''Hard Again'' is a studio album by American blues singer

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

. Released on January 10, 1977, it was the first of his albums produced by

Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer and guitarist. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums and live performances in the late 1960s and 1970s. He also produced three Grammy Award-win ...

. ''Hard Again'' was Waters's first album on

Blue Sky Records Blue Sky Records was a custom record label created by Steve Paul for Columbia Records, featuring acts managed by Steve Paul, primarily blues-oriented performers Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter, Rick Derringer, Dan Hartman, David Johansen, and Muddy Wa ...

after leaving

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll ...

and was well received by critics.

Background

In August 1975, Chess Records was sold to All Platinum Records and became a reissue label only. Waters left sometime after this, and did not record any new studio material until he signed with Johnny Winter's Blue Sky label in October 1976.

Recording

''Hard Again'' was recorded in three days. Producing the session was Johnny Winter and

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

the sessions was Dave Still – who previously engineered Johnny's brother

Edgar Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, rev ...

Foghat Foghat are an English rock band formed in London in 1971. The band is known for the use of electric slide guitar in its music. The band has achieved eight gold records, one platinum and one double platinum record, and despite several line-up c ...

, and

Alan Merrill Alan Merrill (born Allan Preston Sachs; February 19, 1951 – March 29, 2020) was an American vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. In the early 1970s, he was one of the few resident foreigners to achieve pop star status in Japan. He was the write ...

. Waters used his touring band of the time, consisting of guitarist

Bob Margolin Bob Margolin (born May 9, 1949) is an American electric blues guitarist. His nickname is Steady Rollin'. Biography Margolin started playing guitar in 1964, and his first appearance on record was with Boston psychedelic band The Freeborne, and the ...

, pianist

Pinetop Perkins Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins (July 7, 1913 – March 21, 2011) was an American blues pianist. He played with some of the most influential blues and rock-and-roll performers of his time and received numerous honors, including a Grammy Life ...

, and drummer

Willie "Big Eyes" Smith Willie Lee "Big Eyes" Smith (January 19, 1936 – September 16, 2011) was an American electric blues vocalist, harmonica player, and drummer. He was best known for several stints with the Muddy Waters band beginning in the early 1960s. Biogra ...

. Other backing members during the sessions were harmonicist

James Cotton James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many fellow blues artists and with his own band. He also played drums early in his career. ...

and bassist Charles Calmese, who performed with both Johnny Winter and James Cotton in the past.

Songs

Three of the songs on the album – "

Mannish Boy "Mannish Boy" (or "Manish Boy" as it was first labeled) is a blues standard written by Muddy Waters, Mel London, and Bo Diddley (with Waters and Diddley being credited under their birth names). First recorded in 1955 by Waters, it serves as an " ...

", "I Want to Be Loved", and "I Can't Be Satisfied" – were re-recordings of songs that were previously recorded for Chess Records. One song, "The Blues Had a Baby and They Named It Rock and Roll, Pt. 2", was co-written with

Brownie McGhee Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee (November 30, 1915 – February 16, 1996) was an American folk music and Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaboration with the harmonica player Sonny Terry. Life and career McGhee wa ...

and another song, "Bus Driver", was co-written with Terry Abrahamson. An outtake from the recording sessions, "Walking Through the Park", appeared on the 2004

Legacy Recordings Legacy Recordings is an American record label that is a division of Sony Music. Formed in 1990 after Sony's acquisition of CBS Records, Legacy originally handled the archives of Sony Music-owned labels Columbia Records and Epic Records. In 20 ...

reissue CD, while several more unused tracks appeared on '' King Bee'' in 1981.

Reception

The album was well received by music critics. John Quaintance of

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called it "a remarkable album" and a "return to form" for Muddy Waters, commenting that "Johnny Winter, ... James Cotton, Pinetop Perkins, Bob Margolin, Charles Calmese and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith are all thrilled to be in the same room with Muddy, and it shows, as they lay down a serious foundation for the old master who struts and brags like it's 1950 again." '' Q'' called it "a guaranteed delight" for "students of the post-war blues", while ''

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' stated, "Singing, uddy isplayful and proud, brawny and insistent, his free-flow of inspiration spreading to his superlative road band". Dan Oppenheimer of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine said that "Mannish Boy" sounded like it was recorded live, while both Oppenheimer and Daniel Gioffre of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

state how powerful Willie "Big Eyes" Smith's drumming is. Oppenheimer and Gioffre both share the opinion that ''Hard Again'' is Muddy Waters comeback album. In ''

The New Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'' (2004), ''Rolling Stone'' journalist

Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born March 1, 1950) is an American music critic, and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of ''Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as ''Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone (magazine), ...

said "Johnny Winter provided the sensitive production touch otherwise lacking on some of uddy'searly '70s recordings." In his consumer guide for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'',

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

attributed the record's intense quality to "the natural enthusiasm of an inspired collaboration", and remarked on its standing in

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of the first half of the twentieth cent ...

, "except maybe for

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimm ...

's ''

Live at the Regal ''Live at the Regal'' is a 1965 live album by American blues guitarist and singer B.B. King. It was recorded on November 21, 1964, at the Regal Theater in Chicago. The album is widely heralded as one of the greatest blues albums ever recorded an ...

'' and

Otis Spann Otis Spann (March 21, 1924 or 1930April 24, 1970) was an American blues musician, whom many consider to be the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist. Early life Sources differ over Spann's early years. Some state that he was born in Jackson, Miss ...

's ''Walking the Blues'' (oh, there must be others, but let me go on) I can't recall a better blues ''album'' than this." In a later review for ''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen appliance, kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsion, emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender ...

'', the critic found Muddy Waters to be in "virile voice" and commented that "all-star musicians and fresh prospects stimulate the excitement promised in the title."

Charts and awards

''Hard Again'' peaked at #143 on the ''Billboard'' 200, which was his first appearance on the chart since ''Fathers and Sons'' in 1969. The album won the

Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording The Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording was awarded from 1960 to 1986. During this time the award had several minor name changes: *From 1960 to 1961 the award was known as Best Performance - Folk *From 1962 to 1967 it was awa ...

the year of its release.Grammy Award Winners Search Engine
. Type in "Muddy Waters" under ''Artist'' to see results.

Track listing

All tracks are composed by Muddy Waters (listed as McKinley Morganfield), except where noted.

Personnel

The following contributed to ''Hard Again'': Musicians *Muddy Waters – vocals, guitar *

– guitar *

– piano *

– harmonica *

– drums *Charles Calmese – bass guitar *

– guitar,

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

, miscellaneous screams Technical *Dave Still –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

*Andy Manganello – assistant engineer * Joseph M. Palmaccio – mastering *Al Quaglieri – reissue producer *Chris Theis –

mix engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

Release history

References

External links

musicbox-online ''Hard Again'' album review
* {{Authority control Muddy Waters albums 1977 albums Legacy Recordings albums Albums produced by Johnny Winter Blue Sky Records albums Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording