Hip-O to release 1951-1960 Howlin' Wolf Chess 4CD-box

[J.A.W.]

A 4CD Howlin' Wolf Chess box covering the years 1951-1960 is scheduled for release by Hip-O Select on October 18, 2011. Edited August 11, 2011 by J.A.W.

[John L]

Excellent news! It will be fantastic to get all of this music in what should be great sound.

Edited August 11, 2011 by John L

[paul secor]

A 4CD Howlin' Wolf Chess box covering the years 1951-1960 is scheduled for release by Hip-O Select on October 18, 2011.

Great news! Thanks for posting this. Hard to tell if all the alternates, etc. that have been released in the past will be on this, but I'm sure the sound will be better than previous issues, and this is probably all I'll need. Perhaps I can do some housecleaning of my shelves when this is issued.

[J.A.W.]

Excellent news! It will be fantastic to get all of this music in what should be great sound.

Great news! Thanks for posting this. Hard to tell if all the alternates, etc. that have been released in the past will be on this, but I'm sure the sound will be better than previous issues, and this is probably all I'll need. Perhaps I can do some housecleaning of my shelves when this is issued.

Well, I'm not too confident about the sound quality on this set. It will probably be mastered by Erick Labson, who mastered Hip-O's other Chess sets (Muddy Waters, Little Walter), and I'm not fond of his work: it's often too harsh and loud to my ears.

Edited August 11, 2011 by J.A.W.

[paul secor]

Excellent news! It will be fantastic to get all of this music in what should be great sound.

Great news! Thanks for posting this. Hard to tell if all the alternates, etc. that have been released in the past will be on this, but I'm sure the sound will be better than previous issues, and this is probably all I'll need. Perhaps I can do some housecleaning of my shelves when this is issued.

Well, I'm not too confident about the sound quality on this set. It will probably be mastered by Erick Labson, who mastered Hip-O's other Chess sets (Muddy Waters, Little Walter), and I'm not fond of his work: it's often too harsh and loud to my ears.

OK. Listened to the Labson mastered Hip-O Muddy and Walter sets, along with a couple of Labson mastered MCA sets. Compared with the Charly Muddy and Walter boxes, the Labson sets are more harsh and loud, though perhaps they have a bit more clarity. I guess you make your choice of what you want to hear. For now, at least, I'm glad I held on to my Charly boxes. They may not be the best - not sure what else is out there - any suggestions, Hans? - but they're certainly listenable.

This kind of listening makes me crazy.

[J.A.W.]

Excellent news! It will be fantastic to get all of this music in what should be great sound.

Great news! Thanks for posting this. Hard to tell if all the alternates, etc. that have been released in the past will be on this, but I'm sure the sound will be better than previous issues, and this is probably all I'll need. Perhaps I can do some housecleaning of my shelves when this is issued.

Well, I'm not too confident about the sound quality on this set. It will probably be mastered by Erick Labson, who mastered Hip-O's other Chess sets (Muddy Waters, Little Walter), and I'm not fond of his work: it's often too harsh and loud to my ears.

OK. Listened to the Labson mastered Hip-O Muddy and Walter sets, along with a couple of Labson mastered MCA sets. Compared with the Charly Muddy and Walter boxes, the Labson sets are more harsh and loud, though perhaps they have a bit more clarity. I guess you make your choice of what you want to hear. For now, at least, I'm glad I held on to my Charly boxes. They may not be the best - not sure what else is out there - any suggestions, Hans? - but they're certainly listenable.

This kind of listening makes me crazy.

I don't have the Charly sets (if I remember correctly those were not legit), so I can't comment on them, but I do have the Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf MCA/Chess boxes and earlier individual MCA/Chess CD reissues and, though they were all mastered by Mr Labson, to my ears they sound less aggressively harsh and loud to me; they're not as fatiguing as Labson's more recent masterings of Chess recordings, which, by the way, include the first set with Muddy Waters' complete Aristocrat and Chess recordings, Rollin' Stone: The Golden Anniversary Collection (The Complete Chess Masters, Vol.1, 1947-1952), which was released on Chess, not Hip-O.

The advantage of both Muddy Waters sets (Chess + Hip-O), the Little Walter set (Hip-O) and the upcoming Howlin' Wolf set (Hip-O) is that you get their complete recordings from their prime years in chronological order. I hope they will do a Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller) set next.

Edited August 11, 2011 by J.A.W.

[medjuck]

I guess there wasn't a Wolf MCA?Chess box set because several Wolf cuts were on the Willie Dixon box. (Or was there?)

[J.A.W.]

I guess there wasn't a Wolf MCA?Chess box set because several Wolf cuts were on the Willie Dixon box. (Or was there?)

