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Funkadelic was the debut album by the American funk band Funkadelic, released in 1970 on Westbound Records. The album showcased a strong bass and rhythm section, as well as lengthy jam sessions, future trademarks of the band. The album contains two remakes of songs from The Parliaments, an earlier band featuring George Clinton: "I Bet You" and "Good Old Music".
"Mommy, What's a Funkadelic?" and "What is Soul" contained the beginnings of Funkadelic's mythology, namely that "Funkadelic" and "the Funk" are alien in origin but not dangerous.
Funkadelic's self-titled 1970 debut is one of the group's best early- to mid-'70s albums. Not only is it laden with great songs -- "I'll Bet You" and "I Got a Thing..." are obvious highlights -- but it retains perhaps a greater sense of classic '60s soul and R&B than any successive George Clinton-affiliated album. Recording for the Detroit-based Westbound label, at the time Funkadelic were in the same boat as psychedelic soul groups such as the Temptations, who had just recorded their landmark Cloud Nine album across town at Motown, and other similar groups. Yet no group had managed to effectively balance big, gnarly rock guitars with crooning, heartfelt soul at this point in time quite like Funkadelic.
Clinton's songs are essentially conventional soul songs in the spirit of Motown or Stax -- steady rhythms, dense arrangements, choruses of vocals -- but with a loud, overdriven, fuzzy guitar lurking high in the mix. And when Clinton's songs went into their chaotic moments of jamming, there was no mistaking the Hendrix influence. Furthermore, Clinton's half-quirky, half-trippy ad libs during "Mommy, What's a Funkadelic?" and "What Is Soul" can be mistaken for no one else -- they're pure-cut P-Funk. Successive albums portray Funkadelic drifting further toward rock, funk, and eventually disco, especially once Bernie Worrell began playing a larger role in the group. Never again would the band be this attuned to its '60s roots, making self-titled release a revealing and unique record that's certainly not short on significance, clearly marking the crossroads between '60s soul and '70s funk.
"I Got a Thing, You Got a Thing, Everybody's Got a Thing" was particularly notable for the epic guitar solo by Rare Earth's Ray Monette. "I Bet You" was later covered by the Jackson 5 on their album ABC, and sampled by the Beastie Boys for their song "Car Thief". In more recent years The Red Hot Chili Peppers have combined the main riff of "Mommy, What's a Funkadelic?" and certain parts of the lyrics from "What Is Soul?" in live shows, a version appears as a B-Side on their 2002 single "By the Way".
01."Mommy, What's a Funkadelic?" (George Clinton) - 9:04
02."I Bet You" (George Clinton, Patrick Lindsey, Sidney Barnes) - 6:10 (released as a single: Westbound 150)
03."Music for My Mother" (George Clinton, Eddie Hazel, Billy Nelson) - 5:37 (released as a single: Westbound 148)
04."I Got a Thing, You Got a Thing, Everybody's Got a Thing" (Clarence Haskins) - 3:52
05."Good Old Music" (George Clinton) - 7:59
06."Qualify and Satisfy" (George Clinton, Billy Nelson, Eddie Hazel) - 6:15
07."What Is Soul" (George Clinton)- 7:40
Bonus Tracks
08."Can't Shake It Loose" (George Clinton, Sidney Barnes, Joanne Jackson, Rose Marie McCoy) - 2:28
09."I Bet You" (George Clinton, Patrick Lindsey, Sidney Barnes) - 4:10
10."Music for My Mother" (George Clinton, Eddie Hazel, Billy Nelson) - 5:17
11."As Good as I Can Feel" (George Clinton, Clarence Haskins) - 2:31
12."Open Our Eyes" (Leon Lumpkins) - 3:58
13."Qualify and Satisfy" (George Clinton, Billy Nelson, Eddie Hazel) - 3:00
14."Music for My Mother" (George Clinton, Eddie Hazel, Billy Nelson) - 6:14
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Free Your Mind... and Your Ass Will Follow is the second studio album by American funk band Funkadelic, released in July 1970 on Westbound Records. The inspiration for this album was, according to George Clinton, an attempt to "see if we can cut a whole album while we're all tripping on acid."
The album and its title track, a feedback-drenched number taking a third of the album's length, introduces the subversion of Christian themes explored on later songs, describing a mystical approach to salvation in which "the Kingdom of Heaven is within" and achievable through freeing one's mind, after which one's ass will follow. Many of the songs (such as the title track and "Eulogy and Light") subvert Christian themes, including the Lord's Prayer and the 23rd Psalm.
The album's gatefold cover forms something of a visual pun, echoing the sentiments of the album title. The sight of a woman holding her arms towards heaven in an ecstatic pose is subverted upon opening the sleeve to find that she is nude.
On the Billboard Music Charts (North America), Free Your Mind... and Your Ass Will Follow peaked at #11 on the Black Albums Chart and #92 on the Pop Albums chart. The album and eponymous song influenced the band En Vogue, leading to the title of their hit song "Free Your Mind".
It's one of the best titles in modern musical history, for song and for album, and as a call to arms mentally and physically the promise of funk was never so perfectly stated. If it were just a title then there'd be little more to say, but happily, Free Your Mind lives up to it throughout as another example of Funkadelic getting busy and taking everyone with it.
The title track itself kicks things off with rumbling industrial noises and space alien sound effects, before a call-and-response chant between deep and chirpy voices brings the concept to full life. As the response voices say, "The kingdom of heaven is within!" The low and dirty groove rumbles along for ten minutes of dark fun, with Bernie Worrell turning in a great keyboard solo toward the end -- listening to it, one gets the feeling that if Can were this naturally funky, they'd end up sounding like this. From there the band makes its way through a total of six songs, ranging from the good to astoundingly great. "Funky Dollar Bill" is the other standout track from the proceedings, with a great, throw-it-down chorus and rhythm and a sharp, cutting lyric that's as good to think about as it is to sing out loud.
The closing "Eulogy and Light," meanwhile, predates Prince with its backward masking and somewhat altered version of the Lord's Prayer and Psalm 23. At other points, even if the song is a little more straightforward, there's something worthwhile about it, like the random stereo panning and Eddie Hazel's insane guitar soloing on "I Wanna Know If It's Good for You," with more zoned and stoned keyboard work from Worrell to top things off. The amount of drugs going down for these sessions in particular must have been notable, but the end results make it worthy.
01."Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow" (George Clinton (lead vocals), Ray Davis, Eddie Hazel) - 10:04 minutes
02."Friday Night, August 14th" (Clinton, Hazel, Billy Bass Nelson (lead vocals)) - 5:21 minutes
03."Funky Dollar Bill" (Clinton, Davis, Hazel, Tawl Ross (lead vocals)) - 3:15 minutes (released as a single-Westbound 175)
04."I Wanna Know If It's Good to You?" (Clinton, Clarence Haskins, Hazel (lead vocals), Nelson (also lead vocals)) 5:59 minutes (released as a single-Westbound 167)
05."Some More" (Clinton, Ernie Harris, Hazel (lead vocals)) - 2:56 minutes
06."Eulogy and Light" (Clinton (lead vocals), Harris) - 3:31 minutes
Lead vocals are noted by superscripts: (a) George Clinton, (b) Billy Bass Nelson, (c) Eddie Hazel, (d) Tawl Ross
Bonus Tracks:
07."Fish, Chips and Sweat" - 3:22 minutes
08."Free Your Mind Radio Advert" - 0:55 minutes
09."I Wanna Know If It's Good to You" - 2:50 minutes
10."I Wanna Know If It's Good to You (instrumental)" - 3:12 minutes
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Maggot Brain is a 1971 album by the American funk band Funkadelic. It was released on Westbound Records. The album incorporates musical elements of psychedelia, rock, gospel, and soul music, with significant variation between each track. Pitchfork Media named it the seventeenth best album of the 1970s decade. In 2003, the album was ranked number 486 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
It starts with a crackle of feedback shooting from speaker to speaker and a voice intoning, "Mother Earth is pregnant for the third time, for y'all have knocked her up" and talking about rising "above it all or drown in my own sh*t." This could only have been utterly bizarre back in 1971 and it's no less so decades later; though the Mothership was well on its way already, Maggot Brain really helped it take off. The instrumental title track is the key reason to listen, specifically for Eddie Hazel's lengthy, mind-melting solo. George Clinton famously told Hazel to play "like your momma had just died," and the resulting evocation of melancholy and sorrow doesn't merely rival Jimi Hendrix's work, but arguably bests a lot of it.
Accompanied by another softer guitar figure providing gentle rhythm for the piece, the end result is simply fantastic, an emotional apocalypse of sound. Maggot Brain is bookended by another long number, "Wars of Armageddon," a full-on jam from the band looping in freedom chants and airport-departure announcements to the freak-out.
In between are a number of short pieces, finding the collective merrily cooking up some funky stew of the slow and smoky variety. There are folky blues and gospel testifying on "Can You Get to That" (one listen and a lot of Primal Scream's mid-'90s career is instantly explained) and wry but warm reflections on interracial love on "You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks," its drum hits distorted to give a weird electronic edge to the results. "Super Stupid" is a particular killer, pounding drums and snarling guitar laying down the boogie hard and hot, while "Hit It and Quit It" has a great chorus and Bernie Worrell getting in a fun keyboard solo to boot.
