Hard Again
It's seems strange now to think of Muddy Waters's having to make a "comeback," but that's what the 1977Hard Againcame down to. The great bluesman's first post-Chessrecording after 30 years with that company, it marked Waters's major-label debut and eventually went gold. The over-60 Waters lived up to all the attention with one of his most energetic, sustained performances, bettering his original version of "Mannish Boy," pushing "Bus Driver" to a raging peak, and generally sounding like the wisest man on record. Harp playerJames Cottonand producer-guitaristJohnny Winterare among the support; they both stay out of Waters's way and give as good as they get.--Rickey Wright