Smokestack Lightning/Complete Chess Masters 1951-6 [CD]
~ Howlin' Wolf

Product Reviews

After issuing Complete sets dedicated to Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Little Walter, and Bo Diddley, Hip-O Select finally got around to the titanic Howlin Wolf in the fall of 2011, releasing Smokestack Lightning: The Complete Chess Masters 1951-1960, a 97-track, four-disc limited-edition box set containing everything the Wolf cut in his first decade of recording. Although the first years of the 60s treated him exceptionally well -- many classic sessions arrived in the first few years of the decade, many showcased on 1962 s peerless rocking chair album -- this is where his legacy lies: with the spooky, primal howl that kicks off Moanin at Midnight and the scores of earthy boogies and down-and-dirty grinds that followed. Smokestack Lightning stacks up plenty of alternate takes, a good chunk of them never released in the U.S., but the repetition doesn t slow the set down or turn it repetitive. Instead, the repeated alternate takes sit well with the treasures -- many justly celebrated, some unearthed -- all adding up to a testament to Howlin' Wolf s unearthly, mighty force. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Product Notes

One of the great blues songbooks is to be found right here-as well as many of the most potent, Earth-shaking performances in blues or any other music. Willie Dixon penned many of these 97 tracks, and Chester Burnett (a.k.a. Howlin' Wolf) played, sang and screamed them into the history books and the record collections of countless future bluesmen and rockers. A 45-page booklet full of rare photos and probing profiles of Wolf's years in Memphis and Chicago joins his hits How Many More Years; Moanin' at Midnight; Who Will Be Next; Smoke Stack Lightning , and I Asked for Water plus The Wolf Is At Your Door; Dorothy Mae; Saddle My Pony; My Last Affair; All Night Boogie (All Night Long); California Blues Nos. 1 & 2; Crazy About You Baby; You Gonna Wreck My Life; Evil; So Glad; I've Been Abused; Mr. Airplane Man; Break of Day; My Life; Back Door Man; Nature; Poor Boy , and more including a whole lotta alternate takes!

