‘Trouble No More’.

Muddy Waters and Little Walter.

Currently I am really getting a buzz from listening to Muddy Waters’ upbeat blues piece ‘Trouble no more’.

It has been lurking around in my subconscious for a very long time and then I started listening to it more carefully. The supporting  line-up features Little Walter on harmonica, Willie Dixon on bass, Otis Spann on piano, Jimmy Rogers on guitar and Francis Clay on drums. All were part of the house set-up inside the Chess studios; a dream team if ever there was one.

Not only is this a foot-tapper but it’s got attitude. Little Walter’s amplified harmonica lurks underneath and occasionally burst forth to strike a specific emphasis. This to me shows how a skilled harp player works with the music without jostling for precedence.

 Muddy Waters version

Then I discovered an earlier origin for this piece. Muddy recorded it in 1955, but twenty years earlier Sleepy John Estes recorded his version of the same song under the title ‘Someday baby blues’. Estes version is slower and to some degree more soulful and mournful; it’s a lament, a howl in the dark. Whereas Muddy Waters almost makes it a celebration.

Estes version is very ‘country’ based blues, but the harp plays a prominent role in setting the tone. You can feel the hurt all the way through it; the vocals and the harp hit exactly the right tone. (Harp player is Hammie Nixon).

Sleepy John Estes version.

I always set up to listen to these contrasting tracks back to back.

Of course there is the Big Maceo version of 1941 but again that is recorded under another title.

Mississippi Fred McDowell also has a wonderful version.