There was; as I said in my previous post I have it. It came out in 1991.

Edited August 11, 2011 by J.A.W.

[paul secor]

Excellent news! It will be fantastic to get all of this music in what should be great sound.

Great news! Thanks for posting this. Hard to tell if all the alternates, etc. that have been released in the past will be on this, but I'm sure the sound will be better than previous issues, and this is probably all I'll need. Perhaps I can do some housecleaning of my shelves when this is issued.

Well, I'm not too confident about the sound quality on this set. It will probably be mastered by Erick Labson, who mastered Hip-O's other Chess sets (Muddy Waters, Little Walter), and I'm not fond of his work: it's often too harsh and loud to my ears.

OK. Listened to the Labson mastered Hip-O Muddy and Walter sets, along with a couple of Labson mastered MCA sets. Compared with the Charly Muddy and Walter boxes, the Labson sets are more harsh and loud, though perhaps they have a bit more clarity. I guess you make your choice of what you want to hear. For now, at least, I'm glad I held on to my Charly boxes. They may not be the best - not sure what else is out there - any suggestions, Hans? - but they're certainly listenable.

This kind of listening makes me crazy.

I don't have the Charly sets (if I remember correctly those were not legit), so I can't comment on them, but I do have the Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf MCA/Chess boxes and earlier individual MCA/Chess CD reissues and, though they were all mastered by Mr Labson, to my ears they sound less aggressively harsh and loud to me; they're not as fatiguing as Labson's more recent masterings of Chess recordings, which, by the way, include the first set with Muddy Waters' complete Chess recordings, Rollin' Stone: The Golden Anniversary Collection (The Complete Chess Masters, Vol.1, 1947-1952), which was released on Chess, not Hip-O.

The advantage of both Muddy Waters sets (Chess + Hip-O), the Little Walter set (Hip-O) and the upcoming Howlin' Wolf set (Hip-O) is that you get their complete recordings from their prime years in chronological order. I hope they will do a Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller) set next.

I'm not into buying non-legit issues in general. The Charly/Chess thing was a weird one. Joe Robinson, co-owner of All Platinum, which had purchased the Chess catalog, sold the Chess rights to MCA and later resold the Chess rights to Charly, claiming that MCA had taken advantage of him. Some time later, MCA sued and, years after that, the courts ruled that MCA was the rightful owner of the Chess catalog. So, at least for a while, the issue was up in the air. I guess now the Charlys are not legitimate.

[J.A.W.]

I'm not into buying non-legit issues in general. The Charly/Chess thing was a weird one. Joe Robinson, co-owner of All Platinum, which had purchased the Chess catalog, sold the Chess rights to MCA and later resold the Chess rights to Charly, claiming that MCA had taken advantage of him. Some time later, MCA sued and, years after that, the courts ruled that MCA was the rightful owner of the Chess catalog. So, at least for a while, the issue was up in the air. I guess now the Charlys are not legitimate.

Thanks for clearing that up, I remember it now. Simply put, it was a case of "you can't sell what you've already sold once and therefore isn't yours anymore."

[paul secor]

I'm not into buying non-legit issues in general. The Charly/Chess thing was a weird one. Joe Robinson, co-owner of All Platinum, which had purchased the Chess catalog, sold the Chess rights to MCA and later resold the Chess rights to Charly, claiming that MCA had taken advantage of him. Some time later, MCA sued and, years after that, the courts ruled that MCA was the rightful owner of the Chess catalog. So, at least for a while, the issue was up in the air. I guess now the Charlys are not legitimate.

Thanks for clearing that up, I remember it now. Simply put, it was a case of "you can't sell what you've already sold once and therefore isn't yours anymore."

Sugarhill, co-owned by Joe Robinson, sued MCA in 1986, claiming that MCA and a reputed mobster conspired to weaken Sugarhill financially in order to lower the sale price of the Chess catalog. Sugarhill lost the case and, either before the case was decided or shortly afterward, Robinson "sold" the Chess catalog to Charly.

Edited August 11, 2011 by paul secor

[mikeweil]

Sometimes it's a good move to wait - I didn't like the previous reissues and considered only the two Bear Family discs, but waited until now - I always loved the Wolf's raw voice, so I will get me a copy of this one for Xmas. Great news.

[Dan Gould]

I always loved the Wolf's raw voice, so I will get me a copy of this one for Xmas.

Completely opposite reaction. Never found a way to love the raw voice, it just grates and irritates. (Not that its a case of spending a lot of time trying to, but when I went whole-hog into the blues about six or seven years ago, well - my reaction to hearing the Wolf was similar to my reaction to hearing latter-day Coltrane.)

