Serious Business (Johnny Winter album)

Serious Business is an album by guitarist and singer Johnny Winter. It was released in 1985 on vinyl and CD by Alligator Records.^[1]

Serious Business
Studio album by Johnny Winter
Released	1985
Recorded	Streeterville Studios, Chicago, Illinois
Genre	Blues
Length	43:52
Label	Alligator (US), Sonet (UK)
Producer	Johnny Winter Bruce Iglauer Dick Shurman
Johnny Winter chronology
Guitar Slinger (1984) Serious Business (1985) Third Degree (1986)

Serious Business was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.^[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings	[4]

On AllMusic, William Ruhlmann said, "Signing to the Chicago-based independent blues label Alligator Records, [Winter] staged his own comeback with 1984's Guitar Slinger, and its follow-up, Serious Business, is in the same vein. That vein is straight Chicago-style electric blues in the manner of Muddy Waters.... He was already developing from his old mile-a-minute playing style into more of an expressive bluesman in the late '70s. Here, the transition is complete.... Maybe Johnny Winter isn't trying to be a superstar anymore, but his striving to be a consummate bluesman is wholly successful."^[3]

Track listing

1. "Master Mechanic" (A.D. Prestage, Joe Shamwell, Walter Godbold) – 3:37
2. "Sound the Bell" (Clarence Garlow, Eddie Shuler) – 3:23
3. "Murdering Blues" (Doctor Clayton) – 5:02
4. "It Ain't Your Business" (James Moore) – 3:50
5. "Good Time Woman" (Johnny Winter) – 6:03
6. "Unseen Eye" (Sonny Boy Williamson II) – 4:18
7. "My Time After Awhile" (Bob Geddins) 6:13
8. "Serious as a Heart Attack" (Johnny Winter) – 3:31
9. "Give It Back" (Sonny Thompson) – 3:48
10. "Route 90" (Clarence Garlow, Leon René) – 4:07

Personnel

Musicians

• Johnny Winter – guitar, vocals
• Ken Saydak – piano
• Johnny B. Gayden – bass
• Casey Jones – drums
• Jon Paris – harmonica on "Murdering Blues", "Good Time Woman", "Unseen Eye", "Give It Back"

Production

• Johnny Winter, Bruce Iglauer, Dick Shurman – producers
• Justin Niebank – engineering, mixing
• Fred Breitberg – engineering for "Murdering Blues", "Unseen Eye"
• Chris Garland – design
• Ebet Roberts, Terrence Bert – photography
• Greg Calbi – mastering
• Recorded at Streeterville Studios in Chicago, Illinois and at Red Label Studios in Winnetka, Illinois