Howlin' Wolf - The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions

Howlin' Wolf — The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions

Chess Records 75 Series from Chess Records and Acoustic Sounds!

Mastered by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab 

180-gram vinyl pressed at Quality Record Pressings

"Howlin' Wolf, man... he's the guts of America spilling out on the floor, that's all. ... It only works because Wolf and the band understand each other so well. Their flash is molded to his roar and his menace, and what comes out is something new. This session does not have a bad cut. The beauty of it is that none of it seems contrived, forced, or self-conscious." — Greil Marcus, Creem

"His voice is what you'd get if you cloned, say, four Captain Beefhearts and stood 'em all in front of the same microphone. The man's a force of nature... Recordings will never capture the Wolf's ability to scare audiences out of their wits. You had to be there... Grade: A" — Joseph Neff, The Vinyl District

The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions is a landmark 1971 collaborative blues-rock album recorded by blues legend Howlin' Wolf (Chester Burnett) alongside an all-star lineup of British and American rock and blues icons. It was one of the first super session blues albums, setting a blues master among famous musicians from the second generation of rock and roll, in this case Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman, and longtime Wolf guitarist Hubert Sumlin.

In May 1970, Chess Records flew Chester Burnett, a.k.a Howlin' Wolf, across the Atlantic to Olympic Studios in London, setting up a heavyweight summit that rock lore is built on. Waiting was a murderer's row of devotees eager to pay homage to the master. Forget polite jam sessions. From the opening crack of Watts' snare on "Rockin' Daddy" to the low-slung, hypnotic grind of "Wang Dang Doodle," this is raw electricity captured on tape.

Clapton's stinging Fender tone dances around Sumlin's angular, biting rhythm work, while Wyman and Watts lock into an elastic, freight-train groove that breathes with massive room ambiance. And standing dead-center over it all is Wolf himself: six-foot-three, near three hundred pounds, bellowing with that guttural, gravel-choked Delta authority that simply cannot be tamed by a studio mixing desk. Hear him break down the timing for Slowhand on "Little Red Rooster" — a spine-tingling moment of musical royalty bowing to its direct source.

Cut by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab with astonishing dynamic range, pristine stereo separation, and an analog presence so palpable you can practically smell the tube grease and stale cigarette smoke lingering in the control room. Every rasp in Wolf's throat, every ride-cymbal sizzle, and every crackle of an overdriven valve amp leaps straight out of the grooves and punches you square in the chest.

This is an essential cornerstone of blues-rock history — authoritative, electrifying, and presented here with the jaw-dropping realism your turntable was built for. 

Side A

1. Rockin' Daddy

2. I Ain't Superstitious

3. Sittin' On Top Of The World

4. Worried About My Baby

5. What A Woman!

6. Poor Boy

Side B

1. Built For Comfort

2. Who's Been Talking?

3. The Red Rooster (Rehearsal)

4. The Red Rooster

5. Do The Do

6. Highway 49

7. Wang-Dang-Doodle

Be the first to write a review for this item OR just rate it