[jeffcrom]

I'm not into buying non-legit issues in general. The Charly/Chess thing was a weird one. Joe Robinson, co-owner of All Platinum, which had purchased the Chess catalog, sold the Chess rights to MCA and later resold the Chess rights to Charly, claiming that MCA had taken advantage of him. Some time later, MCA sued and, years after that, the courts ruled that MCA was the rightful owner of the Chess catalog. So, at least for a while, the issue was up in the air. I guess now the Charlys are not legitimate.

I bought the Charly Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson sets years ago, and it never even occurred to me that they may not be legit. There was a period in my life when I listened to Wolf almost daily.

[EKE BBB]

I always loved the Wolf's raw voice, so I will get me a copy of this one for Xmas.

Completely opposite reaction. Never found a way to love the raw voice, it just grates and irritates. (Not that its a case of spending a lot of time trying to, but when I went whole-hog into the blues about six or seven years ago, well - my reaction to hearing the Wolf was similar to my reaction to hearing latter-day Coltrane.)

Try again, Dan (the Wolf, not the latter day Trane, which sounds awfully strident and irritating to my ears).

[7/4]

the Wolf has an amazing voice.

[John L]

Excellent news! It will be fantastic to get all of this music in what should be great sound.

Great news! Thanks for posting this. Hard to tell if all the alternates, etc. that have been released in the past will be on this, but I'm sure the sound will be better than previous issues, and this is probably all I'll need. Perhaps I can do some housecleaning of my shelves when this is issued.

Well, I'm not too confident about the sound quality on this set. It will probably be mastered by Erick Labson, who mastered Hip-O's other Chess sets (Muddy Waters, Little Walter), and I'm not fond of his work: it's often too harsh and loud to my ears.

OK. Listened to the Labson mastered Hip-O Muddy and Walter sets, along with a couple of Labson mastered MCA sets. Compared with the Charly Muddy and Walter boxes, the Labson sets are more harsh and loud, though perhaps they have a bit more clarity. I guess you make your choice of what you want to hear. For now, at least, I'm glad I held on to my Charly boxes. They may not be the best - not sure what else is out there - any suggestions, Hans? - but they're certainly listenable.

This kind of listening makes me crazy.

We can debate about the "harshness" issue in the Erick Labson masterings. In my mind, however, the difference in sound between these official issues and the Charly boxes is like night and day. Labson has access to the Chess masters. Charly used secondary sources, which included bootleg LPs of scratchy 78s and 45s. It is true that the Howlin' Wolf Charly box was quite a bit better in that regard than the Muddy Waters box (I guess that since Charly was operating on the assumption of legality, they didn't venture to steal the excellent remasterings that appeared earlier on the Muddy Waters Chess LP box.) But this should be a LOT better.

[AllenLowe]

are you sure? I have a fair amount of Charley/Chess reissues which sound suspiciously like masters, though done in the days before CEDAR.

[ghost of miles]

I bought a Charly Sun Blues box here at a record store in town years ago and later learned that there had been some legal flare-up over its release. It's a great set, and while I haven't listened to it in a long time, I recall the sound as being pretty good.

I'm definitely interested in this new set from Hip-O.

[John L]

are you sure? I have a fair amount of Charley/Chess reissues which sound suspiciously like masters, though done in the days before CEDAR.

Allen - Some of the individual Charly releases could have been taken from masters, or most likely from very clean Chess copies, but not many of the tracks on their complete box sets. They evidently didn't have access to the vaults for unreleased tracks and had to use secondary sources. Have you heard the complete Charly Muddy Waters box, for example? I am not an audiophile, but I found much of that box almost unlistenable. It was a godsend when Chess and Hip-O subsequently released almost all of this music in much better sound.

Edited August 12, 2011 by John L

[medjuck]

the Wolf has an amazing voice.

He also had an amazing visual presence. Every performance of his I've been able to see on video was terrific.

Edited August 12, 2011 by medjuck

[jazzbo]

Yes Dan, try him again. He's a real force! I'm interested in this set. Lots of interesting box sets coming out soon.

[Dan Gould]

In the time since I first bought a Howlin' Wolf CD (a Chess two-fer iirc), I've given it three subsequent listens, with several months to a year's separation.

Still haven't found my way into his vocals.

[jostber]

This looks migthy! The Hip-O-Select link: http://www.hip-oselect.com/scr.public.product.asp?product_id=950583FB-462A-45BD-B6A1-23E427D2C2D1

[jazzbo]

It's quite a nice set. I think the sound is very good, right along the lines of the muddy Waters two disc sets, the first from Chess (Universal) the second from Hip-O Select. t6he music is timeless.