Howlin Wolf - The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions

Shipping sixtysomething blues icon Howlin' Wolf to England in May 1970, accompanied by his guitarist Hubert Sumlin, was a crapshoot. Wolf’s health was poor and he hadn’t recorded outside of Chicago since 1954. Not surprisingly, Wolf’s London excursion remains a mixed bag. Certainly, the participants’ hearts were in their music--with the notable exception perhaps of Wolf's--but the result never quite gelled. When the Brit rockers such as Eric Clapton the Rolling Stones’ Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts dug into his songs, they collided with the ornery bluesman. Producer Norman Dayron later overdubbed Steve Winwood and Lafayette Leake’s keyboards (along with horns on a few tracks) to salvage the sessions. Of all the classic Chess albums, this is an odd choice to expand with a second disc of outtakes, none of which are particularly revelatory. Still, Clapton is fiery throughout, and Wolf, although not in prime form, is never less than convincing. Though often criticized, most notably by Clapton himself, Howlin' Wolf's London Sessions offers a worthy--though not essential--snapshot of the legend in his waning years. -Hal Horowitz Amazon.com

The Hour of The Wolf

One of my first exposures to the world of Chicago-style blues, after a steady dirt of country-style Delta blues, was the Rolling Stones' version of the Willie Dixon classic Little Red Rooster back in the early 1960's. I thought that was a song to beat all songs and it had nothing to do its allegorical nature, you know, about sex. What, moreover, capped it for me the fact that it was originally banned in Boston- from the radio airwaves of the times. Naturally that made this teenager want to hear it even more.

All this is by way of saying-yes; the Stones did a great version of that song but if you really want it heard then you must go to the master- Howlin' Wolf. That big gravelly voiced man who, in pictures that I have seen, seems to be inhaling the microphone lets it all hang out as he struts his stuff on that number. In Do the Do, Little Red Rooster, Killing Floor and on and on the Wolf sweats, bleeds, sucks up the whiskey, has another one for good measure and gets down on his knees, sometimes literally, to belt out the blues.

In this two-disc set of Howlin' Wolf classics some of those Stones did exactly what I mentioned above-went to the source. Listen in to the dialogue when the Wolf tells these trained musicians how to do the do here on Little Red Rooster. And they are all ears. That says it all. Moreover, the musical excitement builds as song after song gets you in a true blue mood. This is all about sex, about whiskey, about hardworking weeks to get to fun-loving Saturday nights. Yes, the hour of the Wolf is just before the dawn. Get this masterwork. You will not regret it.
April 7, 2008

Wow--Kickass Blues Riffs with a Superstar Backup Group

Imagine the Rolling Stones as a rhythm section, Eric Clapton on lead guitar, and Stevie Winwood on keyboards. Heck, even you singing in your shower could sound good. Wang Dang Doodle is such a killer song, Clapton's guitar simply sings, and is so elegantly and tastefully done, you don't know its Clapton, but instinctively look at the CD notes to see who was playing those tastey licks!

This vinyl record was one of my all time favorites. When it came out on CD and remastered with bonus tracks, I ignored the stupidly high price and took a leap of faith.

If you like Clapton's blues guitar, Stevie Winwood's piano and the solid rhythm of the Rolling Stones (and who doesn't), you will love this album. I'd give it 5 stars, but I'm stingy with stars, so a 4 star it will have to be. March 1, 2006

Look at it in context---it introduced The Wolf to a wider audience

The Howlin' Wolf London sessions made The Wolf known to a larger audience who probably wouldn't have picked up the album or noticed any other Howlin' Wolf material were it not for the big name musicians (Clapton, Winwood, Wyman, Watts, et al) and a really colorful cover (Let's face it, the old Chess re-issues didn't exactly catch anyone's eye). Unlike may other efforts at fusing young British and old American blues players, this one works well enough to be worthy of continuted availabiltiy and re-issue.

To appreciate this better, remember it was recorded around 1970, not 1948. The sound was different, the times were different, and the audience was different.

I got to see the Wolf shortly after this came out. No recording ever captured the mesmerizing nature of his voice.

This is a fun recording and I encourage listeners to enjoy it for what it is---a dynamic (and slightly imperfect) collaboration that added something to the blues and rock fusion that shaped a good deal of our musical heritage. September 30, 2005

beautiful set, awesome music!

I don't get all the criticism for this collection. It is a beautifully put-together collection of one of the best blues collaboration with British rockers. I thought this CD is stellar - both discs. There are not many recordings where you get to hear the musical giants we admire conversing among each other in the midst of a jam session. This alone makes this set extra-special: the conversations during Red Rooster and Who's Been Talking false starts. The sound quality is superb. I thought it was remarkable in its own right that these guys were even able to cut such a record within something like a week. Playing with new people in unfamiliar environments can easily wreck a musician's ability to perform well. I was amazed that it was possible to get the right set of musicians together in such a hurry and work out their differences. I think when you take into account all the adversity that these people faced to make this record, you get amazed at what sort of musical talent was gathered for this record. The remixes and alternate takes on the 2nd CD are great. In fact, I like a few of them better than the originals. My favorite songs are "I Aint Superstitious", "Rockin' Daddy", "Poor Boy", "Red Rooster", and "Goin' Down Slow". But it's kind of hard to pick - I love all the songs on both the discs. And I thought the producer did great with splicing in the horn arrangements later on - in my opinion, they were quite tastefully done. The Keyboards that were added later on also provide a soft, classy touch to already great music. August 2, 2005

better than i expected

I had read disappointing reviews but wanted to buy The London Sessions anyway. I love it. the first disc is superb, with great renditions of Killing Floor, Going Down Slow, and I Want To Have A Word With You as bonus tracks. Plus the original part of the album. The second disc could be better but listening to how a great blues master such as Howlin Wolf and his crew interacted with Brits best is amazing. the highlights for me though are the 19 year old harmonica player, Jeffery Carp, Eric Claptons skill as a blues musician, and the legend Howlin Wolf teaching the blues. March 27, 2005

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