If there is a day of the week for the blues, then that day is Monday.
Disc 1454 is…. The Howlin’ Wolf Album
Artist: Howlin’ Wolf
Year of Release: 1969
What’s up with the Cover? A cheeky disclaimer. Howlin’ Wolf did not like how this album turned out, so the record label went ahead and made that clear on the cover. I don’t know if that’s a blues move, but it is definitely a rock and roll one.
How I Came To Know It: I’ve got a couple of albums that feature famous blues singers paired with late sixties psychedelic rock, this one and Muddy Waters’ “Electric Mud”. My buddy Ross got me one of those (I think ‘Mud’), and it inspired me to go get the other one. Regardless of which came first, Ross is responsible for me having both records so thanks, Ross!
How It Stacks Up: I have four Howlin’ Wolf albums, plus a selection of singles that aren’t associated with any LP. The singles are out, but I’m not sure if it is fair to rank this record with the other three either. It reimagines some of Howlin’ Wolf’s biggest hits meaning it gets to draw on his whole catalogue of awesome, which seems unfair. However, after some reflection I’m going to say…it counts. With this decision made, I rank it at #1.
Ratings: 4 stars
I’m not a huge blues fan but when I do feel the urge, Howlin’ Wolf is the first singer that crosses my mind. He’s got the grimiest vocals of any bluesman I’ve heard, and his songs are overflowing with clandestine sex and open drug use. Wolf is more than gritty enough on his regular blues records but paired with the psychedelic rock sounds of backing band Rotary Connection something magical happens.
For one thing, the record has a lot more oomph. Part of this are the production values. My other Howlin’ Wolf records are from the late fifties and early sixties. They sound pretty amazing, but they don’t have that depth of sound separation that this record holds. The riffs on “Spoonful” and “Evil” would be killer anyway, but the extra thump here gets deep down in your backbone and your guts.
What isn’t new, is Howlin’ Wolf’s instantly recognizable rasp. His voice is like cheap bourbon poured over sandpaper. He lurches from line to line in a way that might make you think he was in a semi-incoherent rage, except for the fact that his timing and phrasing are impeccable. He’s the town menace, and he wears his mantle with pride.
For all that nasty, Howlin’ Wolf always has the curve of a smile at the edges of that raspy snarl of his. On “Smokestack Lightnin’” and “Down in the Bottom” he throws in lascivious falsetto “ooh-hoo”s that are just the right amount of wrong. He is having too much fun to be just plain old mean.
These are all things you’d get on any great Howlin’ Wolf album, and a reminder that his traditional albums are well worth your time. However, Rotary Connection adds a whole new element to this record. Now you get dreamy fuzzed out reverb that floats into ambient guitar work. You even get hints of jazz flute and harmonica. Sometimes the band just sit in behind and lets Howlin’ Wolf hit his groove. Other times they walk the song off in weird and wonderful directions, while always staying within sight of the blues. “Evil” even has a funky Motown influence to the riff that makes it very different than the original version while being just as gloriously…evil.
The majority of these songs (seven of ten) are old Willie Dixon tunes, an artist that Howlin’ Wolf often reimagined, although he probably never thought he’d reimagine him this far. “Tail Dragger” is one such standout, featuring a funhouse of guitar sounds hanging all around the edges of Howlin’ Wolf’s vocal delivery like shreds of cloth blowing in the window of a shanty town cabin, giving the song movement and life.
And while this album is more about the feel than the lyrics, I’d be remiss not to share some great lines from his cover of Dixon’s “Built for Comfort”:
“Some folk built like this, some folk built like that
But the way I'm built, a-don't you call me fat
Because I'm built for comfort, I ain't built for speed
But I got everything all the good girls need”
Near the end of the album you can hear Howlin’ Wolf pontificating on just what the blues are, and what they’re not. I’m sure he thought this album wasn’t the blues, but I couldn’t care less. Whatever it is, it’s awesome.
Best tracks: Spoonful, Tail Dragger, Built for Comfort, Evil
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