Search - Muddy Waters :: One More Mile: Chess Collectibles 1

On par

wednightprayermeeting | Bellview, CA | 09/17/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a Muddy compilation, spanning 1948 to '72. Contained are alternate takes, and obscure material. All of the music is on par, if not equaling/bettering Muddy's previous album cuts. Contains a live radio broadcast from 1972 Switzerland, trio acoustic with MoJo Buford on harp and Louis Meyers on guitar. "Rock Me," "Hoochie Coochie Man," "Standin' Round Cryin'," "Baby Please Don't Go," and "Streamline Woman" are familiar tunes done in an unfamiliar atmosphere. Plus 8 or so more tunes. The sound of the acoustic trio is much more cerebral than Muddy's electric cuts.The second track is an instrumental, "Muddy Jumps One,"(1948) featuring Ernest Crawford on bass, and Leroy Foster on second guitar. This song is pure HISTORY. This is, I believe, the first recorded Rock and Roll tune. It is not a pure blues, that is for sure. This song is the basis for my conclusion that Muddy invented Rock and Roll. Muddy was a cornerstone in Chuck Berry's trend setting band on Berry's first Chess sides, furthering my prior statement.Other than picking up this double disker up for it's historical value only, offered are alternate versions of "Country Boy," "Rollin' Stone," "She's So Pretty," and "Tiger In Your Tank," among others. All recorded around the time that each was originally released in the '50s/'60s. These takes equal, give an enlightening perspective of, or exceed the standards set by the original album cut of each.If you dig all things Muddy, this is a must.Masterful."

Once you have the essentials, this is where you go for more

Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 01/11/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

""One More Mile" gathes 41 tracks, none of which are found on the Chess Box, and most of which have never before been available on an official US release.



Much of this fine material is equal in quality to Waters' better known output, and "One More Mile" includes lots of rarities and alternates spanning the late '40s to the early '70s, with some special points of interest: the original 1955 version of "I Want To Be Loved", which was covered by the Rolling Stones on the B-side of their very first single, and 11 songs from a previously unreleased 1972 Swiss radio broadcast, showcasing Muddy performing with a drummer-less trio.



The late-40s songs on disc 1 are among the best, showing Muddy's prowess on the slide guitar. On these lean, mean renditions of "Rollin' And Tumblin' pt. 2", "Burying Ground" and "You Gonna Need My Help", Waters is accompanied only by bassist Ernest "Big" Crawford, and this raw slide playing is some of the best I've ever heard him do.

But there are plenty of other highlights on the first disc, including the swinging, band-backed "She's So Pretty" (on which Willie Dixon plays "basss", according to the liner notes), the alternate versions of "I Want To Be Loved" and "Crawlin' Kingsnake", Sonny Boy Williamson's "Elevate Me Mama", and the soulful slow "Lonesome Room Blues".



Muddy's rendition of Junior Wells' (or rather Mel London's) "Messin' With The Kid", which is called "Messin' With The Man", is actually really good as well, in spite of a silly attempt to alter the song enough to make it a "Muddy-song" rather than a Junior Wells-song.

Muddy's version of pianist Eddie Boyd's classic "Five Long Years" is not quite as good as Boyds' original, but he does a pretty decent "You Don't Have To Go" (although it doesn't sound quite right without Jimmy Reed's drawling, mush-mouth delivery).



There's also a lot of pianist Otis Spann here, which is alway a good thing, and drummer extraordinaire Fred Below is particularly great on "Oh Yeah". And "One More Mile" also includes the infamous take of "Country Boy", which features Leonard Chess pounding the bass drum. He's not all that great, though.



Disc 2 is highlighted by "Early In The Morning Blues" (a rip-off of John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson's "Early In The Morning"), the fine slow numbers "One More Mile" and "Come Back Baby", and an interesting take on Richard Jones' jazz/blues-standart "Trouble In Mind".

The awful organ playing on "Trouble, Trouble" is inexcusable, but the last eleven songs on disc 2, the acoustic trio performance, are quite interesting. Waters, second guitarist Louis Myers, and harpist George "Mojo" Buford lay down raw, stripped-down versions of "My Pencil Won't Write No More", "Rock Me", "Hoochie Coochie Man", "You Can't Lose What You Never Had", and Big Joe Williams' "Baby Please Don't Go". Most of them are very good, although the two-guitars-and-a-harmonica arrangements are a little bit monotous at times.



All in all, this is a surprisingly good addition to Muddy Waters' already magnificent legacy, and a fine purchase for Muddy-fans. Not the place to start, but a great addition to your collection once you have the essentials.

Definitely recommended."

Really Good

Arckitekt | Boston | 10/21/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was fortunate to see Muddy perform in Bozeman, Montana 1982. Waters plays a clear and optimistic sounding blues which is One More Mile. So very real and alive as though Muddy is in your living room while the Lausanne tracks without drums are particularly captivating. A long album that covers a lot of territory, its excellent, man is class A."