Customer Reviews

Voodoo Jive: Best of

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Screamin' Jay was one interesting and crazy cat. He was so scary when he took the stage, he could make Ozzy Osbourne and Alice Cooper look like Pat Boone choirboys. He was known primarily for his hit song "I Put A Spell On You". And what a song it was! According to Hawkin's, he and his band were stinking drunk on Swiss Colony Muscatel when they recorded this. They never expected this crazy tune to go anywhere. But a couple weeks later, this song, with it's screams, grunts, groans, and all, started getting a lot of radio airplay. Bing Crosby lovin' parents were outraged at this devilish little tune, so naturally it became a big hit. He released the superb rocker "Little Demon" at the same time. I like this one as much as I do "Spell". After releasing these two songs, Hawkin's career took off. Screamin Jay quickly developed a stage act that eventually became downright weird. He entered the stage with thunder and lightning bolts, and enclosed in a coffin. When he started singing in that deep baritone voice inside that box, it sent the screaming teenage kids heading for the doors. When he emerged from the coffin, the lucky people who stuck around were treated to some fantastic rock, r&b, and blues. This man's appearance alone though, was intimidating to say the least, with the shrunken heads he carried around, along with the lifesize skull on a stick he called Henry. I always wondered if that thing was real. He never really enjoyed the chart success again that he had with these early hits. Neverthless, he still continued to put out some great music. Some of my favorites here are "Alligator Wine", a blues tune that sounded like it was recorded in the middle of a jungle. A song taken off an album of all standards "April In Paris" was different from anything he ever did. It's a remarkable song that showed just how great a singer Screamin' Jay could be when he wanted to. At one time he actually studied opera. But since you don't see too much opera songs hitting the charts, Hawkin's pursued a different and a little higher paying career. No Hawkin's anthology would be complete without the wonderfully insane "I Hear Voices". He even does a song about food called "Feast Of The Mau Mau". You don't wanna know what this meal consists of. It's pretty disgusting. He ends the cd with "Constipation Blues". A song he wrote while laid up in a hospital with, you guessed it, constipation. The grunts and groans from this tune also caused a lot of outrage from just about everybody. Hawkin's was always pretty much considered a novely act. A label he didn't particually like. He had talent. A lot of it. But because of disputes with his numerous record companies, he never quite caught the break he deserved. This is a pretty nice anthology of his career. I would like to have seen my favorite tune by him, "Temptation" put on here. Along with "Itty Bitty Pretty One". One week after he released this, the Jackson 5 had a big hit with the song and Jay's record company went bust. That's the kind of luck the old Hawk had. There's enough good scary stuff on here though, to frighten unwanted kids from your doorstep at Halloween. It's Great music, but not for the faint of heart.

The first time I heard Screamin' Jay, I was four years old. My father played "I Hear Voices" off an old LP and it scared me. But as I grew older, I began to appreciate the music of this wild bluesman.

Jay Hawkins is the one your mama warned you about. He made it possible for showmen like Alice Cooper and Marilyn Manson to exist. From his flaming coffins to the bone through his nose, Jay was all about shocking you visually as much as he wanted to knock you over with his screaming. And to think he wanted to be an opera singer.

But Jay is more than just a screamer. His haunting voice gives these songs life. From I Love Paris to Orange Colored Sky, his distinctive voice will captivate you. It is safe to say that you haven't heard anything like him.

Jay Hawkins isn't for everybody. But he is for me. It's sad to think that he's no longer with us. I miss him already. But at least we have his music.

Ok by now everyone knows how Screamin' Jay was the original horror rocker, and how Alice, Ozzy, Manson and Zombie and the underground punk, goth and even metal scenes owe this guy their carreers. So if you want to experience the genesis of all that is dark and insane in rock & roll, get this cd. It's a perfect introduction to the very first shock rocker. Here you'll get songs dealing with black magic, cannibalism, obsessive love, taking a horribly painful dump, and just weird stuff. He wasn't all bad though. There are some "normal" early blues/rock & roll tunes on this cd as well. Fortunately for us, Screamin' Jay couldn't be "normal" if he tried. Even corny "white" ballads like I Love Paris are given his unique touch of howling and gibberish. So pick this up and discover the madness and genious of the late great Jay Hawkins.

