Howlin' Wolf (Chess 75)
Howlin' Wolf
Howlin’ Wolf’s Howlin’ Wolf (Chess 75) is a 2026 audiophile reissue of his landmark self-titled 1962 Chess Records album, commonly called the “rocking chair album” because of its spare cover image of an acoustic guitar resting against a rocking chair. Despite that quiet visual, the music is muscular, electric Chicago blues: Howlin’ Wolf’s immense, gravelly voice is matched by hard-driving rhythm, tense guitar work, and songs that turn desire, suspicion, sexual bravado, and loneliness into primal drama. The original album draws heavily on the songwriting of Willie Dixon and remains one of the defining statements of postwar electric blues.
The 12-song set includes enduring Wolf performances such as “Shake for Me,” “The Red Rooster,” “Wang-Dang Doodle,” “Spoonful,” “Back Door Man,” and “Down in the Bottom.” These recordings show the elements that made Wolf so influential on later rock and blues musicians: his forceful vocal phrasing, the ominous swing of the band, and guitar lines that can sound both sharp and unhurried. The Chess 75 edition is part of Chess Records’ anniversary reissue series and presents the album in mono on 180-gram vinyl, mastered from the original analog tapes and housed in a tip-on gatefold sleeve. It is both a collector-focused edition and a vivid document of the sound that helped establish Chicago blues as a foundation for modern rock.
Howlin' Wolf (Chess 75)
Howlin' Wolf
Howlin’ Wolf’s Howlin’ Wolf (Chess 75) is a 2026 audiophile reissue of his landmark self-titled 1962 Chess Records album, commonly called the “rocking chair album” because of its spare cover image of an acoustic guitar resting against a rocking chair. Despite that quiet visual, the music is muscular, electric Chicago blues: Howlin’ Wolf’s immense, gravelly voice is matched by hard-driving rhythm, tense guitar work, and songs that turn desire, suspicion, sexual bravado, and loneliness into primal drama. The original album draws heavily on the songwriting of Willie Dixon and remains one of the defining statements of postwar electric blues.
The 12-song set includes enduring Wolf performances such as “Shake for Me,” “The Red Rooster,” “Wang-Dang Doodle,” “Spoonful,” “Back Door Man,” and “Down in the Bottom.” These recordings show the elements that made Wolf so influential on later rock and blues musicians: his forceful vocal phrasing, the ominous swing of the band, and guitar lines that can sound both sharp and unhurried. The Chess 75 edition is part of Chess Records’ anniversary reissue series and presents the album in mono on 180-gram vinyl, mastered from the original analog tapes and housed in a tip-on gatefold sleeve. It is both a collector-focused edition and a vivid document of the sound that helped establish Chicago blues as a foundation for modern rock.