01."Maggot Brain" (George Clinton, Eddie Hazel) – 10:20
02."Can You Get to That" (Clinton, Ernie Harris) – 2:50 (released as a single-Westbound 185)
03."Hit It And Quit It" (Clinton, Billy Bass Nelson, Garry Shider) – 3:50 (released as a single-Westbound 198)
04."You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks" (Clinton, Judie Jones, Bernie Worrell) – 3:36 (released as a single-Westbound 175)
05."Super Stupid" (Clinton, Hazel, Nelson, Tawl Ross) – 3:57
06."Back in Our Minds" (Fuzzy Haskins) – 2:38
07."Wars of Armageddon" (Clinton, Tiki Fulwood, Ross, Worrell) – 9:42
Bonus tracks
08."Whole Lot of BS" (Clinton, Worrell) - 2:11
09."I Miss My Baby" (Haskins) - 5:02
10."Maggot Brain (Alt. Mix, recorded 1971) (Hazel, Clinton) - 9:35
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Nowhere near as well known as Roky Erickson and The 13th Floor Elevators, to our ears fellow Texans The Golden Dawn are actually the more impressive band. 'Course those sentiments are bound to upset Erickson fans and will do little to rectify the fact that outside of hardcore collectors' circles these guys remain criminally overlooked.
Living in Austin, Texas, singer George Kinney grew up with Roky Erickson, attending the same schools. While in high school the two played together in a local garage band The Fugitives. With The Fugitives collapsing, Kinney moved on to join The Chelsea (along with future 13th Floor Elevator guitarist Powell St. John). When that group called it quits, he was invited to join fellow high school friends guitarist Jimmy Bird, bassist Bill Hallmark, guitarist Tom Ramsey and drummer Bobby Rector in The Golden Dawn.
Kinney's friendship with Erickson also proved handy in terms of career development. Erickson was largely responsible for getting Leland Rogers' International Artists label to sign the band in 1967 (coincidently Erickson and the Elevators were already signed to International Artists).
Produced by Rogers (yes, Kenny's brother), 1967's "Power Plant" actually bares a strong resemblance to The Elevators' catalog. The two bands certainly share the same mid-60s; low-tech Texas-psych roots, though to their credit these guys don't sound as strung out as The Elevators and (at least to our ears), Kinney's a better singer (though his fragile and occasionally shrill voice stands as an acquired taste). With Kinney and drummer Rector responsible for the majority of the 10 songs, musically the set's quite diverse. Tracks such as the opener "Evolution" and "The Way Please" boast a pleasing mix of pretty melodies and surprisingly complex and intriguing lyrics. Even better are the harder rocking numbers. Propelled by Bird and Ramsey's fuzz guitars, "Starvation", "I'll Be Around" and "My Time" are simply killer. Going out on a limb, we'll say this is a must-own psych classic and should be on most folk's top-40 psych lists. (Ignoring the illicit cannabis/mushroom subject matter, the LP's granted an extra star for the cool day-glo cover art.) (Bill Hallmark)
01.) Evolution (George Kinney - Bobby Rector) - 3:28
02.) The Way Please (George Kinney - Bobby Rector) - 5:08
03.) Starvation (George Kinney - Bobby Rector) - 2:52
04.) I'll Be Around (George Kinney - Bobby Rector) - 3:00
05.) Seeing Is Believing (George Kinney - Bobby Rector) - 2:21
06.) My Time (Jimmy Bird - Bill Hallmark - George Kinney) - 3:50
07.) A Nice Surprise (Bill Hallmark - George Kinney - Bobby Rector) - 2:51
08.) Every Day (George Kinney - Bobby Rector) - 3:59
09.) Tell Me Why (George Kinney - Bobby Rector) - 2:07
10.) Reaching Out To You (Bill Hallmark - George Kinney) - 2:37
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In its original form, Crown's Howlin' Wolf Sings the Blues LP was a patchwork compilation of sides cut for the Modern label in 1951-1952, including three songs that had previously showed up on RPM singles, a bunch of outtakes not released on 45, and a couple instrumentals that weren't even the work of Howlin' Wolf himself.
The material hails from that confusing junction in his discography where his first Memphis recordings were being leased to both Modern and Chess, which is why material from that era has tended to get reissued on different labels.
Certainly the Wolf's Modern sessions could have been better represented than they were by this 1962 album, but it's still groundbreaking early electric blues, though not quite up to the peaks he'd scale with his best Chess sessions of the mid-'50s to mid-'60s. The electric guitar had rarely been recorded with as much fuzzy power as it was here, for one thing, and Howlin' Wolf's vocals were already possessed of magnificent, sometimes scary intensity.
