In its original edition as a 1979 live album,
Muddy "Mississippi" Waters Live was a pleasing addition to the great bluesman's catalog. The first CD here is a straight reissue of the 1979 LP, the second disc including no less than an hour of additional music. All of the music on disc two was previously unreleased, and all of it was recorded at the same August 1978 shows that yielded the bulk of the original LP. It's the second disc, naturally, that will hold the most interest for
Waters fans. These are good performances with good backup musicians, including
Johnny Winter,
Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson, and
Bob Margolin on guitars,
James Cotton on harmonica, and
Pinetop Perkins on piano. Most of the songs are old chestnuts and include "Hoochie Coochie Man," "Got My Mojo Workin'," and "Mannish Boy." There are a few songs that aren't as commonly available by
Waters in live variations, like "Champagne and Reefer," performed here prior to its release on
King Bee (with
Waters stumbling on some of the lyrics); the traditional "Corrina, Corrina"; an "After Hours"/"Stormy Monday Blues" medley; "Kansas City," on which vocals are shared by
Waters and
Perkins; and "Trouble No More," which according to
Margolin's liner notes "is one of the very few live versions of this song." ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide