At Newport 1960 is the second live album on the list that is recorded at Newport. McKinley Morganfield better known as his stage name Muddy Waters must have heard Duke Ellington’s Ellington at Newport and was inspired to do the same.
In general, I am not a fan of live albums. I do not like the talking and the cheering between songs or during a song. There is one exception for a live album. In 1981, Journey released Captured, a live album with one new recorded song “The Party’s Over (Hopelessly in Love),” and it is a great album because everything just comes together, especially Steve Perry’s live vocals. I have seen Journey three times in concert.
Back to Muddy Waters live At Newport 1960. One of the things I did not like about this album was the lyrics in many of the songs did not make sense to me. For example “I’m Your Hoochie Cooche Man” was totally mysterious until I looked it up. I had no idea what a hoochie cooche was some kind of voodoo or hoodoo folk magic. Or it could mean a pimp or whore or hooker. So, I am still a little confused.
Another thing Waters does a lot of is use repetition of lyrics which I am not a fan of either. I hate songs that use a line one hundred times.
I got my brand on you
I got my brand on you
I got my brand on you
I got my brand on you
There ain’t nothin’ you can do honey
I got my brand on you
or
I put a tiger in your tank
I put a tiger in your tank
I put a tiger in your tank
I put a tiger in your tank
What does that even mean? I searched for it and there was a tiger putting petrol in a gas tank.
Overall, the album is okay for a live album. It set the standard for the hard rock albums that would arrive as the 60s progressed quickly to the sounds of Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones. I would probably not listen to it again, but I like knowing where Led Zeppelin came from. 6/10
