Hot Stamper Pressings of Soul, Blues, R&B, etc. Available Now
Forget the reissue copies that come in the cover you see to the left, the one with a thin black border.
If you want to hear this album right, a Hot Stamper early domestic pressing is the only way to go.
And take it from us, you need to see the Sterling mark in the dead wax of your pressing to have any hope of hearing audiophile-quality sound.
As you can see from the notes above, the two reissue non-Sterling copies we played had hopelessly bad sound.
One was smeary, hard and hot.
The other was the brightest and most spitty.
Note that we didn’t deem it necessary to play side two of either copy. A one plus side one rules out the possibility of it being a Hot Stamper pressing.
Consider taking our moderately helpful advice concerning the pressings that consistently win our shootouts.
Based on our experience, I’m Ready sounds its best:
AMG Review
For the middle album of his Johnny Winter-produced, late-70s musical trilogy, blues giant Muddy Waters brought a new spirit to some familiar material. Starting with members of Waters’ touring band — pianist Pinetop Perkins, bassist Bob Margolin, and drummer Willie “Big Eyes” Smith — Winter added underrated guitarist (and longtime Waters foil) Jimmy Rogers and extraordinary harp player Big Walter Horton to the mix.
The songs recorded for I’m Ready offer a mix of new material and vintage hit singles like the title cut, the mid-60s jewel “Screamin’ and Cryin’,” or the Willie Dixon-penned “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man.” Waters and band provide these well-worn gems with a little new studio polish, but it is with the newer songs that the performers really shine… For new listeners trying to get a feel of what the blues is all about, I’m Ready and its bookends are the albums to start with. Once you experience a taste of Muddy Waters, you’ll be ready for more.
Further Reading