Johnny Winter - Nothin' But The Blues (1977)

This album came out in 1977, the same year as Muddy Waters' excellent comeback-album "Hard Again", which Johnny Winter produced and played on. And here on "Nothin' But The Blues", Winter fronts the mighty Muddy Waters band, leading them through a well-arranged set of his own compositions, and a powerful rendition of Muddy's "Walkin' Thru The Park".

Johnny Winter handles the lead vocals himself (except on "Walkin' Thru The Park"), and his throaty vocals suit these purposely traditional blues compositions pretty well.
Winter plays guitar as well, of course, and a little bit of bass and drums, and his acoustic steel guitar playing is particularly delightful.
Highlights include the acoustic slide guitar workout "TV Mama" (not the Big Joe Turner song) is sublime, as is the swaggering, harp-driven "Tired Of Tryin'", the thumping, groovy "Bladie May", and the fine "Sweet Love And Evil Women", a showcase for "Steady Rollin'" Bob Margolin, whose shimmering lead guitar lines wind their way all around Winter's gruff, throaty vocals. There are a couple of forgettable numbers here which keep "Nothin' But The Blues" from getting a top rating, but most of these nine tracks are among the finest blues tunes Winter has ever recorded.

Johnny Winter fans seem to be somewhat divided…some prefer his bluesier albums, while others go for his (*cough*genericandpredictable*cough*) rock n' roll records. This is definitely one for the blues crowd.


Song Listing:
1. Tired Of Tryin'
2. TV Mama
3. Sweet Love And Evil Women
4. Everybody's Blues
5. Drinkin' Blues
6. Mad Blues
7. It Was Rainin'
8. Bladie Mae
9. Walking Thru The Park