Artist: Howlin' Wolf
Label: Chess
Release: 1997
Blues in its purest, most authentic form has probably never sounded as raw as it does alongside the legendary bark of the great Howlin’ Wolf. “Lovable” Chester Burnett, with his famous “falsetto yodeling,” will go down in history forever as one of the greatest and most influential blues performers ever. This priceless collection of the gentleman’s finest moments, which Wolfy yodeled out under the wing of the legendary Chicago blues corporation Chess Records, is a one-of-a-kind musical document: a vivid portrait of moaning rage, despair, paranoia, loneliness and lust, all of it tireless agitation for the fact that Howlin’ Wolf was one of the best in the business.
His Best puts Burnett’s most prolific creative period under the microscope, from 1951 to 1964, when the shadows of Hubert Sumlin, Otis Spann and, most important of all, Willie Dixon kept fluttering around Wolf like moths. Dixon’s compositions especially will forever be tied to the greatness of Wolf’s legacy, since the “ever-modest” I am the Blues Dixon is responsible for a good half of all of Howlin’s triumphs, which only really come alive thanks to the chilling darkness of Wolf’s vocal delivery, drawn straight from the embrace of the Mississippi Delta, and with which Wolf made his musical persona iconic in the colorful Chicago blues scene of the ’50s and ’60s, in his own lifetime no less. Wolf’s unmistakably gravelly voice, fired up by a fear-inducing howl that was neither singing nor wailing, and least of all a mix of the two, ruled Chicago uncontested for a good fourteen years.
I Asked For Water is a gorgeous example of how a blues musician communicates, and of an utterly unpredictable caliber worthy of Howlin’ Wolf, who, wrapped in a veil of black humor and often self-critical sarcasm, hands the listener a vivid picture of the cruel reality most of us love to hide from. And, most importantly, in all that strikingly direct emotional outpouring, Wolf doesn’t feel sorry for himself for a second!! Fine examples of the vocalist’s devotion, heart and simplicity are two unforgettable gems, Sitting On Top Of The World and Who’s Been Talkin’, which still can’t hold a candle to the humorous eroticism of Howlin’ For My Darling. Passions flare up even more with the dirty Back Door Man, which symbolizes Wolf’s enthusiasm for taking the anal approach to life’s more important chores, while with the blues anthems Spoonful, The Red Rooster, I Ain’t Superstitious and Three Hudred Pounds Of Joy we’re once again witnessing the raw nature of the Delta roots, whose wild rhythm in Smokestack Lightnin’ and the spooky lyrics of the unpredictable Evil sound more terrifying today than ever, a full fifty years on.
When, with the one-of-a-kind Built For Comfort and Killing Floor (with the great Buddy Guy on board), the long-running “symbiosis” of Wolf and Chess Records finally and irrevocably came to an end in 1964, the greatness of Wolf’s work was plain for all to see. Howlin’ Wolf always went at things with rock-solid conviction and unstoppable determination, which ultimately led the blues far back to its roots, in the most direct manner possible, at once primitive on one side and astonishingly modern on the other.
Lineup
Howlin’ Wolf: vocals, harmonica
Willie Johnson: guitar
Hubert Sumlin: guitar
Buddy Guy: guitar
Willie Dixon: bass
Otis Spann: piano
Hosea Lee Kennard: piano
Earl Philips: drums
Willie Steele: drums
Production
Howlin’ Wolf & Willie Dixon
Tracklist
1.Moanin’ At Midnight
2.How Many More Years
3.Evil
4.Forty-Four
5.Smokestack Lightnin’
6.I Asked For Water
7.Who’s Been Talkin’
8.Sitting On Top Of The World
9.Howlin’ For My Darling
10.Wang Dang Doodle
11.Back Door Man
12.Spoonful
13.Shake For Me
14.The Red Rooster
15.I Ain’t Superstitious
16.Goin’ Down Slow
17.Three Hundred Pounds Of Joy
18.Hidden Charms
19.Built For Comfort
20.Killing Floor
Album length: 55.51
