Hoodoo Man Blues

Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Buddy Guy & Junior Wells | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 10, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Delmark
• ASIN: B000004BI9
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,372 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #8 in Music > Indie Music > Blues > Chicago Blues
  • #20 in Music > Indie Music > Blues > Electric Blues Guitar
  • #22 in Music > Indie Music > Blues > Contemporary Blues

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

This 1965 album is where vocalist and harmonica player Junior Wells comes into his own. An early collaboration with Buddy Guy, the two of them sum up the 1960s funk-rock-blues that lay ahead. Hoodoo Man Blues inspired Paul Butterfield, Eric Clapton, and a host of other musician-fans. Wells and Guy don't shy from creating James Brown-funkified blues, or from putting a rock edge to their blues; but neither do they shy from traditional blues. Their version of "Good Morning Little School Girl" is a proper update--still menacing, with less of a country blues feel. Also not to be missed is the instrumental workout "Chitlin Con Carne." --Robert Gordon

Product Description

Hoodoo Man Blues is not only Junior Well's initial LP appearance, it is damn near the first LP by a Chicago blues band. Chess and a few other labels had issued 45's by Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Howling Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Elmore James, etc. but virtually no one had tried to capture the Chicago blues sound free of limitations of juke-box/airplay promotion. Delmark is proud of the part Hoodoo Man Blues played in the popularization of the real Chicago blues and of Junior Wells. But the credit belongs to Junior, Buddy, Jack and Billy - they made the music. We just sat and dug it.

''One of the truly classic blues albums of the 1960s, and one of the first to fully document the smoky ambience of a night at a West Side nightspot in the superior acoustics of a recording studio. Wells just set up with his usual cohorts - guitarist Buddy Guy (billed as 'Friendly Chap' on first vinyl pressings), bassist Jack Myers, and drummer Billy Warren - and proceeded to blow up a storm, bringing an immediacy to Snatch It Back and Hold It, You Don't Love Me, Chitlin con Carne, and the rest of the tracks that is absolutely mesmerizing. - Bill Dahl, ALL MUSIC GUIDE.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greatest Blues Album Ever?, December 11, 2001

By 

N. Wakabayashi "Nobs" (Jawsey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hoodoo Man Blues (Audio CD)

Junior Wells isn't my personal favorite as a harpist (Sonny Boy is), but this album is one of my absolute favorites in the blooze. This album is really HOT, with Junior struttin' his stuff with his mates from Chicago, including the one & only Buddy Guy. Buddy really gels with Wells on this album, not by taking solos, but by accompanying him & the actual song being played. His presence really steps up Junior, & brings out the best in him here.

While Junior is a terrific blues harpist & singer, he has a real funky style that resembles James Brown. You can really hear it from the get go in "Snatch back & Hold It". The cover of "You Don't Love Me" from this album will influence a bunch of guys in Macon, GA. a few years later.

I believe this was also one of the earliest "full" blues albums released, rather than a collection of singles from vinyl. Hence, the greatest blues "album" ever recorded. Yes, that is my personal opinion, but the Chicago blues rarely gets better than this. Essential for any blues collection!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First real blues album, October 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Hoodoo Man Blues (Audio CD)

The appeal of Hoodoo Man Blues is that it was conceived as an album instead of a hodgepodge of singles and other tracks. When Junior Wells took his backing band with him into Bob Koester's Delmark studio, he had an LP in mind. Hoodoo Man Blues sounds as if it had been recorded in at some dingy nightclub in downtown Chicago at midnight. No particular track on the album stands out above the rest. What there is here is wall-to-wall classic blues. Wells makes no apologies to the purist crowd and throws a little James Brown-esque funk into the mix. He was a harp-toting gangster. He may not have been technically as good on the harp as Little Walter, but Wells had the attitude. Wells employs ace musicians to back him up like Buddy Guy on guitar, Billy Warren on drums, and Jack Myers on electric bass.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top 5 Blues Album!, December 16, 2006

By 

Boston Bluesman (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hoodoo Man Blues (Audio CD)

This is easily one of the best studio blues albums ever made. Not only is the album great, but it is also a historically significant in that it was one of the first true blues 'albums'. This is not a collection of singles, but a front to back great album. Junior is in top form and the the interplay between Junior and Buddy, the blues best combo, is amazing. A must for any blues fans and in particular Chicago style blues fans. Also check out Buddy Guy's great 'I was walking through the woods'. If its not in your collection buy it now. You will not be disappointed.