The same could be said of his lyrical imagery on songs like "Riding in the Moonlight," "Morning at Midnight" (aka "Moanin' at Midnight"), "Dog Me Around" (aka "How Many More Years"), and "Crying at Daybreak," which is actually an early version of his classic "Smokestack Lightning." "House Rockin' Boogie" and "Keep What You Got," meanwhile, are more good-time, fast-paced numbers that point toward not only the future of electric blues, but some of the future traits of rock & roll. The continuity of the anthology, however, is disrupted by the inclusion of two Joe Hill Louis instrumentals at the end of each LP side, though those are respectable enough early electric blues harmonica workouts, somewhat in the mold of a raw Little Walter.
01. Riding In The Moonlight [1951]
02. Worried About My Baby [1952]
03. Crying At Daylight [1951]
04. Brown Skin Woman [1952]
05. My Baby Stole Off [1951]
06. House Rockin' Boogie [1951]
07. Keep What You Got [1951]
08. God Me Around [1951]
09. Mornign At Midnight [1951]
10. I Want Your Picture [1951]
11. Passing By Blues [1951]
12. Driving This Way [1952]
13. Sun Is Rising [1952]
14. Stealing My Clothes [1952]
15. I'm The Wolf [1952]
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Howlin' Wolf quickly became a local celebrity, and soon began working with a band that included both Willie Johnson and guitarist Pat Hare. His first recordings came in 1951, when he was simultaneously signed with the Bihari brothers at Modern Records and to Leonard Chess' Chess Records. Chess issued Howlin' Wolf's How Many More Years in August 1951; Wolf also recorded sides for Modern, with Ike Turner, in late 1951 and early 1952. Chess eventually won the war over the singer, and Wolf settled in Chicago, Illinois. He began playing with guitarist Hubert Sumlin, whose terse, curlicued solos perfectly complemented Burnett's huge voice and surprisingly subtle phrasing. In the mid-'50s Wolf released "Evil" and "Smokestack Lightnin'", both major R&B hits.
His 1962 album Howlin' Wolf is one of the most famous and influential blues records, known for its cover illustration of an acoustic guitar leaning against a rocking chair. This album contained "Wang Dang Doodle", "Goin' Down Slow", "Spoonful", and "Little Red Rooster", songs which found their way into the repertoires of British and American bands infatuated with Chicago blues. In 1965 he appeared on the television show Shindig along with the Rolling Stones, who had covered "Little Red Rooster" on an early album. He was often backed by bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon who authored such Howlin' Wolf standards as "Spoonful", "I Ain't Superstitious", "Little Red Rooster", "Back Door Man", "Evil", "Wang Dang Doodle" (primarily known as a Koko Taylor hit), and others.
Howlin' Wolf album coverIn 1971, Howlin' Wolf and his long-time guitarist Hubert Sumlin traveled to London to record the Howlin' Wolf London Sessions LP. British blues/rock musicians Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ian Stewart, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts played alongside the Wolf on this album. He recorded his last album for Chess, The Back Door Wolf, in 1973.
many other blues musicians, after he left his impoverished childhood to begin a musical career, Howlin' Wolf was always financially successful. He described himself as "the onliest one to drive himself up from the Delta" to Chicago, which he did, in his own car on the Blues Highway and with four thousand dollars in his pocket, a rare distinction for a black blues man of the time. In his early career, this was the result of his musical popularity and his ability to avoid the pitfalls of alcohol, gambling, and the various dangers inherent in what are vaguely described as "loose women", to which so many of his peers fell prey.
Wolf met his future wife, Lillie, while playing in a Chicago club one night when she just happened to attend. She and her family were urban and educated, and not involved to what was generally seen as the unsavory world of blues musicians. Nonetheless, immediately attracted when he saw her in the audience as Wolf says he was, he pursued her and won her over. According to those who knew them, the couple remained deeply in love until his death. They had two daughters, Bettye and Barbara.
After he married Lillie, who was able to manage his professional finances, Wolf was so financially successful that he was able to offer band members not only a decent salary, but benefits such as health insurance; this in turn enabled him to hire his pick of the available musicians, and keep his band one of the best around. According to his daughters, he was never financially extravagant, for instance driving a Pontiac station wagon rather than a more expensive and flashy car.
