The Complete Plantation Recordings
Compilation album by
Muddy Waters
ReleasedJune 8, 1993
RecordedAugust 24, 1941 - July 24, 1942
StudioStovall's Plantation and Clarksdale, MS
GenreBlues
Length61:39
LabelChess
CHD-9344
ProducerAlan Lomax, John Work, Andy McKaie
Muddy Waters chronology
Blues Sky
(1992) 		The Complete Plantation Recordings
(1993) 		One More Mile
(1994)
Down on Stovall’s Plantation Cover

The Complete Plantation Recordings, subtitled The Historic 1941-42 Library of Congress Field Recordings, is a compilation album of the blues musician Muddy Waters' first recordings collected by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress in 1941-42 and released by the Chess label in 1993.[1] Lomax recorded Waters at Stovall Farm in Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1941 and returned the following year to make additional recordings.[2] Thirteen tracks were originally released as Down on Stovall’s Plantation in 1966 on Testament Records.[3][4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
(Down on Stovall’s Plantation)
AllMusic[5]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings[6]

The album was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001 as a Classic of Blues Recording.[7]

The AllMusic reviewer Cub Koda wrote, "At long last, Muddy's historic 1941-1942 Library of Congress field recordings are all collected in one place, with the best fidelity that's been heard thus far. ... Of particular note are the inclusion of several interview segments with Muddy from that embryonic period and a photo of Muddy playing on the porch of his cabin, dressed up and looking sharper than any Mississippi sharecropper on Stovall's plantation you could possibly imagine. This much more than just an important historical document; this is some really fine music imbued with a sense of place, time and loads of ambience."[5]

Track listing

All compositions credited to McKinley Morganfield except where noted

  1. "Country Blues" [Number One] – 3:32
  2. Interview #1 – 3:51 Previously unissued
  3. "I Be's Troubled" – 3:04
  4. Interview #2 – 1:50 Previously unissued
  5. "Burr Clover Farm Blues" – 2:54 Previously unissued
  6. Interview #3 – 1:13 Previously unissued
  7. "Ramblin' Kid Blues" [Partial] – 1:10 Previously unissued
  8. "Ramblin' Kid Blues" – 3:15
  9. "Rosalie" – 3:02
  10. "Joe Turner" (Writer Unknown)– 2:46
  11. "Pearlie May Blues" (Writer Unknown) – 3:25
  12. "Take a Walk With Me" – 3:04
  13. "Burr Clover Blues" – 3:13
  14. Interview #4 – 0:34 Previously unissued
  15. "I Be Bound to Write You" [First Version] – 3:25
  16. "I Be Bound to Write You" [Second Version] – 2:52 Previously unissued
  17. "You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone" – 3:25
  18. "You Got to Take Sick and Die Some of These Days" – 2:08
  19. "Why Don't You Live So God Can Use You?" – 2:07
  20. "Country Blues" [Number Two] – 3:34
  21. "You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone" – 3:40 Previously unissued
  22. "32-20 Blues" (Robert Johnson) – 3:22 Previously unissued

Personnel

References

  1. ^ Wirz' American Music: Muddy Waters Discography. Retrieved September 16, 2019
    - Wight, P. & Rothwell, F. The Complete Muddy Waters Discography. Retrieved September 16, 2019
  2. ^ Mississippi Blues Trail: Muddy Waters’ House, Stovall Farm, Clarksdale, Mississippi. Retrieved September 16, 2019
    - All About Blues Music: Alan Lomax at Stavall's Plantation. Retrieved September 16, 2019
  3. ^ a b Pearson, Barry Lee. Muddy Waters: Down on Stovall’s Plantation – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  4. ^ Palmer, R. (October 5, 1978). "Muddy Waters: The Delta Son Never Sets". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Koda, Cub. Muddy Waters: The Complete Plantation Recordings – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  6. ^ Russell, Tony; Smith, Chris (2006). The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin. p. 479. ISBN 978-0-140-51384-4.
  7. ^ Blues Hall of Fame: Awards. Retrieved September 16, 2019


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