Even having only heard Screamin' Jay on a couple of soundtracks (Smoke and Songs in the Key of X), I knew I'd been exposed to something dangerous. This is ugly, stinky, scary, belly-of-hell music, and after listening to Voodoo Jive from beginning to end, I've been permanently stained. Dammit, that's a good CD.

Hot out of this world and rocking with happiness and hilarity. Some of the funniest and most terrific good times. And why couldn't he have been an opera singer?? What a voice, rich and deep and an offbeat sense of humor to boot. A great album, with great gusto.

The perfect companion to the AMAZING compliation "Cow Fingers & Mosquito Pie!" Only gets a 4 star because RHINO failed to include such Screamin' Jay classics as "Bite It" and "Hong Kong." But it DOES include the rockin' "DO YOU REALLY LOVE ME" and the spooky "I Hear Voices". And of course, there IS the greatest of them ALL..."CONSTIPATION BLUES!"...."the band & I have just retrned from the general hospital..." WORLD CLASS SCREAMIN' JAY!!! Makes you want to run to the bathroom and "pinch one!" SCREAMIN' JAY RULES!!!!!!!!

It's true. Screamin' Jay Hawkins was the original controversial and shocking rock 'n' roll frontman. His stage antics were the stuff of legend--the bursting out of coffins, the witch doctor-meets-Vincent Price outfit (complete with a bone through the nose), his pet skull named Henry, and wildly over-the-top, un-P.C. voodoo-hoodoo lyrics all knocked the otherwise staid and wholesome '50s back on its arse in a cloud of stage smoke and feral baritone howling.

But unlike his pathetic would-be successors like Marilyn Manson and Alice Cooper who allowed the image to overcome the music, Screamin' Jay actually had gobs of talent to match his persona. His voice was simply not of this earth (seems fitting that he wanted to be an opera singer), going from awesome R & B-styled growls to over-the-top screams, goofy gibberish and animalistic grunts. Jay is one of my favorite vocalists ever, and that is not faint praise. His is the only voice that could ever do justice to the oft-covered I Put A Spell On You (decent but somewhat tepid CCR version not withstanding). Legend has it everyone in the studio was blasted out of their gourds on liquor while recording that gem--I wouldn't be surprised.

Of course I Put A Spell On You was the inevitable hit after which Hawkins languished in sad obscurity, but the rest of this compilation smokes as well. Little Demon, Alligator Wine (my fave Hawkins song), Frenzy, Feast Of The Mau-Mau, and Yellow Coat are all raucous, guttural blues/rock a la Jay. His covers of the otherwise corny ballad I Love Paris and Orange Colored Sky have to be heard to be believed. Constipation Blues is an absolutely hilarious song dedicated to "real pain." The rest (Person To Person, This Is All, Move Me etc.) is catchy, fun R & B that somehow defies aging.

Your rock 'n' roll collection is incomplete without this. There will never be another Screamin' Jay.

Screamin' Jay Hawkins's voice is like rum cake - strong and rich with a kick that'll knock you down. The edge he puts on every syllable makes instant fans of first-time listeners. The classic "I Put a Spell on You" opens the album, setting the stage for the out-of-control "Frenzy" and "Orange Colored Sky." The closing track, "Constipation Blues," will continue dropping jaws long after we're all dead and gone. This is what America does best.

Buy 50 copies and give them to your friends (and if you don't have that many firends, give them to anyone who walks by). This is mandatory listening for anyone who listens to any kind of music. Amen.

Screamin' Jay Hawkins was a legend. He was a completely insane bluesman / rock 'n' roller who was known mostly for his Vincent Price-like antics and amazing stage show. Unfortunitly for him, he had only one hit song, "I Put A Spell On You". You may know it from the current jeans ads which employ it to sell their product. That song is briliant, but isn't the best representation of what Screamin' Jay was all about. Songs such as "Alligator Wine" or "Feast of the Mau Mau" represent Jay at his screaming best.

Screamin' Jay influenced so much more music that most one-hit wonders do. If it weren't for him, The Cramps, Alice Cooper, and Marilyn Manson wouldn't exist. Psychobilly, proto-punk, shock rock, ect. - it all starts here. The "VooDoo Jive" compilation represents Jay at his best. You must buy this compilation if you like The Cramps or Louis Jordon.