Customer Reviews

The Howlin Wolf London Session

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

...producer Norman Dayron asked Eric Clapton if he would like to do an album with Chicago blues icon Howlin' Wolf.
Clapton jumped at the idea, Wolf was flown over from Chicago with his lead guitarist Hubert Sumlin, young harmonica ace Jeffrey Carp was called in, and bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts from the Rolling Stones made up the rhythm section.

And after the first day, Eric Clapton almost walked out, seriously intimidated by a sceptical Howlin' Wolf who had little faith in the abilities of the young Englishmen.
But then Clapton made a gesture which seemingly made Wolf thaw a little: Feeling (or maybe just pretending) that he and the band couldn't get the right sound on "The Red Rooster", he convinced Wolf to play the main riff for them. The tape was running, and you can hear the resulting "practice session" on disc one...Howlin' Wolf reluctantly agrees to play the guitar, and, refusing the one which is offered to him, he picks up his own instrument, puts on a glass bottleneck, and plays the instantly recognizable, muscular slide guitar riff which he first recorded in 1961.
That song is one of the highlights of this album, and one of the few of these sixteen re-recordings which matches the original.
Well, it gets really close, anyway.

Wolf was a sick man in 1970, suffering from heart problems and kidney disorder, and the often presented claim that these recordings lack the gritty power of his original Chess sides certainly has some truth to it. But that doesn't mean that "The London Sessions" is a waste of time...Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts form a very convincing bluesy rhythm section, 19-year-old Jeffrey Carp was a tremendous harmonica player, and Eric Clapton refrains from any kind of psychedelic blues-rock excesses like the ones which irreparably destroyed Muddy Waters' completely superflous "Electric Mud" album (and Wolf's own "This Is Howlin' Wolf's New Album", which he himself detested with a vengeance).

Disc I consists of the original London Sessions album plus three cuts from the same session which were left off the 1971 LP, and later released on 1974's weird throwoff "London Revisited".
Among those three are a pretty good "Going Down Slow" (Wolf does all the vocals, unlike the Chess version which had Willie Dixon speaking the first verse), and a rendition of "Killing Floor" which doesn't quite match the awesome original from 1964. It's still pretty good, though.

Disc I's "Who's Been Talking" is marred by a hideous organ solo, but the arrangements are generally very good, sticking close to the originals, and Steve Winwood stays away from the organ on the rest of the album, playing some good piano parts instead. He shares piano duties with Stones keyboardist Ian Stewart, and Chicago great Lafayette Leake shows up as well, rolling the ivories on "The Red Rooster", "Worried About My Baby", and "Sittin' On Top Of The World".
Also on disc I, Ringo Starr (billed as "Richie") plays drums on a good "I Ain't Superstitious" with a beefy horn arrangement, and the band lay down a really tough, powerful version of "Highway 49", and a slow, grittier-than-usual "Wang Dang Doodle".

Disc II opens with a lean, bare-bones rehearsal take of "Worried About My Baby", followed by a great, swaggering "The Red Rooster" which is at least as good as the one originally chosen.
"What A Woman" (better known as "Commit A Crime") is here in a really good, tough alternate version, and a completely superflous one with an artificial-sounding organ part overdubbed. "I Ain't Superstitious" is included in a horn-less rendition (as well as an alternate mix), and there is a great alternate take of "Highway 49" as well, a muscular alternate take of "Worried About You" (apart from the rehearsal), and a very good, significantly different version of "Poor Boy".
But the highlight on disc II has to be the tough, syncopated "Who's Been Talking" in an organ-free rendition which opens with two minutes of dialogue...Wolf is directing drummer Charlie Watts, and once Watts and bassist Wyman get on the beat, the result is magnificent. Too bad that it ends rather abruptly.

Howlin' Wolf's hoarse voice doesn't quite have the power it did just a few years earlier, but he still sings with conviction and lots of authority, and while this deluxe edition is probably too much for the casual fan, it does have lot of stuff which should interest serious Wolf fans. And the band actually do play the blues...a lot of rock drummers just can't do that, but Charlie Watts in totally convincing, as is the young harpist Carp and of course Wolf's own right hand man, the great Hubert Sumlin.