Track Listing

		Track #		Title
1.		1		Moanin' At Midnight [Single Version] [Version]
1.		2		How Many More Years [Alternate] [Alternate Take]
1.		3		How Many More Years [Single Version] [Version]
1.		4		The Wolf Is At Your Door (Howlin' For My Baby)
1.		5		California Boogie
1.		6		Smile At Me
1.		7		Howlin' Wolf Boogie [Single Version] [Version]
1.		8		California Blues #1 [1994 Chess Collectibles Version] [Version]
1.		9		Look-A-Here Baby [1994 Chess Collectibles Version] [Version]
1.		10		Worried All The Time [Single Version] [Version]
1.		11		Gettin' Old And Grey [Single Version] [Version]
1.		12		Mr. Highway Man [Single Version] [Version]
1.		13		Everybody's In The Mood [1994 Chess Collectibles Version] [Version]
1.		14		Color And Kind [Album Version] [Version]
1.		15		Bluebird [1991 Chess Box Version] [Version]
1.		16		Saddle My Pony [Single Version] [Version]
1.		17		Dorothy Mae [Alternate Take] [Alternate Take]
1.		18		Dorothy Mae [1994 Chess Collectibles Version] [Version]
1.		19		Sweet Woman (A/K/A I Got A Woman)
1.		20		(Well) That's All Right [1991 The Chess Box Version] [Version]
1.		21		Decoration Day [1994 Chess Collectibles Version] [Version]
1.		22		Oh! Red [Single Version] [Version]
1.		23		My Last Affair [Single Version] [Version]
1.		24		I've Got A Woman [Album Version] [Version]
1.		25		Just My Kind [Album Version] [Version]
1.		26		Work For Your Money [Album Version] [Version]
2.		1		I'm Not Joking [1994 Chess Collectibles Version] [Version]
2.		2		Mama Died And Left Me [1991 The Chess Box Version] [Version]
2.		3		All Night Boogie (All Night Long) [Single Version] [Version]
2.		4		I Love My Baby [Single Version] [Version]
2.		5		Highway My Friend [1994 Chess Collectibles Version] [Version]
2.		6		Hold Your Money [1994 Chess Collectibles Version] [Version]
2.		7		Streamline Woman [1991 Chess Box Version] [Version]
2.		8		California Blues #2 [1994 Chess Collectibles Version] [Version]
2.		9		Stay Here Til My Baby Comes Back [1994 Chess Collectibles] [Version]
2.		10		Crazy About You Baby [1991 Chess Box Version] [Version]
2.		11		No Place To Go (You Gonna Wreck My Life) [Single Version] [Version]
2.		12		You Gonna Wreck My Life [Alternate Take] [Alternate Take]
2.		13		Neighbors [Album Version] [Version]
2.		14		I'm The Wolf [Album Version] [Version]
2.		15		Rockin' Daddy [Single Version] [Version]
2.		16		Baby How Long [Single Version] [Version]
2.		17		Evil (Is Going On) [Single Version] [Version]
2.		18		I'll Be Around [Single Version] [Version]
2.		19		Forty Four [Single Version] [Version]
2.		20		Who Will Be Next [Single Version] [Version]
2.		21		I Have A Little Girl [Single Version] [Version]
2.		22		Come To Me Baby [Single Version] [Version]
2.		23		Don't Mess With My Baby [Single Version] [Version]
2.		24		Smokestack Lightnin' [Single Version] [Version]
2.		25		You Can't Be Beat [Single Version] [Version]
2.		26		I Asked For Water (She Gave Me Gasoline) [Single Version] [Version]
2.		27		So Glad [Single Version] [Version]
3.		1		I'm Leaving You [Alternate Take] [Alternate Take]
3.		2		I'm Leaving You [Takes 7-10] [Take]
3.		3		I'm Leaving You
3.		4		Can't Put Me Out [Alternate 1] [Alternate Take]
3.		5		Can't Put Me Out [Alternate 2] [Alternate Take]
3.		6		(You) Can't Put Me Out
3.		7		Change My Way [Single Version] [Version]
3.		8		Getting Late [1994 Chess Collectibles Version] [Version]
3.		9		I've Been Abused [Takes 4-12] [Take]
3.		10		I've Been Abused
3.		11		Howlin' For My Baby [Takes 1-7] [Take]
3.		12		Howlin' For My Darling (Or Baby)
3.		13		Wolf In The Mood [Instrumental] [Instrumental]
3.		14		My People's Gone [1994 Chess Collectibles Version] [Version]
3.		15		Mr. Airplane Man [Takes 1 & 2] [Take]
3.		16		Mr. Airplane Man [Single Version] [Version]
3.		17		Wang Dang Doodle [Single Version] [Version]
3.		18		Back Door Man [Single Version] [Version]
3.		19		Spoonful
4.		1		Break Of Day
4.		2		The Natchez Burnin' [Single Version] [Version]
4.		3		Going Back Home
4.		4		Bluebird [1994 Chess Collectibles Version] [Version]
4.		5		My Life [Single Version] [Version]
4.		6		You Ought To Know [Single Version] [Version]
4.		7		Who's Been Talking? [Single Version] [Version]
4.		8		Tell Me [Single Version] [Version]
4.		9		Somebody In My Home [Alternate Take] [Alternate Take]
4.		10		Somebody In My Home [Single Edit] [Edit]
4.		11		Nature [Takes 1/4/6] [Take]
4.		12		Nature [Alternate Take] [Alternate Take]
4.		13		Nature [Single Version] [Version]
4.		14		Walk To Camp Hall [1994 Chess Collectibles Version] [Version]
4.		15		Poor Boy [Alternate Take] [Alternate Take]
4.		16		Poor Boy [Single Version] [Version]
4.		17		My Baby Told Me [Alternate Take] [Alternate Take]
4.		18		Sitting On Top Of The World [1958 Single Version] [Version]
4.		19		I Didn't Know
4.		20		I Better Go Now (Howlin' Blues) [Alternate] [Alternate Take]
4.		21		Howlin' Blues [Single Version] [Version]
4.		22		I Better Go Now [Multiple Takes] [Alternate Take]
4.		23		I Didn't Know [Single Version] [Version]
4.		24		Moaning For My Baby
4.		25		Moaning For My Baby (Midnight Blues) [Takes 3 & 4] [Take]
		#		Title
* We do our best to maintain an accurate database, but errors occur. Please use this list as a guideline.