At 6 foot, 6 inches (198cm) and close to 300 pounds (136 kg), he was an imposing presence with one of the loudest and most memorable voices of all the "classic" 1950s blues singers. Howlin' Wolf's voice has been compared to "the sound of heavy machinery operating on a gravel road". Although the two were reportedly not that different in actual personality, this rough edged, slightly fearsome musical style is often contrasted with the more genteel but still powerful presentation of his contemporary, Muddy Waters, to describe the two pillars of the Chicago Blues representing the two sides of the music.
01. Moanin' at Midnight
02. How Many More Years
03. Smokestack Lightning
04. Baby How Long
05. No Place to Go
06. All Night Boogie (All Night Long)
07. Evil
08. I'm Leaving You
09. Moanin' for My Baby
10. I Asked for Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)
11. Forty-Four
12. Somebody in My Home
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In the history of the blues, there has never been anyone quite like the Howlin' Wolf. Six foot three and close to 300 pounds in his salad days, the Wolf was the primal force of the music spun out to its ultimate conclusion. A Robert Johnson may have possessed more lyrical insight, a Muddy Waters more dignity, and a B.B. King certainly more technical expertise, but no one could match him for the singular ability to rock the house down to the foundation while simultaneously scaring its patrons out of its wits.
He was born in West Point, MS, and named after the 21st President of the United States (Chester Arthur). His father was a farmer and Wolf took to it as well until his 18th birthday, when a chance meeting with Delta blues legend Charley Patton changed his life forever. Though he never came close to learning the subtleties of Patton's complex guitar technique, two of the major components of Wolf's style (Patton's inimitable growl of a voice and his propensity for entertaining) were learned first hand from the Delta blues master. The main source of Wolf's hard-driving, rhythmic style on harmonica came when Aleck "Rice" Miller (Sonny Boy Williamson) married his half-sister Mary and taught him the rudiments of the instrument. He first started playing in the early '30s as a strict Patton imitator, while others recall him at decade's end rocking the juke joints with a neck-rack harmonica and one of the first electric guitars anyone had ever seen. After a four-year stretch in the Army, he settled down as a farmer and weekend player in West Memphis, AR, and it was here that Wolf's career in music began in earnest.
By 1948, he had established himself within the community as a radio personality. As a means of advertising his own local appearances, Wolf had a 15-minute radio show on KWEM in West Memphis, interspersing his down-home blues with farm reports and like-minded advertising that he sold himself. But a change in Wolf's sound that would alter everything that came after was soon in coming because when listeners tuned in for Wolf's show, the sound was up-to-the-minute electric. Wolf had put his first band together, featuring the explosive guitar work of Willie Johnson, whose aggressive style not only perfectly suited Wolf's sound but aurally extended and amplified the violence and nastiness of it as well. In any discussion of Wolf's early success both live, over the airwaves, and on record, the importance of Willie Johnson cannot be overestimated.
Wolf finally started recording in 1951, when he caught the ear of Sam Phillips, who first heard him on his morning radio show. The music Wolf made in the Memphis Recording Service studio was full of passion and zest and Phillips simultaneously leased the results to the Bihari Brothers in Los Angeles and Leonard Chess in Chicago. Suddenly, Howlin' Wolf had two hits at the same time on the R&B charts with two record companies claiming to have him exclusively under contract. Chess finally won him over and as Wolf would proudly relate years later, "I had a 4,000 dollar car and 3,900 dollars in my pocket. I'm the onliest one drove out of the South like a gentleman." It was the winter of 1953 and Chicago would be his new home.
When Wolf entered the Chess studios the next year, the violent aggression of the Memphis sides was being replaced with a Chicago backbeat and, with very little fanfare, a new member in the band. Hubert Sumlin proved himself to be the Wolf's longest-running musical associate. He first appears as a rhythm guitarist on a 1954 session, and within a few years' time his style had fully matured to take over the role of lead guitarist in the band by early 1958. In what can only be described as an "angular attack," Sumlin played almost no chords behind Wolf, sometimes soloing right through his vocals, featuring wild skitterings up and down the fingerboard and biting single notes. If Willie Johnson was Wolf's second voice in his early recording career, then Hubert Sumlin would pick up the gauntlet and run with it right to the end of the howler's life.
