MUDDY WATERS After the Rain 69 HEAVY fuzz psych LP HEAR

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62

Blues purists routinely diss Muddy Waters’ 1968 psychedelic album “Electric Mud” as his “sell-out” to the rock industry, but few, including Muddy, remember that he recorded the album WILLINGLY, as an attempt to reach out to the younger audience.  Even fewer people realize that, even when supposedly “selling out”, “Electric Mud” STILL influenced a TON of talented musicians, among them Jimi Hendrix (who often listened to the album before taking stage), John Bonham (who cited the album as a direct influence for the guitar riff on “Black Dog”) and Chuck D (who claims to have listened to it “thousands of times” and called it “a brilliant record”).  And besides, if it were such a big mistake at the time, why would Muddy and the same crew get back in the studio one year later and record yet ANOTHER psychedelic blues album – this one, 1969’s “After the Rain.”  Muddy’s second (and last) rock album is largely forgotten in the shadow of “Electric Mud” – consequently, it’s never been reissued and is infinitely harder to find today.  Which is a shame, because here Muddy brings back some of his old Chicago blues band members – Otis Spann on piano and Paul Oscher on harmonica – to give “After the Rain” a more authentic mix of psychedelic rock and Chicago blues than its predecessor.  And unlike “Electric Mud”, where Muddy contributed only his deep growling vocals, here he finally gets to unholster HIS guitar and show the kids how it’s done.  And does he ever!  It’s nice to see a genuine blues legend crush overhyped scrawny English white boys on a monster blues workout like “Ramblin Mind” – Muddy’s fuzzed-out guitar shrieks and moans like a demon possessed, while the elephantine rhythm section churn out a city-levelling mega-stomp of blues funk power.  This is genuinely evil blues, a big growling Balrog of fuzzed-out destruction that shows you what Cream might’ve sounded like with balls.  Clapton is God?  Then I guess the Lord has a father.  Likewise, the classic Chicago blues “Hurtin’ Soul” slithers from your speakers like a venomous copperhead.  The Doors would record “Crawling King Snake” one year later, and Muddy would shrug and say “Aww, that’s kinda cute.”  Biggest surprise here, Muddy goes funk – the chooglin’ “Bottom of the Sea” has a swampy CCR sound to it – and pits Muddy’s monster slide guitar against an innovative bowed bassline to give off a deep funk sound that sired the folks over at Parliament Funkadelic.  Sure, Muddy’s blues purists hated this new direction, but if we’d all heeded our faithful followers, Dylan would still be acoustic.  Sadly, Muddy listened, and went back to standard blues the following year.  And somewhere, Clapton, Clinton, Page, Plant and Morrison, along with countless other would-be blues and funk musicians, let out a hushed, but collective, “thank you.” 

Original 1969 even rarer FRENCH pressing on the CHESS label.  Cover's in VG+ shape with some slight discoloration on the back cover, tiny sticker residue and small 1-inch split on spine.  Vinyl has very, very light superficial handling scuffs, plays super strong EXCELLENT with little if any surface noise. 

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