howlin' wolf's best

this is such a great compilation. still remember the chill that went up my spine the first time i ever heard 'moanin at midnight.'

I really can't not vote for killing floor, that song slays

Damn, what a great collection. So many contenders.

i've never really thought of these as songs before

I never get tired of "Wang Dang Doodle" (never tire of any of these, really) but I think I prefer Koko Taylor's version. Pretty sure I need to go "Smokestack" in this.

"who's been talkin'" was definitely one of those "ohhh so this is what Tom Waits wishes he sounded like" moments.
vocal on "goin' down slow" is unbelievable. all of these vocals are unbelievable.

http://www.keeponliving.at/song/sitting_on_top_of_the_world.html

long list of others' recordings

Spoonful without doubt for me. But I would be very happy to spend time challenging this notion.

this is really hard - "smokestack lightning," "killing floor," "how many more years," "I asked for water" are my biggest contenders

This is especially hard because these are all great tunes and the one that noses out the rest for me, "No Place To Go," is nowhere to be found.

Incredible stuff here. Voted for "spoonful"

Yes, they don't feel like songs - they dissolve into something else that is v hard to define as a word.

It's a tough call between "How Many More Years" and "Who's Been Talking?" for me.

"Where the soul of man never dies," according to Sam Phillips. xpost

Yeah, Sam loved Howlin' Wolf.

Yes, they don't feel like songs - they dissolve into something else that is v hard to define as a word.

And a voice that is truly a force of nature, often imitated never duplicated.

I think I need this, but I've never heard of "Acrobat Records?"

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-RPM-Chess-Singles-1951-62/dp/B00IYLWVMW/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1397830584&sr=1-2&keywords=howlin+wolf+chess

love em all - but in the absence of Taildragger I'll probably go for one of the party tunes like wang dang doodle, 300 lbs, or built for comfort

wolf was early on the fat & proud tip

Recently got a hold of the bio Moanin' At Midnight, by James Segrest and Mark Hoffman and been rooting around in it. So far, so good.

wolf was early on the fat & proud tip

― brio, Friday, April 18, 2014 10:30 AM (21 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I didn't know "300 Pounds" was his until I heard this comp about 10 years ago. A cover by Big Twist and the Mellow Fellows in the mid-80s got a fair amount of airplay in Chicago.

Going Down Slow by a nose, for the Willie Dixon vocals.

Sumlin really was a force of nature, jesus christ

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

"smokestack lightning"

It's a tough call between "How Many More Years" and "Who's Been Talking?" for me.

These were my finalists too. I went with "How Many More Years".

i don't know if i can do this

Good lord

Impossible, but I can narrow it down to smokestack and killin floor

Went with "How Many More Years."

i went with 'moanin' because it is first and starts with the throaty humming and he sings about the telephone in it, and i like that there are telephones in howlin' wolf songs

(Xpost to jjusten) Those two were in my top three, four or five but I finally went with "Moanin' At Midnight" for the humming and the dynamics.

'commit a crime' is not on this = this so-called 'best of' is a travesty!

voted "Evil"

Interesting. Always figured you for an I Asked For Water (She Gave Me Gasoline) guy.

I dunno, I just I love the arrangement -- it swings and stomps, but is spare enough to put the focus on Wolf's voice where it belongs. My favorite Wolf song of all is probably "Down in the Bottom," but that wasn't on this comp.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Huh- missed this poll. Probably would have voted "Spoonful".

Might as well put it all on a dartboard.

But "Forty-Four" wins for me right now, just because of the explosion of that first line that he didn't even have to look for, that he olds for the whole song.

Underrated: the alternate take of "Highway 49" from the London sessions, "Little Baby." Oh, and I go back to "She's Lookin' Good" and "Just As Long" from the sequel to the psychedelic record, both because they're fantastic and because I had no idea that album existed until 3 years ago.

lol at dartboard

I'm awful at metaphors. I was just trying not to say "wow they're all so darn good."

Not at all. It was a great metaphor. Knew exactly what you meant.

Oh, okay. I usually assume any references to me are veiled criticisms.

Aside: I saw Hubert Sumlin a couple times and he had the most infectious smile I've ever seen. Even when he got to using an oxygen tank, he still had that smile.