Howlin Wolf

Do we really need a second His Best collection from Howlin' Wolf? Absolutely. An artist about whom everything was larger than life surely deserves a second volume of his finest Chess Records work. Although this is volume 2, one should not consider the content secondary to the first His Best, even though that one contained classics like "Moanin' at Midnight," "Smokestack Lightning," "Howlin' for My Darling," "Spoonful," "Red Rooster," and more. Vol. 2 contains its own delights, including the almost-rock & roll "Howlin' Wolf Boogie," the rollicking "All Night Boogie," the energetic shuffle of "Rockin' Daddy" (complete with some stellar piano work from Otis Spann), and the slow, intense drawl of "The Natchez Burnin'." And "Tail Dragger" alone is worth the price of the CD, while the false start at the beginning of "The Red Rooster" provides an amusing coda.

This three-CD box set currently rates as the best – and most digestible – overview of Howlin' Wolf's career. Disc one starts with the Memphis sides that eventually brought him to the label, including hits like "How Many More Years," but also compiling unissued sides that had previously only been available on vinyl bootlegs of dubious origin and fidelity…

Howlin' Wolf may be gone, but his spirit lives on, as this 13-track tribute album featuring members of the Wolf's own band attests. Sam Lay, Eddie Shaw, Hubert Sumlin, and the rest are as tight and smooth as they ever were playing behind Howlin' Wolf, and they've got an array of guest stars to do the Wolf proud. Taj Mahal (sounding a good bit like Wolf himself) is here, as are guitar-slinger Debbie Davies and multi-instrumentalist Kenny Neal. Lucinda Williams does a bluesy turn, and there are contributions from Lucky Peterson, James Cotton, and more. The CD features plenty of Wolf favorites, including "Saddle My Pony," "Howlin' for My Darling," "The Red Rooster," "Howlin' Wolf Boogie," and "Smokestack Lightnin'," among others. All in all, it's a fitting tribute to a man whose contribution to the blues is immeasurable.