Posted by Jack in 2009, Immortal Mondays | 0 Comments
Immortal Monday: Howlin’ Wolf’s Masterpiece
The chord never changes on “Moanin’ At Midnight,” the title track on Howlin’ Wolf’s debut album; it is an unforgiving E, and E again, and finally E once more.
1959 was the year when “Mack The Knife” ruled the charts, but it was also the year when Wolf and his gang brought distortion, sorrow, and blood into the Blues scene. While the rest of the world listened to “Teen Angel,” “The Battle of New Orleans,” and the original production of “The Sound of Music,” there was a revolution going on in Chicago. Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Willie Dixon, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, and of course, the Wolf, were grinding out single after single of earth-shattering blues.
There is no better example of the Chicago blues than “Moaning At Midnight”. Without this album there would be no, “Smokestack Lightnin’”, a song that I cannot cheapen with description, without this album there would be no “Forty-Four”, a blues ballad for a man’s gun, there would also be no, “Evil”, and finally, there would be no distortion, no hip hop, no Cream, no Led Zeppelin, and no Rolling Stones.
Wolf’s otherworldly moan lilts and lifts through riffs and chords, while Hubert Sumlin almost steals the show with an arsenal of licks that have now become blues guitar standards. The production is purposely lo-fi, because it is sacrilegious to try to polish the blues, just give the man the microphone and shut up.
Seriously, listen to that voice. Moanin’ At Midnight is one of the greatest albums of all time because it introduced the world to that voice.
Mp3: Howlin’ Wolf – Smokestack Lightnin’
Mp3: Howlin’ Wolf – Evil
