Muddy's next-to-last Chess album,
Can't Get No Grindin' marked a return to working with a band of his own after several experimental line-ups and recordings --
Pinetop Perkins took over the piano spot from the late
Otis Spann, with Chess veteran harpist
James Cotton aboard, and
PeeWee Madison, and
Sammy Lawhorn handling the guitars (apart from
Muddy's axe, natch). The music is raw, hard-edged, and sharp (the guitars slash and cut), more like a successor to
Muddy's classic 1950's sides (he rethinks a bunch '50s numbers here) than to the London Sessions, Super Blues, brass blow-outs, and psychedelic albums that he'd been doing. It's also easy to hear
Muddy's heart in this release -- he fairly oozes soul out of every note he sings. The title track, "Sad Letter," and "Mother's Bad Luck Child" are all killer tracks, and most of the rest isn't far behind, though "Garbage Man" is the best known of the newer tracks, thanks to subsequent covers. ~ Bruce Eder & Bill Dahl