King Bee was the last album
Muddy Waters recorded. Coming last in a trio of triumphant studio outings, and produced by
Johnny Winter, it is also a mixed bag -- literally. During the sessions for
King Bee,
Waters, his manager, and his band were all in dispute over money. According to the liner notes by guitarist
Bob Margolin, who was the guitarist for the
Muddy Waters Blues Band, the conflict arose form
Waters' health being on the wane and him playing less. The bandmembers wanted more money for the fewer gigs they did play in order to make ends meet. Ultimately a split occurred and the band quit. Because of the tensions in the studio preceding the split,
Winter felt the sessions had not produced enough solid material to yield an entire album. He subsequently filled out
King Bee with outtakes from the
Hard Again sessions. For the listener,
King Bee is a leaner and meaner record. None of the good-time exuberance present on the previous two outings is present here. This is blues, direct and immediate, it's a snarling, growling album. And it's true the band appears to be a bit stilted on some of these tracks, but it's still a solid, wonderful record. The title track, "Mean Old Frisco," "Sad Sad Day," and "I Feel Like Going Home," are all solid, razor-sharp blues with killer ensemble work (with
Margolin,
Winter, Guitar Junior,
Jerry Portnoy,
Pinetop Perkins,
Calvin Jones,
Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, and
Charles Calmese in the band how could it sound anything short of awesome?) as well as
Waters in fine voice. The Sony Legacy issue features completely remastered sound and
Margolin's candid notes, but it also hosts two bonus tracks from the
King Bee sessions that
Winter didn't see fit to release the first time. There's a redo of "I Won't Go Down," a cut from the '50s that
Waters sings in his lower baritone roar, and "Clouds in My Heart," a deep, long, sad blues that is one of the great unearthed treasures in
Waters catalog. This cut alone with all of its deep emotion and the sound of a band trying to hold the storm of emotions in check and failing is a masterpiece and one of the most amazing blues tunes of the last 30 years. While
King Bee may have been considered last and least of
Waters' Columbia albums, it is more than worth reconsidering. ~ Thom Jurek