Mud Morganfield, The 1865 Club, Southampton

HE spoke of his pride of being Muddy Waters’ son as he rounded off an evening of mind blowing blues.

Mud Morganfield made a triumphant return to Southampton nearly a year to the day of making his 1865 debut.

And it says something of its growing stature on the blues scene that the Brunswick Square club was picked as one of Morganfield’s three whistlestop UK gigs before he jetted back across the Atlantic.

This was an evening of top flight blues as downtown Southampton was suddenly transported to a blues club in Chicago or Beale Street in Memphis.

Morganfield carved out his career in the blues clubs on the south side of Chicago where he performed a mix of his father’s material and his own original work.

And the eldest son of the undisputed king of the blues has learned his trade well, delivering his own brand of charismatic Chicago blues.

In front of an appreciative audience his 90 minute plus set covered a wide range of blues music from basement blues to high tempo tracks.

I particularly liked his version of Baby, Please Don’t Go, one of the most played, arranged and re-arranged pieces in blues history.

And it has been covered by many musicians, including The Animals, who were part of the British band invasion to America.

Morganfield dipped into the Seventh Son of A Seventh Son Album with the catchy Catfish Fishing track and even leapt off stage for an impromptu whirl around the dance floor. He has an instant rapport with the audience.

This powerful cocktail of blues also included Midnight Lover, I Just Want to Make Love to You and Got My Mojo Working.

Morganfield is backed by a band of world class musicians and there were some stunning solos from Ronni Boysen (guitar) Steve “West” Weston (harmonica) Eric Ranzoni (keyboards) and Ian Jennings (double bass)

After a standing ovation the Chicago blues star said: “I am glad and proud to be a son of Muddy Waters.”

Demands for an encore were rewarded with an I’m A Man, inspired by Muddy Waters’ Hoochie Coochie Man.

As I left the 1865 Club I shook hands with Muddy Waters’ proud son who has kept the blues icon’s rich musical legacy very much alive.

Duncan Eaton