Review: 'Howlin' Wolf' (Chess Acoustic Sounds Edition)

Like his first album, Howlin' Wolf's second was a collection of singles, but Moanin' in the Moonlight's tracks were culled from a near-decade of recording. His self-titled sophomore (often called "The Rockin' Chair Album" because of its cover photo) featured tracks from a much tighter time period: 1960-1962. Ironically, there's more of a diverse spirit on Howlin' Wolf than there was on Moanin'. This is immediately apparent as the record zips from the frenetic clattering of "Shake for Me" to the slow grind of "The Red Rooster" to the intense chugging of "You'll Be Mine" to the rustic bop of "Who's Been Talking?" to the romping "Wang Dang Doodle" and on through other major classics like "Spoonful", "Down in the Bottom", "Back Door Man", and "Tell Me". All this makes for a livelier listen than Moanin' in the Midnight, a terrific album in its own right but one that feels a bit grey in light of Howlin' Wolf's multi-colors.

Review: 'The Real Folk Blues' by Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf (Chess Acoustic Sounds Edition)

In the early sixties, Chess kept its crosshairs on the emerging folkie scene, hoping it might be a market for the label's blues artists who boasted the kind of "authenticity" that was grade-A currency to the coffee house set. If Muddy Waters's Folk Singer was a testing of waters, then those waters must have been warm and inviting enough for Chess to launch its Real Folk Blues series. Muddy, always the first name in blues, was to get the series rolling in 1965, with a second installment, devoted to Howlin' Wolf, following that same year.

Review: Howlin Wolf's 'Howlin' Blues: Selected A & B Sides, 1951 - 1962'

Sometimes I get a bit concerned that regular Psychobabble readers might be under the impression that I'm so dazzled by free records that I tend to go easy on them when it comes time to write my reviews. The truth is, most of my reviews skew toward the positive because I almost always review records by artists I really like and I've rarely encountered bungled pressings. Some mastering jobs may be too bass- or treble-heavy, or may feature some unwanted distortions, but such problems are rarely egregious, so I'll mention them in my reviews but refrain from harping on them.

Review: 'Confessin' the Blues'

In the sixties, The Rolling Stones slid the world a welter of great singles and LPs, but the most profound thing they delivered was an awareness of the blues that spread like a sweet, sweet virus. After hearing the Stones’ sometimes weedy, sometimes powerful remakes, white kids who’d never before heard the names Muddy, Howlin’, or Slim suddenly got hip to what had already been happening in the music world for some twenty years.