Of all the post-Fathers & Sons attempts at updating Waters' sound in collaboration with younger white musicians, this album worked best because they let Waters be himself, producing music that compared favorably to his concerts of the period, which were wonderful. His final album for Chess (recorded at Levon Helm's Woodstock studio, not in Chicago), with Helm and fellow Band-member Garth Hudson teaming up with Waters' touring band, it was a rocking (in the bluesy sense) soulful swansong to the label where he got his start. Waters covers some songs he knew back when (including Louis Jordan's "Caldonia" and "Let the Good Times Roll"), plays some slide, and generally has a great time on this Grammy-winning album. This record got lost in the shuffle between the collapse of Chess Records and the revival of Waters' career under the auspices of Johnny Winter, and was forgotten until 1995. ~ Bruce Eder
