Muddy Waters vs Howlin' Wolf

They both smash Sabbath and Queen.

The Wolf by a mile.

The Wolf by a mile.
Perhaps not by that much, but yes.

The Wolf by 300 pounds

i have always been a wolf fan maybe b/c his sound was never replicated and his stuff never really became the blueprint for every shitty chicago bar blues band in existence (not muddy's fault and he's just about wolf's equal but i definitely prefer the latter by some distance).

The Dangling Cigarette - a picture thread

Whose London album was the worst? That's a better question.

Basically, every post on this thread, OTM.

That voice + Hubert Sumlin = chills.

This is tough, but I think that the edge has to go to Waters. Both have iconic voices, but I think Waters had more range stylistically, and - it seems to me - a deeper catalog of classic material - not to mention his role as a bandleader and the calibre of musicians he surrounded himself with, helping to create and nourish the Chicago blues scene.

I'm voting for the one who had a That Petrol Emotion song named after him.

Anyway, the Wolf for the music, Muddy for giving Buddy Guy a sandwich when he first came to Chicago.

I like Wolf, but his voice can seem like a bit of a novelty. Waters' voice is a protean force - warm and genial one second, and rising to a bellow like an explosion the next. A perfect sense of dynamics.

I think the fact that Waters was also a very good blues guitarist before he relinquished his guitar for the microphone exclusively can be heard in his singing - he sings like a blues guitarist playing a riff - accenting the backbeat - creating a shuffle rhythm.

Both great. Won't choose.

"Waters' voice is a protean force - warm and genial one second, and rising to a bellow like an explosion the next. A perfect sense of dynamics."

But there is a lot to be said about the way Wolf perfected (or stepped across) a way of being out of time and place in his vocals. And he's only a 'novelty' cuz he's almost impossible to replicate.

Still A Fool is still the heaviest thing I've ever heard, so Muddy.

Yeah, when Muddy gets slow, he gets real slow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Everyone who said Howlin' here was 100% OTM. He's gotta have one of the most incredible vocal instruments in the history of Rock n Roll. It's just an experience to listen to him -- not to mention that the songs are great too.

yeah but he wasn't quite the bandleader that McKinley was. I dunno, love them both, but Muddy did more to change the game than Chester did. I mean if you listen to those complete Chess masters of Mud ... damn it's alchemy. Wolfy + Sumlin = incredibly genius. But Muddy ... listen to the complete recordings and marvel at the genius. ..

the graduates from Muddy's school ... Little Walter, Otis Spann, Jimmy Rogers ... jeez... the best. Better band than Wolf had obv

Been digging Still a Fool an awful lot since this poll.

The correct answer obv is WILLIE DIXON, for all the right reasons.

Other than that, Wolf-Wolf-Wolf. A big regret that I never got to see him howl, though I did see Sam Lay drumming @ a North Side blues club 15-20 yrs ago. I picked up some left hand shuffle patterns from those late 50s Chess sides.

Some mild entertainment to be found in that terrible Empire Records movie...

Cadillac Records was really great, tho.

Ha. Oops, meant Cadillac. It was terrible IMO.

You go no wrong which ever way you go.

For recordings made by an artist so late into his career, the albums Muddy Waters did with Johnny Winter are really good and have a lot of energy.

I would vote for the Wolf if the poll was still open. He was a better guitarist than he was given credit for and he was a great harp player. But having said that his voice was a force of nature and the reason he wins.

101 years ago today, Muddy Waters was born

And what did the gypsy woman tell his mama again?

He did alright for a bad-luck child

https://www.austin360.com/story/entertainment/music/2021/04/19/austin-paul-oscher-obit-blues-musician-muddy-waters-sideman-dies/7287585002/

Muddy’s first white musician I read was Paul Oscher, harmonica player and guitarist who just died of Covid related causes. Was apparently very ill for awhile