.
Blues harp manCarey Bell was essential. Like Muddy, Bell was born in Mississippi and came of age in Chicago; like Lawhorn, he was a long-time member of Muddy Waters' band, having previously worked withJohn Lee Hooker, Eddie Taylor andEarl Hooker. Bell alternated between a standardMarine Band harp and the big double-key chromatic harp which was his specialty.
