The album title is a bit of a misnomer; Muddy Waters is a gin-you-wine Blues singer, and "My John the Conqueror Root" is a triumphant Blues song. Here Muddy Waters describes his "root" as a source of confidence, power, and I think mojo. Kinda makes me wonder what he means by "root"... In any case, put this song on when you need to look hard-times straight in the eye and go'n wit yo' bad self!

I always love it when older performers "try out" younger, more popular musical forms. In this case we have Doris Day's attempt at Brill Building Pop, the title track for one of her movies. Has she ever sounded sexier?

The prototypical Mardi Gras "Black Indian" song. A song as exciting & diverse as New Orleans itself.

Killer New Orleans r&b with a great piano line supplied by none other than Mac Rebbenack (Dr. John).

Another of my favorite Beach Boys tracks, 'warmth of the sun' is a haunting ballad, sung astoundingly beautifully (Carl Wilson does the lead vocals) over a twangy picked electric guitar. From the astounding album 'Shut down vol. 2' which also gave us 'Don't Worry Baby'! 6 years ago I thought that the Beach Boys were pretty much 'Surfin' USA and other surfer hits'. I'm glad I was able to get beyond this - there's so much to discover!