Rising Wolf

Wow! Howlin' Wolf included in the Chronological Classics blues & rhythm series - now that's fantastic because we're sure to get all the recordings the Wolf ever made in order (eventually)…

Joe Bonamassa designed his Red Rocks tribute concert to Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf as a fund-raiser for his Keeping the Blues Alive foundation, so it makes sense that the accompanying live album begins with a capsule history of the Mississippi Delta blues, and also has interview excerpts from Waters and Wolf peppered throughout. Bonamassa wanted this particular show to be instructive in addition to being entertaining, so he needs to explain the subjects of his tribute, even if they are two of the biggest blues figures of the 20th century…

While both Bear Family sets deal with a largely unissued wealth of material, this collection is devoted in the main to all the Memphis recordings from 1951 and 1952 that saw the light of day on a number of Los Angeles-based labels owned by the Bihari Brothers, being issued and reissued and reissued again on a plethora of $1.98 budget albums. Featuring recordings done in Sam Phillips' Memphis Recording Service and surreptitious sessions recorded by a young Ike Turner in makeshift studios, these 18 sides are the missing piece of the puzzle in absorbing Wolf's early pre-Chess period. It also helps that this just happens to be some of the nastiest sounding blues ever recorded.

In its original form, Crown's Howlin' Wolf Sings the Blues LP was a patchwork compilation of sides cut for the Modern label in 1951-1952, including three songs that had previously showed up on RPM singles, a bunch of outtakes not released on 45, and a couple instrumentals that weren't even the work of Howlin' Wolf himself. The material hails from that confusing junction in his discography where his first Memphis recordings were being leased to both Modern and Chess, which is why material from that era has tended to get released on different labels. Certainly the Wolf's Modern sessions could have been better represented than they were by this 1962 album, but it's still groundbreaking early electric blues, though not quite up to the peaks he'd scale with his best Chess sessions of the mid-'50s to the mid-'60s…

“They always try to write off the blues; well we've proven tonight that at least 9,000 people like the blues,” said celebrated blues rock master Joe Bonamassa who will release his highly anticipated Joe Bonamassa – Muddy Wolf At Red Rocks on DVD, Blu-ray, CD and LP set on March 23, 2015. The exclusive concert experience tributing blues legends Muddy Watersand Howlin' Wolf was filmed at Red Rocks Amphitheater on August 31, 2014. Carved into the bedrock of Colorado's majestic Rocky Mountains, the famed amphitheater sets the stage for Bonamassa's fiery delivery of over 2.5 hours of bluesy guitar wailing and horn-filled tunes honoring the two Blues greats.
• Playing to a sold-out crowd of 9,000 fans, this marks the biggest show of Bonamassa's career, a major milestone for the bluesman. The Blu-ray and DVD contains over 1.5 hours of bonus features including exclusive behind the scenes footage, a photo gallery, historic footage of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, and a featurette of Bonamassa and producer Kevin Shirley's trip to The Crossroads.

“They always try to write off the blues; well we've proven tonight that at least 9,000 people like the blues,” said celebrated blues rock master Joe Bonamassa who will release his highly anticipated Joe Bonamassa – Muddy Wolf At Red Rocks on DVD, Blu-ray, CD and LP set on March 23, 2015. The exclusive concert experience tributing blues legends Muddy Watersand Howlin' Wolf was filmed at Red Rocks Amphitheater on August 31, 2014. Carved into the bedrock of Colorado's majestic Rocky Mountains, the famed amphitheater sets the stage for Bonamassa's fiery delivery of over 2.5 hours of bluesy guitar wailing and horn-filled tunes honoring the two Blues greats.
• Playing to a sold-out crowd of 9,000 fans, this marks the biggest show of Bonamassa's career, a major milestone for the bluesman. The Blu-ray and DVD contains over 1.5 hours of bonus features including exclusive behind the scenes footage, a photo gallery, historic footage of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, and a featurette of Bonamassa and producer Kevin Shirley's trip to The Crossroads.