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This is a well mastered collection. I have truly enjoyed this product.I am a senior who has been allowed tostep back into the past moments thatI lived and loved living.Thanks for the memories.
Famed record producer Sam Phillips discovered Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Ray Orbison, BB King, Jerry Lee Louis, Charlie Rich, and Howlin' Wolf. I love this quote: "When I heard Howlin' Wolf, I said, 'This is for me. Must have for fans, good introduction to those poor souls unfamiliar with one of the greatest and most influential American song and dance men of the 20th Century. Phillips said Elvis was his *second* greatest discovery and Howlin' Wolf was his greatest. This is where the soul of man never dies". This doc gives you the story of Chester Arthur Burnett aka Howlin' Wolf as told through friends, former band members, family, and some guys that know the story well. You'll enjoy this well put together tribute to the Blues and one of it's finest, most unique interpreters.
I like him better as an artist and appreciate his place in the lineup of delta blues figures and also Chicago blues figures. Terrific clip of performances and an excellent historical profile. It was surprising to learn of his character and discipline.
Oh yes there is some great footage of classic Wolf efforts. In this presentation filled, as always in this kind of work, with the inevitable "talking heads" we go from Wolf`s roots down in the Mississippi Delta, cotton country and nothing else, in the 1920's and 1930's through to the first stop up the Mississippi at Memphis on to the Mecca Chicago in the post- World War II period and finally to international renown in the blues revival started by the likes of The Rolling Stones in the mid-1960s. Probably started hitchhiking for Chicago. Thus, rather than placing this commentary as a tail to some other Wolf entry it is worthy of separate entry here.
Along the way many of the musicians that worked with Wolf like Hubert Sumerlin, a blues guitarist legend in his own right, and Sam Lay as well as Wolf's daughters, the Chess Record producer Marshall Chess and others give some amusing stories and anecdotes on the life of the great bluesman. That is a point to be underscored, he was a professional in his approach to the music, its presentation and the way that he could influence a genre that he practically build (along with his competitor Muddy Waters) from scratch. If you need an hour of the Wolf doin' his Midnight Creep then you really have to see this documentary. Kudos to the filmmakers on this one. I have reviewed several of Howlin' Wolf's CDs in this space previously and had expected that this documentary about the life, the times and the influence of this incredible blues performer would merely be an appetizer for further reviews of his music. Not so. And seemingly as always when blues or rock and roll are mentioned little segments with the ubiquitous Sam Phillips of the well-known Sun Recording studio in Memphis.I do not generally comment on (or for that matter look at) the special features sections of DVD. I don't know what I would have done had I heard it on my radio then.
I also flipped out when I first heard a Wolf recording of it. Of course for this reviewer number one is always Wolf's Little Red Rooster. Lovin' Spoonful, Moaning at Midnight and a host of other songs get their usual Wolf professional treatment. Not doing so here would be a mistake. Christ, he is practically eating the harmonica by the end of the song.
This well-done, lovingly put together and extremely informative documentary is a worthy viewing for the novice and old Wolf aficionados like me. All of this information is nice but I am sure the reader is just as interested to know about the music. Damn, I flipped out the first time I heard that song when it was covered by The Rolling Stones in the early 1960's. In short we are treated to a view of the trajectory of Wolf's life; unlike let us say Son House with whom Wolf worked with in the old days who stuck with the country roots, from country blues of the back road jukes to the electricity of the urban ghetto that made those old blues jump for at first migratory urban blacks and then young whites like this reviewer. There is some nice home movie footage, some interesting Wolf stories by his companions and rivals, a nice segment on the rivalry between Wolf and Muddy Waters to be "King of The Chicago Blues" and a recording of a radio broadcast of Wolf doing Little Red Rooster.
Excellent choice for anyone interested in this amazing man."When you thinkin' evil, you thinking 'bout the blues." One of the finest bluesmen in history, the real father of rock and roll, is brilliantly captured on this DVD.
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