By 1956, Wolf was in the R&B charts again, racking up hits with "Evil" and "Smokestack Lightnin'." He remained a top attraction both on the Chicago circuit and on the road. His records, while seldom showing up on the national charts, were still selling in decent numbers down South. But by 1960, Wolf was teamed up with Chess staff writer Willie Dixon, and for the next five years he would record almost nothing but songs written by Dixon. The magic combination of Wolf's voice, Sumlin's guitar, and Dixon's tunes sold a lot of records and brought the 50-year-old bluesman roaring into the next decade with a considerable flourish. The mid-'60s saw him touring Europe regularly with "Smokestack Lightnin'" becoming a hit in England some eight years after its American release. Certainly any list of Wolf's greatest sides would have to include "I Ain't Superstitious," "The Red Rooster," "Shake for Me," "Back Door Man," "Spoonful," and "Wang Dang Doodle," Dixon compositions all. While almost all of them would eventually become Chicago blues standards, their greatest cache occurred when rock bands the world over started mining the Chess catalog for all it was worth. One of these bands was the Rolling Stones, whose cover of "The Red Rooster" became a number-one record in England. At the height of the British Invasion, the Stones came to America in 1965 for an appearance on ABC-TV's rock music show, Shindig. Their main stipulation for appearing on the program was that Howlin' Wolf would be their special guest. With the Stones sitting worshipfully at his feet, the Wolf performed a storming version of "How Many More Years," being seen on his network-TV debut by an audience of a few million. Wolf never forgot the respect the Stones paid him, and he spoke of them highly right up to his final days.
Dixon and Wolf parted company by 1964 and Wolf was back in the studio doing his own songs. One of the classics to emerge from this period was "Killing Floor," featuring a modern backbeat and a incredibly catchy guitar riff from Sumlin. Catchy enough for Led Zeppelin to appropriate it for one of their early albums, cheerfully crediting it to themselves in much the same manner as they had done with numerous other blues standards. By the end of the decade, Wolf's material was being recorded by artists including the Doors, the Electric Flag, the Blues Project, Cream, and Jeff Beck. The result of all these covers brought Wolf the belated acclaim of a young, white audience. Chess' response to this was to bring him into the studio for a "psychedelic" album, truly the most dreadful of his career. His last big payday came when Chess sent him over to England in 1970 to capitalize on the then-current trend of London Session albums, recording with Eric Clapton on lead guitar and other British superstars. Wolf's health was not the best, but the session was miles above the earlier, ill-advised attempt to update Wolf's sound for a younger audience.
As the '70s moved on, the end of the trail started coming closer. By now Wolf was a very sick man; he had survived numerous heart attacks and was suffering kidney damage from an automobile accident that sent him flying through the car's windshield. His bandleader Eddie Shaw firmly rationed Wolf to a meager half-dozen songs per set. Occasionally some of the old fire would come blazing forth from some untapped wellspring, and his final live and studio recordings show that he could still tear the house apart when the spirit moved him. He entered the Veterans Administration Hospital in 1976 to be operated on, but never survived it, finally passing away on January 10th of that year.
But his passing did not go unrecognized. A life-size statue of him was erected shortly after in a Chicago park. Eddie Shaw kept his memory and music alive by keeping his band, the Wolf Gang, together for several years afterward. A child-education center in Chicago was named in his honor and in 1980 he was elected to the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame. In 1991, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A couple of years later, his face was on a United States postage stamp. Live performance footage of him exists in the CD-ROM computer format. Howlin' Wolf is now a permanent part of American history.
01. Shake for Me
02. Red Rooster Howlin' Wolf
03. You'll Be Mine
04. Who's Been Talkin'
05. Wang-Dang-Doodle
06. Little Baby
07. Spoonful
08. Going Down Slow Oden
09. Down in the Bottom
10. Back Door Man
11. Howlin' for My Baby Howlin' Wolf
12. Tell Me
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The band initially featured Dave Peverett ("Lonesome Dave") on guitar and vocal, Tony Stevens on bass, and Roger Earl on drums. They added Rod Price on guitar/slide guitar and formed Foghat upon leaving Savoy Brown in December 1970. Their 1972 album Foghat had a hit with a cover of Willie Dixon's "I Just Want to Make Love to You". The band's second self-titled album was also known as Rock and Roll for its cover photo of a rock and a bread roll, and it went gold. Energized came out in 1974, followed by Rock and Roll Outlaws and Fool for the City in 1975, the year that Stevens left the band. Stevens was replaced temporarily by Nick Jameson in 1975 when the band recorded Fool For The City, Jameson's only album with the band.
In the next year, he was replaced again permanently by Craig MacGregor in 1976, and the group produced Night Shift in 1976, a live album in 1977, and Stone Blue in 1978, each reaching "gold" record sales. Fool for the City spawned two hit singles, the title track and "Slow Ride" (which reached number 20 on the US charts), but the greatest sales figures were for Foghat Live, which sold over 2,000,000 copies. Rod Price left the band in 1980 and was replaced by Erik Cartwright. After 1978, Foghat record sales were far lower, and their last album, Zig-Zag Walk in 1983, only touched at the charts at #192.
