Muddy Waters "Folk Singer" Questions

I am in love with the MFSL CD of "Folk Singer" by Muddy Waters. The music is sparse and the mood is dark. Intense.

I searched the forum but didn't really see much info on this recording.

1) What can you tell me about Ron Malo? I know he did a lot for Chess, but what else stands out? Can you recommend another good record that he's recorded?

2) What information is there about Tel Mar Studios?

3) Most importantly: what kind of reverb was used on this album? I'm guessing that it's a plate verb.

Thanks!

 

Ron Malo helped engineer the first Manassas album, IIRC. Extraordinary recording, though the bottom end gets a little ferocious at times on my system.

 

Keith, Malo was the house engineer at Chess. A couple of quotes:

The methods of recording in England and America were completely different. The only people you could use over here were Bill Fowley at Regent Sound and Glyn Johns, if you could get hold of him. The big trouble with recording in England was that for a rock group the studio acoustics were so bad because you couldn't play loud. When we recorded at the Chess Studios in Chicago, we had Ron (Malo), the guy who engineered all the Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Howlin' Wolf records. He knew exactly what we wanted and he got it almost instantly.

- Bill Wyman, 1972

(Andrew Oldham) didn't know anything about blues. The cat who really got it together was Ron Malo, the engineer for Chess. He had been on all the original sessions. We did Confessin' the Blues, Down the Road Apiece and It's All Over Now.

- Mick Jagger, 1968

mud-

 

Malo is a phenomenal engineer. his jazz recordings for Argo are among the best of the era.

if you like the sound of "folk singer," check out his recordings of hammond organist baby face willette. the LPs are called "mo roc" and "behind the eight ball," both recorded in 1964.