Howlin' Wolf: His Best -Chess 50th Anniversary Collection

The songwriting credits are shared about equally by the omnipresent Willie Dixon, who plays bass on most of the cuts as well, and the Wolf himself, and "Hidden Charms" features perhaps the greatest guitar solo ever comitted to tape, courtesy of the hugely underestimated Hubert Sumlin, Wolf's right-hand man for more than twenty years.
Other highlights include "Forty-Four", "Smokestack Lightnin'", "The Red Rooster" and the phenomenal "Killing Floor", written by Howlin' Wolf, shamelessly stolen by Led Zeppelin and covered by several others, but never surpassed, and featured here in the ultimate version, sporting an incredible catchy guitar riff by Hubert Sumlin, and solos by Buddy Guy.

This is a corner stone in any serious blues collection. Hard-rocking, bone-crunching electric blues, burning with the sheer ferocity of Chester Burnett's incredible voice. There was never anyone like the Wolf, and it doesn't seem likely that there will be.
Oh, and while you're at it, get "His Best vol. II" as well.


Thirteen pounds of Joy (unless it's on discount)   August 15, 2004
Bobby Talalay
16 out of 16 found this review helpful

When the deep voice of Wolf breaks into your bedroom in Moanin' at Midnight you'll wonder what hit you. The songs on this album beautifully represent Wolf's versatility and talent and allow for several types of the Blues to emerge. Bebop is represented by How Many More Years and the Mississppi delta by Sitting on Top of the World (originally by the memphis sheiks). The eclectic mix of styles highlight the variety of Howlin' Wolf. When singing electric blues, backed by Hubert Sumlin, the power of Wolf really emerges and tracks like Hidden Charms and Shake for Me are true Chicago blues. However, the true gems on this album are in his less celebrated tracks like Who's Been Talkin and Moanin' at Midnight, while the great tracks of I Aint Superstitious and Killing Floor round of a great album.
If you want to hear great blues which spans Chicago and the Mississippi delta, if you want to hear the real commercial alternative to Muddy Waters in the Chicago blues and if you want to hear one of the greatest artists in music who inspired such legends as the Rolling Stones then buy this and hear some excellently compiled Howlin' Wolf.


One of the greats.   June 17, 2004
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

A solid collection from one of the greats of the blues. If you don't know that Howlin' Wolf is himself a classic you know nothing about the blues. Simple rhythmic backing with the right feel and timing is beyond most white "blues" guitarists. The Stones worshipped and adored the Wolf and Muddy Waters. They were their gods and when they got to play with them they were in heaven.


like draging hot glass across asphalt   May 23, 2005
Christopher C. Stevens (The Shire)
7 out of 9 found this review helpful

This has to be one of my favourite blues albums, this really is good. Once you've heard killing floor you will be sold, and once you hear wolf's voice you will never forget it.


Afficionados Only?   March 22, 2004
Sd Alcock (Colchester, England)
7 out of 52 found this review helpful

I bought this CD because I'd heard that Hubert Sumlin was an ultra cool Blues Guitarist favoured by Jimmy Page. The majority of the guitar work is simple rhythmic backing, and didn't seem to me to be the distilled essence of bluesmanship that fed the next generation (Hendrix, Page, Beck, Richards,..)

Howlin' Wolf's gravelly voice is one thing, poor sound engineering another. On some of the tracks his powerful deep voice simply causes the mic' to distort, nothing clever in that. A couple of the Tracks wound down to such a slow pace that I wondererd if the band had trouble staying awake.

For those with an interest in the roots of popular music from an academic point of view, or those who are dedicated blues purists this CD may hold some value. But unless you've been living and breathing this stuff for a while it's never going to make the hairs on your neck stand up like the blues classics you already know and love.