Howlin' Wolf Essentials

Hi, my question is, I currently have beautiful copies of the self titled rocking chair album and moaning in the moonlight. They both sound absolutely fantastic. What else is essential for older Wolf vinyl? I was looking but it appeared there are some recurring songs on the earlier album.

 

I am a huge fan of "the London Howlin'Wolf sessions"

 

I can’t agree more on the London Sessions!
Stunning album.

 

For electric blues at its most raw check out More Real Folk Blues and Cadillac Daddy, early 50s recordings. Not for the faint of heart.

 

Thanks and totally agree as I forgot to add that I own that one too!

 

I was curious about Big City Blues or Real Folk Blues as those were next in chronological order after the first two?

 

The Ace CD of "Howling Wolf Sings the Blues" has early Memphis recordings done for RPM and other labels before he moved to Chicago & Chess and sounds nice - much better than the original vinyl, and can be found for a reasonable price.

 

Essential? Yes!:



LP originally released 1966:

A1 Killing Floor 2:48
A2 Louise 2:42
A3 Poor Boy 2:32
A4 Sittin' On Top Of The World 2:30
A5 Nature 2:45
A6 My Country Suga Mama 2:34
B1 Tail Dragger 2:56
B2 Three Hundred Pounds Of Joy 2:59
B3 Natchez Burnin' 2:10
B4 Built For Comfort 2:30
B5 Ooh Baby, Hold Me 2:35
B6 Tell Me What I've Done 2:47

 

Some more obscurer tracks, but just as essential:



LP originally released 1967:

Just My Kind 2:50
I've Got A Woman 2:53
Work For Your Money 2:10
I'll Be Around 3:11
You Can't Be Beat 3:06
You Gonna Wreck My Life 2:34
I Love My Baby 2:55
Neighbors 2:43
I'm The Wolf 2:47
Rocking Daddy 3:00
Who Will Be Next? 2:30
I Have A Little Girl 2:35

 

Here's another Chess LP favorite of mine, collecting tracks from 1958-1966: Change My Way:



Mr. Airplane Man 2:43
Love Me Darlin' 2:49
Change My Way 3:30
I Walked From Dallas 3:07
I Better Go Now 2:40
New Crawlin' King Snake 2:54
Just Like I Treat You 2:47
I've Been Abused 2:14
Don't Laugh At Me 2:59
I Didn't Know 2:24
I Aint Superstitious 2:48
Howlin' Blues 2:44
My Mind Is Ramblin' 2:51
Do The Do 2:10
Hidden Charms 2:18

Released circa 1975.

 

Big City Blues is a reissue of Howlin' Wolf Sings The Blues, a compilation of of early, pre-Ches RPM recordings

 

Howlin' Wolf - Rides Again - Ace (UK)
Howlin' Wolf - Memphis Days, Vol.1 - Bear Family (Germany)
Howlin' Wolf - Memphis Days, Vol.2 - Bear Family (Germany)

The following Howlin’ Wolf CDs overlap partially:
Howlin' Wolf – The Chess Box – Chess (3CD-set)
Howlin' Wolf – Ain't Gonna Be Your Dog – Chess (2CD-set)
Howlin' Wolf – The Real Folk Blues – Mobile Fidelity
Howlin' Wolf – The Real Folk Blues / More Real Folk Blues – Chess
Howlin' Wolf – Howlin' Wolf / Moanin' in the Moonlight – Chess (Japan)

Copied from Songsters, Blues and Rhythm & Blues, 1920s – 1960s (personal choices)

I’m not sure if the original URL still exists. In that case I have given it here. I’m very thankful to have done this copy when it still was active. This guys surely knows his stuff.

 

The DVD the Howlin Wolf Story is very enjoyable and there's wonderful footage of people like Sonny Boy Williamson at a Club/Pizza place they all used to gig at.

Any "Chess" label Wolf up to the mid-1960s is essential. I had several nice ones including a CD called "Ain't gonna be your dog" which might be rare by now. The Howlin Wolf London sessions version of Killing Floor is essential to me. Unlike with Muddy Waters (whose output was extremely variable and downright bad/boring at various points) buying a random Howlin Wolf record usually works out fine except material gets repeated over and over again. Alongside Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller) he's my favourite Blues artist.

A controversial pick may be the Howlin Wolf Live In Cambridge, Ma.,1966. The sound quality is bad but the drumming is brutal, and for that alone I love it. Fortunately on Amazon you get samples so you can tell whether this might be something for you or not.

 

I like The Red Rooster on The Howlin Wolf London sessions album. What a band!

 

This version of Dust My Broom is my favourite from the set. Bad quality sound, but the drums and then harmonica and saxes are memorable, so much so I could recall them even though I haven't heard this in years - I want to be there.

There's a tonne of stuff on YouTube. There does seem to be a pattern, something great on YouTube is mentioned here and it's very soon gone. Which is why I didn't link to things like this or the 1966 interviews or maybe even the documentary I mentioned.

 

Maybe I’ll take it off. Just in case. Sorry about the buzz.

 

I'm not sure anyone actually owns this recording so it might be fine! It sounds like an audience recording bootleg.

I really wish I could find a high quality Howlin' Wolf concert from around this era. His band was clearly red hot.

 

I just discovered one of those maligned late 60's Chess albums that I've never heard of. "Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters & Bo Diddley – The Super Super Blues Band". Listening to a bit of it now, after only about 2 mins of listening I can definitely say it's .... not very good.

 

Yeah, Charly even left those tracks off their 7 CD Chess box (which, if you can find it at a reasonable price, it is a great collection - the slipcase has room for an extra disc, so I store the Ace CD in there).

Some prior threads discussing this topic:

Howlin' Wolf - need more than a single compilation
Howlin' Wolf - Complete Recordings

 

Going slightly off this topic, does anyone care about, look after, the Chess Blues recordings anymore? I can't find a website for the "Chess" label. It was MCA. Very little has come out recently.

Sonny Boy Williamson definitely needs a box set. Even if it's just the old illegal Charly one. I have bought so many compilations to get virtually everything by the great man.

 

Was the Sonny Boy Williamson set completely unlicensed, or like the Howlin' Wolf only in part?

 

I don't know, I only know it was withdrawn.

I can't think of a Chess Sonny Boy Williamson track without interest. The man was a giant.

Right now no-one seems to be doing anything interesting with the Chess material.

 

It just sort of appeared one day. I was friendly at the time with Stereo Jack Woker of Stereo Jack's Records in Cambridge, who wrote the liner notes - he probably would have known how it came about but I wasn't pressing him. His store was the only place I ever saw the LP version, which last time I looked was not on Discogs.

 

Ordered a 1978 French copy of Real Folk Blues, supposedly unplayed NM condition for around $35 and also got a French 1987 More Real Folk Blues for $16. Sweet!

 

Excellent!