Rating 4.5
A fun listen--but doesn't approach wolf at his bestThis album was my introduction to the Wolf, and I loved it. It was after I had heard some of his other work and then came back to the London Sessions that I found myself disappointed. Howlin' Wolf possessed the most distinctive voice in blues--a genre full of distinct voices. The London Sessions feature a fairly ill, and rather old Howlin' Wolf, and he simply doesn't have the raw power that he possessed on earlier albums. The songs on this album are good as always, and the Rolling Stones' rhythm section, the Eric Clapton guitar work, give Wolf an updated rock feel. If you're looking for classic blues songs with a slightly smoother feel and production, this is definitely a great purchase. But if you want Wolf at his most powerful, check out something earlier, like "Moanin' in the Moonlight".Wang Wang DoodleAfter the success of Muddy Waters' Fathers and Sons album, Chess Records decided to do something similar with Howlin' Wolf. So, they got young rock stars like Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts to record with Wolf. The results were good, although not as good as Wolf's older recordings. Practically all of these songs had been recorded by Wolf before, in better versions. Wolf's voice was not quite as strong as it once was, and the younger musicians didn't quite mesh with Wolf as well as the old bluesmen he usually worked with did. But this is still an enjoyable album that blues fans should enjoy.pretty darn goodI've read reviews of this that have called it a turkey, blues purists SEEM to hate it. After all, these are white english kids, for cripes sake! Well, a lot of these white english kids helped a lot of American kids learn about stuff they had never heard of. I bought this album when it first came out. I knew who Clapton was, I knew who Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts were, I knew who Stevie Winwood was. I did NOT know who Howlin Wolf was. So, as a result of this album I learned who Howlin Wolf was and eventually bought more of his albums. But regardless, this is an album that I enjoy listening too! I believe that the musicianship of the guys playing on this is much better than it's credited as being. Yeah, the Red Rooster intro is one that probably should have been left out. I've never been able to figure out why they left that in. I've read that Clapton has disparaged this album and his involvement in it. I've never actually heard/read his words on this. It makes me sad. I've heard of lot of other stuff that has been released with the blessing of artists that truly sucks. Anyway, don't pass on this because some music critic panned it. It's a darn good album. |
