Howlin Wolf The Memphis Days: Definitive Edition, Vols. 1 & 2
Label: Bear Family Records
Format: Mp3@320



Memphis Days: Definitive Edition, Vol 1
Release Date:1989
Recording Date; May 14, 1951 - Oct 7, 1952



These are Howlin' Wolf's earliest and rarest sides recorded at the Sun studios, as raw and explosive as blues records come. Much of this was issued on various European albums during the '70s, always transferred off of muffled-sounding copy tapes. These 21 tracks (all but two of them off the master tapes) feature the amp-on-11 guitar work of Willie Johnson and the cave-man drumming of Willie Steele; they're loose and somewhat chaotic, with Wolf sounding utterly demonic. The real bonus on this volume is the first-time inclusion of both sides of the only known acetate of Wolf's first session at Sam Phillips' 706 Union Avenue studio from 1951. With only Johnson and Steele in support (no bass, no piano), these early versions of "How Many More Years" and "Baby Ride with Me (Riding in the Moonlight)" are Wolf at his most primitive.



Tracklist:
01 Oh Red (Take 1) (2:46)
02 My Last Affair (Take 1) (3:05)
03 Come Back Home (Take 1) (2:37)
04 California Boogie (3:00)
05 California Blues (2:58 )
06 Look-A-Here Baby (2:11)
07 Smile At Me (2:06)
08 My Baby Walked Off (3:01)
09 ‘ Cv Wine (Cv Wine Blues) (3:08 )
10 My Troubles And Me (3:18 )
11 Chocolate Drop (2:43)
12 Mr. Highway Man (Cadillac Daddy) (2:28 )
13 Bluebird Blues (2:50)
14 Color And Kind (3:12)
15 (Everybody’s) In The Mood (3:00)
16 Dorothy Mae (Number 2) (2:39)
17 I Got A Woman – Sweet Woman (3:29)
18 Decoration Day Blues (3:17)
19 (Well) That’s All Right (3:03)
20 How Many More Years (2:51)
21 Baby Ride With Me (Ridin‘ In The Moonlight) (2:56)

The Memphis Days: Definitive Edition, Vol. 2
Release Date:1990
Recording Date: May 14, 1951 - Oct 7, 1952



The second volume in this series collects up all the known Memphis recordings that were either issued or originally offered to Chess. As such, it stands as a marvelous collection of Wolf's early 78s for that label. But what truly puts it over is the added bonus of a newly discovered acetate featuring several unissued versions of "How Many More Years" and "Baby Ride With Me (Riding in the Moonlight)." Much of this volume is pulled from discs, but the overall sound is good and the performances make it yet another must-have.




Tracklist:
01 Baby Ride With Me (Ridin‘ in the Moonlight) (2:44)
02 How Many More Years (2:43)
03 Moanin‘ at Midnight (2:57)
04 Howlin‘ Wolf Boogie (2:39)
05 Wolf Is at Your Door (3:01)
06 Mr. Highway Man (2:49)
07 Getting Old and Grey (2:39)
08 Worried All the Time (3:09)
09 Saddle My Pony (Gonna Find My Baby Out In World Somewhere) (2:34)
10 Oh, Red! (2:38 )
11 My Last Affair (2:59)
12 Come Back Home (Take 2) (2:35)
13 Dorothy Mae (2:45)
14 Oh, Red! (Take 2) (2:42)
15 Come Back Home (Take 3) (2:12)
16 How Many More Years (2:32)
17 How Many More Years (2:30)
18 Baby Ride With Me (Ridin‘ in the Moonlight) (2:38 )
19 Baby Ride With Me (Ridin‘ in the Moonlight) (2:35)