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Critic's Review
Cub Koda, All Music Guide
Originally released as Folk Festival of the Blues on Chess's Argo subsidiary, the reissue gets the title right the second time around, a live document of a steamy night in a Chicago blues club. Chicago blues disc jockey Big Bill Hill intros the band and the assembled stars (one of whom, Little Walter, is nowhere to be found on this disc), then Buddy Guy's band rips into "Wee Wee Baby," and sung in three-part harmony by Buddy, Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon. Some of the tracks here are ringers; Sonny Boy Williamson's "Bring It On Home" and a stray Buddy Guy track are actually studio takes with fake applause dubbed on. But the two from Howlin' Wolf and everything here from Muddy are as real as it gets; funky, out of tune in spots, with the crowd literally sweating all over the tape. Muddy's versions (with Otis Spann sitting in with the band) of "Clouds In My Heart," and "She's 19 Years Old" are nothing short of brilliant and the only thing better than this aural document would be to have actually been there right down front. Simply raw and amazing.
