Search - :: Ain't Gonna Be Your Dog: Chess Collectibles, Vol.2

This two-CD set pulls together all the remaining unreleased studio tracks and alternate takes left in the extensive Chess Howlin' Wolf archives from 1951 to 1969. But these are by no means leftovers; this is still the mighty Wolf at his best. One listen to "Color and Kind" and you'll feel as if you're in the presence of some supernatural beast. His voice is simply a force of nature, first squealing out the words in falsetto and then plunging down to an evil moan. Fierce, rasping, and overpowering, there is no sound like it in the universe. This collection covers a lot of Wolf territory, too. You'll hear his Memphis juke joint style work from the '50s replete with honking saxes, boogie-woogie piano and wonderfully distorted Willie Johnson riffs. You'll hear Wolf get back to his country roots playing acoustic guitar. You'll hear new takes on Willie Dixon-penned classics. You'll hear Hubert Sumlin developing his now-immortal guitar style. But most of all, you'll hear that growlin', moanin', wailin', howlin' Wolf. --Ken Hohman