mfs@mhuxr.UUCP (SIMON) (04/29/85)
The noises you are hearing are the gnashing teeth of collectors who paid up to $100 for a mint copy of the original of this album, HOWLIN' WOLF (Chess 1469, recognizable by a picture of a rocking chair on the cover) Had they waited a bit, they could have gotten it for a discounted $6.99 at their local record emporium (e.g. J&R or Tower). As part of an ambitious program, the new owners of Chess Records are re-issuing a ton of classic material, such as Bo Diddley's HAVE GUITAR WILL TRAVEL, and now this one. Oh, there are some minute differences in cover design, and the catalog number is different, and the copyright notice now says 1984 and all that, but who cares? The MUSIC is all there, ready to leap off the grooves and go for the throat. All the tunes that made this album famous have lost none of their freshness, and (Thank you Lord), they have preserved the original mono. "Red Rooster", "Back Door Man" and "Spoonful" expose both the mastery of the Wolf and the amateurishness of, respectively, the Grateful Dead, Doors and Cream versions. The unique blend of dread and implied threat (don't fuck with me!!!) that make the Wolf's voice come home to roost on "Howlin' for my Baby" and "Shake for Me". This album is one of the half dozen greatest in blues history, and a high point in all of American music. Pick up a copy now; bargains like that happen approximately once a century. Marcel Simon