Howlin' Wolf

The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions (Deluxe Edition) (Chess ’70, '02) Rating: B+
One of the first "super sessions", this album saw the legendary blues singer Howlin' Wolf backed by an English band comprised of Eric Clapton, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman, and Steve Winwood (whose keyboard parts were actually added later in Chicago). The sessions were fraught with tension; read Bill Dahl's entertaining liner notes on the significantly expanded deluxe edition, which describes how the true star of this album, producer Norman Dayron, was able to make a go of it against all kinds of odds. For one thing, Wolf was nearing 60 and in poor health, so these are far from his most commanding performances (he's still one mean mofo, though). Secondly, the band were intimidated by the imposing and irritable Wolf (good thing his great guitarist, Hubert Sumlin, was there to put him more at ease and add some first rate rhythm guitar), and so took some coaxing to really let loose. Fortunately, things eventually came together, in no small part due to Dayron (who bulked up the sound where necessary) and an interesting track selection that mixed together well-known songs ("I Ain't Superstitious," "Sittin' On Top Of The World," "The Red Rooster") with more obscure entries. Really, this is quite the period piece, which is not to imply that this album sounds dated (it doesn't) or that it isn't highly enjoyable today (it is). Rather, it's just an observation that this was a one time gathering at a specific time and place that would never be repeated, which makes the album special beyond its intensely played music. Really, given the participants involved (Klaus Voorman, Ringo Star, and John Simon are others who play on individual tracks), could this resulting album have been anything less than a stellar achievement? Well, yes, actually, as the rock landscape is littered with disappointing super sessions. This 'aint one of those, though, as the young British rockers cooked up enough unsinkable grooves that even Wolf, who was suspicious at first, wound up being suitably impressed. In fact, Wolf was mightily pleased with this album's results, and it became his best selling album ever.

send me an email

Back To Artist Index Home Page