Blood has always been thicker than water in the music business. How else can you explain Julian Lennon or Nancy Sinatra? But on "Rising Son," it gets embarrassing. Big Bill Morganfield is the son of McKinley Morganfield, the real name of immortal blues legend Muddy Waters. Blind Pig Records has propped up Morganfield as some amazing prodigy channeling the spirit of his dead father, but really he's an untalented novice with virtually no blues instincts.
Although he's surrounded by some of the industry's best -- including Bob Margolin, Pinetop Perkins and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith -- nothing can hide Morganfield's derivative songwriting or range-less howl, which borders on blues parody. Let's just hope Morganfield's boots were made for walking, and he'll leave the electric blues to the legacy of his infinitely more talented father.