Search - Howlin Wolf :: Real Folk Blues

No unreal folk blues here....

Lee Hartsfeld | Central Ohio, United States | 02/04/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Some of these tracks are among Wolf's best; others aren't. Those that fall into the "aren't" category include Willie Dixon's "Three Hundred Pounds of Joy," a number that confirms Dixon's reputation, in the eyes of some, as the Chet Atkins of the blues. (Blues-politan?) I'm not saying that this is good or bad, but the track is not among Wolf's best. But my review policy regarding Wolf is simple and, I think, absolutely fair, my policy being that Wolf never recorded anything worth fewer than five stars. Period. If a collection of coughing and sneezing by the great man were released as a CD, or part of one, I would issue five stars to it. This is based on the theory that anything Mr. Burnett committed to tape (or disc) was, and remains, magnificent. Regardless of what it was.At any rate, there is nothing but music on this CD, the best tracks being "Killing Floor," "Poor Boy," "Sittin' on Top of the World," and the almost-experimental "Nachez Burning," a 1956 side unlike anything else I've heard by this great artist. Blues rock is linked with any number of "Chicago" (i.e., transplanted Southern) bluesmen, but Wolf practically invented the 1960s version of that music. Proof herein.I almost forgot. Five stars."

Good, but there is better

P. Nicholas Keppler | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania United States | 10/22/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Essentially this is the same Howlin' Wolf heard on the previous recordings, 1959's Howlin' Wolf and 1962's Moanin' in the Moonlight (both of which were compilations of singles, many of which are classics, released by the Wolf throughout the 1950s). 1966's The Real Folk Blues, recorded in the early to mid 1960s features the larger than life growling voice and riffs, as well as the monster swagger of those amazing earlier recordings and the fact that Wolf is writing all of his own material instead of recording Willie Dixon`s songs subtracts little quality. Still, this is second rate Howlin'' Wolf when compared to those recordings. The newly added horn section, which adds little and removing much of the Wolf's impeccable grit, is the main reason. Howlin' Wolf's first two LPs are available on one disc, if you like those then I recommend you check out this album."

****1/2 - plenty of great, thoroughly non-folkish Wolf

Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 09/08/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The only thing "wrong" with this disc is that almost all of this material is available on MCA/Chess's main Howlin' Wolf-compilations "His Best", "Hist Best vol. II" and the magnificent "Chess Box".



In terms of rarities, "More Real Folk Blues" is the more interesting of Wolf's two "Folk Blues" albums (neither of which are the slightest bit folkish), but the fact that "The Real Folk Blues" and "More Real Folk Blues" are now in print only as a twofer-CD which features all 24 tracks makes that kind of a moot point, I guess.

And there is absolutely nothing wrong with what is here. "The Real Folk Blues" opens with two of Wolf's best and most powerful mid-60s numbers, the self-penned "Killing Floor" and "Louise". "Killing Floor" is one of the finest songs in Chester Arthur Burnett's lenghty catalogue, perhaps the finest, and the lesser-known but thoroughly impressive "Louise" is a driving powerhouse of a song, all blaring saxes and a scorching solo by Wolf's lead guitarist Hubert Sumlin.



Other highlights include...well, the rest of what is here, really, although Willie Dixon's novelty-thumper "Three Hundred Pounds Of Joy" is something of an acquired taste. But most of these songs (9 out of 12, actually) ar Wolf originals, and numbers like the muscular grind of "My Country Sugar Mama", the swinging shuffle "Poor Boy", and the somber "The Natchez Burnin'" are particularly superb.

This is nothing like a thorough Wolf retrospective, of course, just a sample of his mid-50s to mid-60s Chess waxings, but that doesn't make it any less great. You need this material in one form or another!"