Search - Howlin Wolf :: Howlin' Wolf, 1951-1952

Fine collection of Wolf's earliest singles

Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 04/10/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This compilation focuses not on Howlin' Wolf's better-known Chess sides, but on his earliest recordings for Sam Phillips' Memphis Recording Service (later Sun Records).

There are other CDs which draw from the same material, including the two exhaustive Bear Family discs "The Memphis Days: Definitive Edition" volumes one and two, and if you want everything recorded by Wolf for Sam Phillips, you should go for those two. But if you just want a really good sampler, this fine album, which features some of the best sound ever on a Wolf album, is your best bet.



Committed to tape in 1951 and early '52, most of these 25 recordings are even more rough and nasty sounding than the Chess singles. The sound isn't fantastic, but Willie Johnson's incredibly raw and ragged lead guitar and Wolf's gravelly voice are sharp as shards of broken glass.

There are no Willie Dixon tunes here, everything is written or at least arranged by the Wolf himself, which means that some listeners will undoubtedly find these songs to be somewhat unvaried and lacking the more radio-friendly hooks of Dixon's compositions. But if you already have Wolf's Chess sides (many of which were penned by himself as well), you owe it to yourself to pick up these songs as well and experience the violence and utter nastiness of the Wolf's Memphis recordings!"