Electric Mud is the fifth studio album by Muddy Waters, with members of Rotary Connection playing as his backing band. Released in 1968, it presents Muddy Waters as a psychedelic musician. Producer Marshall Chess suggested that Muddy Waters record it in an attempt to appeal to a rock audience.
The album peaked at number 127 on Billboard 200 album chart. It was controversial for its fusion of electric blues with psychedelic elements.
History
The 1960s saw Marshall Chess seeking to introduce Muddy Waters' music to a younger audience; Chess Records, Waters' record label, founded by Marshall's father, Leonard Chess, released a series of compilation albums of Muddy Waters' older music repackaged with psychedelic artwork.
In 1967, Marshall Chess formed Cadet Concept Records as a subsidiary of Chess Records. The label's first release was the self-titled debut album of Rotary Connection, a psychedelic band.
The next project Chess conceived was Electric Mud, a psychedelic rock concept album; Marshall later stated, "I came up with the idea of Electric Mud to help Muddy make money. It wasn't to bastardize the blues. It was like a painting, and Muddy was going to be in the painting. It wasn't to change his sound, it was a way to get it to that market."
Chess hoped the new albums would sell well among fans of psychedelic rock bands influenced by Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. According to Muddy Waters, "Quite naturally, I like a good-selling record. I was looking at it because I played for so many of these so-called hippies that I thought probably I could reach them." According to one account of the album's recording, Cosey, Upchurch and Jennings joked about calling the group "The Electric Niggers".
According to Buddy Guy, "[Muddy Waters couldn't] feel this psychedelic stuff at all... and if the feeling is gone, that's it. You can't get too busy behind a singer. You've got to let him sing it." On November 22, 2011, Electric Mud and After the Rain were combined on a single compact disc by BGO Records. A new vinyl edition was released by Third Man Records in November 2017.
Reception
Electric Mud sold 150,000 copies within the first six weeks of release. it was Muddy Waters' first album to appear on the Billboard and Cash Box charts. Although American critics panned the album, it was better received in England. He stated, "Every time I go into Chess, [they] put some un-blues players with me [...] If you change my sound, then you gonna change the whole man." AllMusic reviewer Richie Unterberger panned the album as being "crass". Rapper Chuck D said of the album, "to me it's a brilliant record. I've played it about a thousand times. The voice and character of Muddy Waters stand above the new music. Muddy's vocals project. That's what created a hook for me to get into it: these vocals are actually pulling the music." Chuck D explained, "It took me a while to warm up to traditional blues. A whole new world. But the automatic thing that struck me right away was the Electric Mud thing."
Track listing
The original LP record cover listed the track times in seconds only.
Personnel
Musicians
- Muddy Waters – vocals
- Gene Barge – tenor saxophone, producer
- Phil Upchurch – guitars
- Roland Faulkner – guitars
- Pete Cosey – guitars
- Charles Stepney – organ, arranger, producer
- Louis Satterfield – bass guitar
- Morris Jennings – drums
Additional personnel
- Stu Black – engineer
- Marshall Chess – producer
- Meire Murakami – design
- Bill Sharpe – cover design
- Abner Spector – mixing
- Vartan – art direction