This is the first of two super session albums that Chess produced in the late '60s. Time has been a bit kinder to this one, featuring
Muddy,
Bo Diddley and Little Walter, than the one cut a year later with
Howlin' Wolf standing in for
Walter. It's loose and extremely sloppy, the time gets pushed around here and there and
Little Walter's obviously in bad shape, his voice rusted to a croak and trying to blow with a collapsed lung. But there are moments where
Bo's heavily tremoloed guitar sounds just fine and the band kicks it in a few spots and
Muddy seems to be genuinely enjoying himself. Granted, these moments are few and way too far between, but at least nobody's playing a wah-wah pedal on here. ~ Cub Koda