I Put a Spell on You

Screamin' Jay Hawkins | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 14, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Collectables
• ASIN: B0000008TC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #173,394 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. I Put a Spell on You

2. Orange Colored Sky

3. Hong Kong

4. Temptation

5. I Love Paris

6. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

7. Yellow Coat

8. Ol' Man River

9. If You Are But a Dream

10. (Take Me Back to My) Boots and Saddle

11. Deep Purple

12. You Made Me Love You

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars And what a spell that is......, March 21, 2000

By 

James Savage (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Put a Spell on You (Audio CD)

Screaming Jay Hawkins "I Put A Spell On You" is one of the definitive albums of the bizarre 1960's. This music is as unique as Frank Zappa, in it's own right. The strange delivery of Screaming Jay works wonders with the orchestral sound of the band on songs like Orange Color Sky, and his jibberish yip yapping on Hong Kong are not only hysterical, but funky as well. The way he could include Swing Low Sweet Chariot on this album is beyond anyone's belief. This is one of the great albums of all time- either you will love it or hate it, but you will by no means ever forget it.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Screamin' Jay is a scream....., January 22, 2005

By 

D. Pawl "Dani" (Seattle) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Put a Spell on You (Audio CD)

I don't know where to begin with this album. You could say so much about this guy. For starters, Screamin' Jay was more like three men packed into one. He was a prize fighter, a singer/songwriter and aspiring opera singer. He was also campy, wonderfully eccentric and irresistably soulful.

Most people know him for one of his greatest hits, "I Put a Spell On You." This tune about obsessive love is really like no other song I have ever heard. Screamin' Jay does it best, of course (though, it was remade by the wonderful Nina Simone, as well as other artists). His nickname was, no doubt, a true indication of his style. This man alternates wailing, crooning, and screaming with true singing talent. He alternates feelings of torture with feelings of satisfaction (and, sometimes, it is hard to decide which emotion he is truly trying to convey--maybe both?).

This album is a combination of Jay's original works ("I Put a Spell on You," "Hong Kong," and "Yellow Coat"), and old standards ("I Love Paris," "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," "Ol' Man River," "If You are But a Dream," and "You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)"). The combination of scatting, unusual interpretaion and hilarious ad-libbing is truly delivered in a way I have never heard before. Jay definitely has the mojo and the juice to carry this wonderful album. You just have to hear it to believe it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the one to start with Screamin' Jay Hawkins, September 24, 2005

By 

Mr. Olivier BEDOUET "discollector" (France) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Put a Spell on You (Audio CD)

First of all, I would like to notice that it's the reissue of his first album "at home with S.J.H." (originally issued on Epic in 1958) with a different order in the titles and a different cover. Secondly, I think it's the album of reference of his long and heratic carreer. Personally, I was so blowed when I first heard his powerful voice able to sing blues, easy listening or rock. A true artist of music hall in a sense that he is a true character.