After Dave Peverett left in 1984 and went back to England the group disbanded. But Earl, along with MacGregor, Cartwright and others reformed the group in 1986 and continued touring as Foghat into the early nineties. Roger Earl's Foghat went through a number of players over the next few years. Craig MacGregor continued until the end of '86, when he departed several bassist were in and out in the following years.
In 1993, the original lineup reunited and released a studio album entitled Return of the Boogie Men in 1994 and a live album entitled Road Cases in 1998. The final album of the decade, King Biscuit Flower Hour from the syndicated radio show of the same name, was released in May of 1999, and consisted of live recordings from 1974 and 1976.
Drummer Roger Earl and current lead singer, Charlie Huhn performing at their CD Release Party in NYC for their latest album "Live II".The 2000s saw the death of founding members Dave Peverett and Rod Price. Peverett died in February of 2000 from cancer, and Price died on March 22, 2005 from a heart attack as a result of a head injury sustained in a fall down a flight of stairs.
After the death of founder Dave Peverett, the band re-formed with two of the founding members (drummer Roger Earl, and bass player Tony Stevens), plus Bryan Bassett, and Charlie Huhn, (a vocalist for Ted Nugent for a brief time), released the studio album Family Joules in 2003 – the first without the late "Lonesome Dave" Peverett. Tony Stevens has since been replaced again by Craig MacGregor. In 2006, a follow up to the best-selling Live album was released - Live II.
01. "Honey Hush" - 4:21
02. "Step Outside" - 6:56
03. "Golden Arrow" - 6:18
04. "Home in My Hand" - 4:03
05. "Wild Cherry" - 5:13
06. "That'll Be the Day" - 5:27
07. "Fly by Night" - 2:53
08. "Nothin' I Won't Do" - 4:47
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The self-titled fourth album from this Krautrock underground group is a fierce display of droning fuzz psychedelia that easily holds its own on the shelf next to the Stooges' Funhouse, Can's Tago Mago, and Kraftwerk's first three albums. While the group remains one of the more obscure footnotes in the German psychedelic underground, their first three albums were profoundly influential of the global neo-psychedelic scene, with groups such as Spacemen 3, Bevis Frond, Nurse With Wound, Fushitsusha, and High Rise citing this album as a key influence.
While the lineup changed periodically throughout the '70s, the core group of Ax Genrich on guitar, longstanding member Mani Neumeier on drums and keyboards, and Bruno Schaab on bass cut this masterpiece with the aid of Krautrock legend Conrad Plank on guitar and keyboards.
This sprawling, guitar-driven workout relies on a couple of chords and a heavy dose of distortion worthy of early Hawkwind with riffs as crunching as Black Sabbath. One of the defining albums in the movement known as space rock or drone rock, this album is well deserving of the attention of those tuned into that axis.
01. Samantha's Rabbit - Genrich, Neumeier, Schaab 2:58
02. Medley: Rocken mit Eduard/Something Else/Weekend/Twenty Flight Rock - Cochran, Genrich, Neumeier ... 13:26
Composed by: Cochran, Genrich, Neumeier, Schaab
03. Woman Drum - Genrich, Neumeier, Schaab 3:59
04. Der Elektrolurch - Genrich, Neumeier, Schaab 9:46
05. The Story of Life - Genrich, Neumeier, Schaab 12:07
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Foghat began their career in 1971 as a bunch of rather unpretentious young Brits with an affection for American blues and '50s rock 'n' roll. By the middle of the decade, they had evolved into a major touring and recording act, playing a pumped-up brand of boogie-rock to arena-size audiences. Their looks grew flashier, their sound fattened and filled out, yet the roots-rock core of the band remained ever-present under the surface.
From the viewpoint of certain critics, Foghat unduly compromised their early blues-based approach in order to reap commercial rewards. Certainly, their mid-'70s hits ("Slow Ride," "Drivin' Wheel," "Stone Blue") were not aimed at the rock purists of the world. But it's also true that they continued to record traditional blues and R&B material throughout their years with Bearsville Records. In fact, Foghat's final albums on Bearsville reaffirmed their love for unadulterated, primal American music.
Lonesome Dave Peverett (lead vocals, guitar), Rod Price (lead guitar), Tony Stevens (bass), and Roger Earl (drums) all came out of the vital, close-knit London blues scene of the '60s. Peverett (born in 1943) first gained attention as leader of The Cross Ties Blues Band, then served a stint with Swiss rock group Les Questions. From there, he returned to Britain and joined Savoy Brown, who had already established themselves with their "Shake Down" album. As Savoy Brown's rhythm guitarist and, later, lead vocalist, Peverett appeared on the band's "Getting To The Point," "Blue Matter," "A Step Further," "Raw Sienna," and "Looking In" albums.
