Billy Gibbons has released the official lyric video for his version of Muddy Waters’ "Standing Around Crying," from his upcoming second solo effort, The Big Bad Blues, due out September 21 via Concord Records. The song is the second track to be issued from the record, following the release of Gibbons’ take on another Waters classic, “Rollin’ and Tumblin’ ” in July.
Gibbons spoke to Ultimate Classic Rock, who premiered “Standing Around Crying,” about the song’s origins:
“[Waters] first recorded 'Standing Around Crying' in 1952 and Chess released it first on 78 RPM so that’s really going a ways back,” Gibbons said. “The song is, on a certain level, a bridge between the rural blues of his early days in the Mississippi Delta and the electric blues of his Chicago reign. James Harmon, in tribute to the original, did a great job channeling Junior Wells' harmonica tone as this was recorded just as Little Walter left Muddy’s band and Junior came in to replace him for a short time."
The Big Bad Blues follows Gibbons’ first solo album, 2015’s Afro-Cuban-flavored Perfectamundo.
“We successfully made our way through those uncharted waters with the Cubano flavor of Perfectamundo and completed the journey,” Gibbons said in a statement. “The shift back to the blues is a natural. It’s something which our followers can enjoy with the satisfaction of experiencing the roots tradition and, at the same time, feeling the richness of stretching the art form.”
Noting the blues' lasting influence on his guitar sound, he said “There’s something very primordial within the art form. Nobody gets away from the infectious allure of those straight-ahead licks!”
The Big Bad Blues features Joe Hardy on bass, former Guns N' Roses drummer Matt Sorum behind the kit, Austin Hanks on guitar and James Harman—plus Gibbons himself—on harmonica.
The Big Bad Blues is available for preorder right here.
Track listing (all songs by Billy F Gibbons except where noted):
01. Missin' Yo' Kissin' (Gilly Stillwater)
02. My Baby She Rocks
03. Second Line
04. Standing Around Crying (Muddy Waters)
05. Let The Left Hand Know…
06. Bring It To Jerome (Jerome Green)
07. That's What She Said
08. Mo' Slower Blues
09. Hollywood 151
10. Rollin' And Tumblin' (Muddy Waters)
11. Crackin' Up (Bo Diddley)