This is not the place to start your Wolf collection (always start with the classic Chess stuff!), but certainly not one to shy away from, either. Not everybody need to own this two-disc edition, but the London Sessions are definitely worth a listen. This 2003 reissue comes with an interesting essay by Bill Dahl, and the fidelity is excellent, notably better than on the original CD reissue.
"The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions" lack the incredible raw power of Wolf's early sides, but it's an interesting document for Wolf fans anyway.

Given the drubbing over the years by purists and other blues snobs who never liked the idea of impressionable rock-star Brits recording with their American blues legend masters, I expected this disc to sound as bad as other entries in this genre, such as the Chuck Berry London sessions. Surprise!! It's a lot better than expected.

Pinned by Wolf's regular guitarist and joined by an on-fire Eric Clapton, these recordings are spirited, enjoyable, and go down real easy. Stevie Winwood contributes solid organ/piano lines,and the bass and drum support of Stones engines Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman is effortless and in the pocket.

Why the criticism? I think it's mostly intellectual, rather than visceral. Yes, Wolf has sounded better, and the concept is a bit cute, but the results speak for themselves and stand the test of time. This is a comfort album, more for kicking back and enjoying the groove, rather than for someone looking for the definitive performance by any of the participants.

One point mentioned by a fellow reviewer with which I totally agree: The "bonus" disk is a shameless attempt to charge double the normal price for this re-release. There's nothing in it worth paying for. The best part of the rehearsal sessions is actually on the original release, where a cranky Wolf shows Clapton how to properly play the slide guitar....priceless, memorable, and one of the small charms of this album.

This collection has often been criticized, but it really is a fine collaboration of some great musicians, and Howlin Wolf of course, that grows on you.... Who's been talking really is the best track in my opinion and just sets a nice grove...

Look, I've always liked this album. In fact, it's how I got my first exposure to the inimitable Howling Wolf. But what's the deal with this reissue? I would love to repurchase this CD. The one I own is a first generation CD release and leaves a lot of room for improvement. But I am not going to spend this kind of money to get it. All or most of the "bonus tracks" could have been fit on one CD. This just really smacks of fan exploitation to me.

I've got a great soft spot in my heart for the album. Just to hear the British Invasion boys add their interperatation of Chicago blues to Howling Wolf is worth a great deal....but not this much.

I'll just turn my inferior remaster up louder.

The Howlin' Wolf London sessions made The Wolf known to a larger audience who probably wouldn't have picked up the album or noticed any other Howlin' Wolf material were it not for the big name musicians (Clapton, Winwood, Wyman, Watts, et al) and a really colorful cover (Let's face it, the old Chess re-issues didn't exactly catch anyone's eye). Unlike may other efforts at fusing young British and old American blues players, this one works well enough to be worthy of continuted availabiltiy and re-issue.

To appreciate this better, remember it was recorded around 1970, not 1948. The sound was different, the times were different, and the audience was different.

I got to see the Wolf shortly after this came out. No recording ever captured the mesmerizing nature of his voice.

This is a fun recording and I encourage listeners to enjoy it for what it is---a dynamic (and slightly imperfect) collaboration that added something to the blues and rock fusion that shaped a good deal of our musical heritage.

Hated by blues purists, "The London Sessions" is actually one of Howlin' Wolf's most immediately accesible albums, especially if you're not a seasoned blues fan. Great sound, great songs, and sympathetic playing by the all-star backing band.

The Wolf was in his sixies when these songs were recorded, and he was a very sick man, but his voice still retains a lot of its gravelly power.

It's not quite enough for five stars, though, mainly because these somewhat laid-back recordings do pale in comparison to the magnificent onslaught of Howlin' Wolf and his Wolf Gang when he was in his prime. But it is certainly nowhere near as awful as some people make it out to be, and while it shouldn't be your first Howlin' Wolf-purchase, it shouldn't be avoided either.

Amazon's critic, Hal Horowitz, pretty much says it all here. Whether it was Wolf's health or any other set of circumstances, these recording sessions simply never found their groove, and the result is miserable. It seems perverse to use the word "boring" for an album headlining a performer whose voice alone would wake the dead, and some of the best - and certainly most famous - musicians of the time, but boring it is, at least for the most part. Honestly, I can't quite put my finger on the "why": everyone plays their best, supporting the big man with respect approaching reverence, but somehow the whole effort just fails to take off. There are a few notable exceptions, and if you program your CD player to play only a few of these numbers at a time, you'll get a glimpse of what the sum of it all could have been. "Who's Been Talking" works because the rhythm is almost the opposite of blues, bouncy and lilting, it owes more to rock than blues and is a lot of fun. It is undoubtedly endearing to hear the stars of the day buttering up the old man in order to get him to play acoustic guitar along with them on "The Red Rooster," even if the studio chatter is more exciting than the song that follows it. "Do the Do" is fast and tense, and "Wang Dang Doodle" snakes along at just the right pace, half-lazy and half-stompin'. Unfortunately, the 13 selections on the original issue of the recording were at least three or four too many, several dragging along listlessly, sounding one exactly like the other. It's hard to beieve that the indifferent "Sittin' on Top of the World" was once Wolf's signature number, and it's also with reluctance that one admits that, un-PC as this may sound, several of the songs were in a way ruined for Wolf by being made famous in blistering interpretations by Cream, Stones, et al. To've augmented this failed project by a whole second CD of rehearsals smells of either despair or overzealousness.

I had read disappointing reviews but wanted to buy The London Sessions anyway. I love it. the first disc is superb, with great renditions of Killing Floor, Going Down Slow, and I Want To Have A Word With You as bonus tracks. Plus the original part of the album. The second disc could be better but listening to how a great blues master such as Howlin Wolf and his crew interacted with Brits best is amazing. the highlights for me though are the 19 year old harmonica player, Jeffery Carp, Eric Claptons skill as a blues musician, and the legend Howlin Wolf teaching the blues.

Imagine the Rolling Stones as a rhythm section, Eric Clapton on lead guitar, and Stevie Winwood on keyboards. Heck, even you singing in your shower could sound good. Wang Dang Doodle is such a killer song, Clapton's guitar simply sings, and is so elegantly and tastefully done, you don't know its Clapton, but instinctively look at the CD notes to see who was playing those tastey licks!

This vinyl record was one of my all time favorites. When it came out on CD and remastered with bonus tracks, I ignored the stupidly high price and took a leap of faith.

If you like Clapton's blues guitar, Stevie Winwood's piano and the solid rhythm of the Rolling Stones (and who doesn't), you will love this album. I'd give it 5 stars, but I'm stingy with stars, so a 4 star it will have to be.

I don't get all the criticism for this collection. It is a beautifully put-together collection of one of the best blues collaboration with British rockers. I thought this CD is stellar - both discs. There are not many recordings where you get to hear the musical giants we admire conversing among each other in the midst of a jam session. This alone makes this set extra-special: the conversations during Red Rooster and Who's Been Talking false starts. The sound quality is superb. I thought it was remarkable in its own right that these guys were even able to cut such a record within something like a week. Playing with new people in unfamiliar environments can easily wreck a musician's ability to perform well. I was amazed that it was possible to get the right set of musicians together in such a hurry and work out their differences. I think when you take into account all the adversity that these people faced to make this record, you get amazed at what sort of musical talent was gathered for this record. The remixes and alternate takes on the 2nd CD are great. In fact, I like a few of them better than the originals. My favorite songs are "I Aint Superstitious", "Rockin' Daddy", "Poor Boy", "Red Rooster", and "Goin' Down Slow". But it's kind of hard to pick - I love all the songs on both the discs. And I thought the producer did great with splicing in the horn arrangements later on - in my opinion, they were quite tastefully done. The Keyboards that were added later on also provide a soft, classy touch to already great music.