Muddy Waters Hard Again 180g LP (Vinyl)

2021 Stereophile Magazine Record to Die For!

180g Audiophile Vinyl Mastered by Friday Music's Joe Reagoso & AcousTech's Kevin Gray From Original Blue Sky/Epic Records Tapes!

Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time - "Mannish Boy" - Rated 230/500!

The sorely missed Muddy Waters was one of the blues most important voices. From the late forties until his passing in 1983, he made a ton of incredible recordings and major contributions to history of blues, folk and of course rock and roll.

In 1977, after Muddy Waters' long run with Chess Records, his major fan, friend, and living blues rock legend himself Johnny Winter assembled the ingredients of what would soon be a Grammy Award winning venture with Muddy Waters entitled Hard Again.

Hard Again showed the master bluesman at his finest hour. With the hard driving production and genius guitar work of Johnny Winter, the great James Cotton on harmonica, keyboard great Pinetop Perkins, Willie Smith on drums, Bob Margolin on guitar and Charles Chalmers on bass, the cast was set for a once in a lifetime blues event.

This colossal recording jumps right into the hard rockin’ Mannish Boy. Hearing Muddy belting out “I’m A Man” and Johnny Winter shouting in the background is worth the price of admission. This is a total blues rock affair that has never been repeated, as this track has influenced a plethora of blues/rock musicians since its release.

His acoustic blues folk bag, the country blues if you will, gets a definitive showcase here with another classic revisit with I Can’t Be Satisfied. With its impeccable percussive groove from Willie Smith, and the clever acoustic guitar workings of the Bob Margolin, Johnny and Muddy together, this was another stand-out from this session.

More defining moments like the rockin’ Bus Driver, the soulful Little Girl and the autobiographical The Blues Had A Baby And They Named It Rock And Roll all made this Muddy Waters album the classic that it is today, and will forever be!

Friday Music is very proud and pleased to announce the limited edition 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl release of Hard Again. This first time ever issued LP in the HQ format is truly one remarkable keeper for the audiophile domain. Mastered from the original Blue Sky/Epic Records tapes by Joe Reagoso and Kevin Gray at AcousTech and pressed impeccably at RTI, they've also included a very limited gatefold cover with two more historic photos of the blues legend.

Hard Again by Muddy Waters on 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl is a blues’ fans dream come true and a reality today from your friends at the Friday Music label...ROCK ON!

"After Waters heard Bo Diddley audition 'I'm a Man' for Chess, he replied with 'Mannish Boy.' (Diddley got a credit as McDaniel, his real name.) Both songs were issued in 1955 and shot into the R&B Top 10. 'When I heard him, I realized the connection between all the music I heard,' Keith Richards said of Waters. 'He was like the code book.'" - Rolling Stone

A founding father of the electric blues, Muddy Waters made a new start in the mid-'70s and birthed this classic. Recorded live in the room, it bursts from the speakers like an electric tsunami. At age 63, Muddy threw down a mark to all other bluesmen that he was far from done: He hereby set the tone for the harder blues preferred by a younger generation raised on rock. Soundwise, it is hardly 'audiophile' or subtle. This is raw electric blues coming at you like a hell-bound train. Listen loud, on big speakers, and you will not sit still.

Features:
• Limited Edition
• 180g Audiophile Vinyl
• Mastered from Original Blue Sky/Epic Records Tapes
• Mastered by Joe Reagoso & Kevin Gray at AcousTech
• Pressed at RTI
• Gatefold cover

Musicians:
Muddy Waters, vocals, guitar
Johnny Winter, miscellaneous screaming, guitar
James Cotton, harp
"Pine Top" Perkins, piano
Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, drums
Bob Margolin, guitar
Charles Chalmers, bass

Selections:
1. Mannish Boy
2. Bus Driver
3. I Want To Be Loved
4. Jealous Hearted Man
5. I Can't Be Satisfied
6. The Blues Had a Baby and They Named It Rock & Roll (#2)
7. Deep Down In Florida
8. Crosseyed Cat
9. Little Girl