Muddy Waters Stepping Stones CD

2009 four disc (three CDs + NTSC/Region 0 DVD) set that is comprised of songs that Muddy covered, Muddy's versions of these songs and some of Muddy's original works. By amplifying the Delta Blues of Robert Johnson and Son House, Waters' made a new variation of the blues, which became hugely influential. The Rolling Stones, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and many others would have sounded very different if it wasn't for Muddy Waters. The accompanying DVD contains interviews with Sid Griffin, Charlie Musselwhite and Nigel Williamson. Proper.

The U.K.'s Proper imprint usually gets it right when it comes to reissues. That said, the trio of Chicago blues collections they released in 2009: Rollin' Stone, Headhunters, and I'm Ready all revolve around Waters in some way. Headhunters includes 20 tracks by Waters' associates and those he influenced, Rollin' Stone features Waters covering and rewriting tunes by both his influences and contemporaries; each version is included in sequence, and I'm Ready (not to be confused with the set of the same title issued by Blue Sky/Sony Legacy) is all Waters, from his beginnings in Chicago in the '40s through his heyday in the '60s. This box set simply collects all three volumes in a handsome package and includes a 78-page book and a bonus DVD entitled Talkin' Muddy Waters, a documentary featuring numerous artists and critics being interviewed about Muddy. The DVD may be unnecessary, and it's hard to imagine justifying the purchase of this set when each volume is attractively priced on its own; but hardcore Muddy fans will more than likely be ordering this without reservation. ~ Thom Jurek