There was an LP, released in '79 by London Records Collectors Series, called "Before Foghat Days." This was an unknown album to most people. According to the liner notes, during a break in the studio while recording Savoy Brown's "A Step Further" album, Dave, Tony and Roger started jamming, picking old rockabilly tunes off the top of their heads. Unknown to them, the engineer had the tapes rolling. After hearing the tapes they decided to record a few more songs and release it as an album. It was originally released in '69 as "Warren Phillips and the Rockets." It is done in the old Sun Records style, and the original idea was to write phony liner notes about the lost recordings of the "legendary" Warren Phillps. It says 95% was recorded in one take, a few songs being "Shake, Rattle, and Roll," "Money Honey," and "Matchbox." One song even features a kazoo solo by Dave.
In early '71, Peverett decided to strike out on his own, taking Savoy Brown bassist Tony Stevens and drummer Roger Earl with him. With the recruitment of Rod Price (another London blues player) on lead guitar, the new group began to stir interest. Bearsville founder Albert Grossman put the still-unnamed band into a London studio for initial recordings with Todd Rundgren. Ultimately, Rundgren didn't seem the right choice for producer, though some tracks he recorded with the group were included on their debut album.
The "Foghat" LP (1972) was produced by Dave Edmunds, whose idiosyncratic style in the studio can be heard throughout the album. "Dave was very much into early Elvis and the Sun Records thing," Peverett recalls. "I loved the phasing effects he got on the vocals. He wasn't scared to try off-the-wall sound ideas." "Ubangi Stomp" was among several recordings from these sessions that didn't make the album. The track displays Foghat's often-underplayed rockabilly side, and features Colin Earl of Mungo Jerry on Piano.
On the eve of the album's completion, the band was still grappling with the choice of a name. Brandywine Track and Hootch had been considered and rejected. Finally, Foghat was selected. Peverett had made up this nonsense word in a childhood game with his brother, and once tried to convince Savoy Brown bandmate Chris Youlden to change his name to Luther Foghat. (Youlden failed to see the wisdom in such a move.)
Foghat's eponymously titled first LP reached #127 on the U.S. album charts, with the single "I Just Want To Make Love To You" gaining them a bit of radio attention. The band quickly followed this up by recording and releasing "What A Shame," which crept up to #82. Produced by Edmunds, "What A Shame" would later be included in remixed form on their second album, "Foghat" (aka "Rock & Roll").
The "Rock & Roll" LP was produced by Tom Dawes, following several disappointing sessions with Edmunds at the helm. Formerly with The Cyrkle ("Red Rubber Ball"), Dawes brought a more mainstream touch to Foghat's studio approach. (The album's cover, dreamed up by filmmaker Robert Downey, featured a photo of a rock and a roll in place of a title. A visual pun not everyone understood.)
Dawes was called back to produce Foghat's "Energized" album (1974), which included an R&B-flavored remake of Buddy Holly's "That'll Be The Day" among its highlights. Though "Energized" went on to reach gold status in the U.S., the band wasn't exactly happy with its production. "Tom Dawes was really talented, but his musical tastes differed from ours," Peverett says. "We wanted someone who understood the feeling of our music a little more."
The band found such a studio partner in Nick Jameson. Hailing from Philadelphia, Jameson had become part of the Bearsville family when Todd Rundgren worked with Nick's band "American Dream." From there, Jameson became an engineer, remixing some tracks on the "Foghat" album. He returned to produce and engineer the group's "Rock And Roll Outlaws" LP (1974), from which comes the melancholy midtempo track "Dreamer."
At this stage in their career, Foghat had a fairly uneven track record. The success of "Energized" was not matched by "Rock And Roll Outlaws," leaving the band with doubts about their future. Foghat continued to relentlessly tour the U.S., mostly as an opening act. With four albums under their belts, they found themselves a middle-level band purveying blues/rock to a market that had moved away from such earthy sounds.
The band's fortunes turned around with "Fool For the City" (1975), which was their first album to go platinum, and introduced Foghat to the Top 40 radio with the hit "Slow Ride" (Best Of Foghat, Vol. 1). That same year, Stevens was replaced on bass by Jameson, who adapted his guitar skills to the instrument after several weeks of intensive practice. The revamped and revitalized Foghat had reached the big leagues at last, though not without some artistic sacrifices. "I think we started painting ourselves into a corner with "Fool For The City," Peverett says today. "There was pressure to come up with another 'Slow Ride."
Jameson bowed out of Foghat to pursue a solo career, which later evolved into acting, and did not tour with the band again. He was replaced in 1976 by a veteran bassist from California, