May 12: Muddy Waters Released ‘After the Rain’ On This Date In 1969

0 Posted by - May 12, 2022 - BLACK MUSIC, LATEST POSTS, On This Date

By Victor Trammell

Photo credits: Chess Records/Cadet Concept

After the Rain is the second of two electric blues albums that Muddy Waters released. The LP became available to the public for the first time on May 12, 1969, via  Chess Records and Cadet Concept.

Since the performer passed away in 1983, blues lovers have generally held the viewpoint that After the Rain (the fifth album by Muddy Waters) is a “cult classic.” Muddy Waters made several alterations for the follow-up album, although retaining the bulk of the same session musicians. This was in response to the criticism that he received for his initial effort at embracing psychedelic elements, which was featured on Electric Mud (his first electric blues album).

This time around, Muddy Waters dialed back the psychedelic elements and brought them into harmony with his traditional Chicago blues sound. The end result is a collection of vintage tracks that are characterized by fuzzy guitars and bass, including “I Am the Blues,” “Ramblin’ Mind,” “Bottom of the Sea,” and “Blues Trouble.”

In spite of the fact that it has been out of print for a considerable amount of time, the Get On Down music label finally re-released this Muddy Waters classic, which was remastered from the original tapes and packaged in a slick digipak.

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