Muddy Waters had recorded for Chess Records for close to 30 years, but when they folded in 1975, he signed with Columbia’s Blue Sky imprint and released three killer studio albums and one live disc, of which this was the first. The opening re-recording of his 1955 smash “Mannish Boy” is one of the most amped-up, raucous, screaming-and-hollering blues performances of all time, with an absolutely killer band, particularly pianist Pinetop Perkins, harmonica player James Cotton, and drummer Willie “Big Eyes” Smith (plus Johnny Winter, who also produced, on guitar), absolutely tearing it up. That same energy level is maintained throughout; the album includes reworkings of two more old songs, “I Can’t Be Satisfied” and “I Want To Be Loved,” as well as new material that stands up to anything Waters had done before.