Bluesman BIG BILL MORGANFIELD is the son of the great MCKINLEY MORGANFIELD, better known as MUDDY WATERS. The influence of the senior Morganfield is palpable on Born Lover – this is one music scion unafraid to continue the family tradition as faithfully as possible. Which is fine, really – Muddy’s style of raw Chicago electric blues is in short supply these days, and Big Bill does it as well as anyone living. His deep voice isn’t on par with his father’s, but that’s no crime – nobody’s is. But Morganfield has the same sense of taste and dignity, and he celebrates the tradition, rather than apes it. Unsurprisingly, there are covers from the catalogs of Muddy’s peers (HOWLIN’ WOLF, WILLIE DIXON, BUDDY GUY, SNOOKY PRYOR), but they aren’t the old standards you’d expect, and Morganfield’s own originals (“High Gas Prices,” “X Rated Lover”) make it clear he lives in the 21st century. His cleanly recorded (at MITCH EASTER‘s Fidelitorium, of all places) blues revolve around stripped-down guitar riffs and harmonica, just like in the old days, but sound fresh and alive rather than frozen in time. Morganfield isn’t interested in guitar heroics or proto-emo vocal orgies, so Born Lover is a great reminder of a time when the blues meant something real.
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