Personnel includes: Howlin' Wolf (vocals); Hubert Sumlin (guitar); Willie Dixon, Sunnyland Slim.
Recorded live in Germany.
Personnel includes: Howlin' Wolf, Sunnyland Slim, Hubert Sumlin, Willie Dixon.
Recorded live in 1964.
Personnel: Howlin' Wolf (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Willie Dixon (spoken vocals, bass instrument); Hubert Sumlin (guitar); Sunnyland Slim (piano); Clifton James (drums).
Rockin' the Blues Live in Germany 1964 is still one of the few essential unauthorized live performances by Howlin' Wolf to emerge. Unlike Chess Records' own Wolf concert disc, Live and Cookin' at Alice's, cut more than a half-decade later, there are no apologies or explanations needed here over the late date of the recording in his career. This is prime Chester Burnett at work, in his prime, and if Clifton James' drums aren't always recorded with quite enough presence, then Hubert Sumlin's lead guitar (and Wolf's harp and occasional guitar flourishes), Sunnyland Slim's piano, and Willie Dixon's bass are right there with Wolf's voice, up close and personal. Everyone concerned seems fully primed and energized by the size and enthusiasm of the audiences they found on this tour (as well as the money, more than ten times what they were used to seeing playing the same sets in the U.S.A., even if half of it was in the currency of whatever country they were in). This is not only a great set and a superb show, but the individual songs, including "Rockin' the Blues" and "All My Love," are among the most accessible in Wolf's repertory. Unlike most unauthorized concert documents of his work, this CD would be a great place for a person to start listening to the man. ~ Bruce Eder
This is a reissue of the November 6, 1964, Bremen concert that was previously available as Live in Europe 1964 on the Sundown label, with the same incorrect title references. What is first-rate is the sound, which is head-and-shoulders above most of the Howlin' Wolf live recordings of this period, undoubtedly because the show was part of the American Folk-Blues tour, large chunks of which were recorded professionally, and also the performance, which comes from a time when Wolf was still in very robust health. It's been said that if Muddy Waters had been born in Africa, he would have been a king; this show, which Chess Records could only wish they'd recorded, is a reminder that if Howlin' Wolf had been born in Africa, he'd have been a witch doctor or shaman; he's spellbinding in his performance, and the band backing him (a kind of star combo itself, with Willie Dixon and Sunnyland Slim playing alongside Hubert Sumlin) is tight, if a little restrained. And to top it off, it's mid-priced. ~ Bruce Eder minimize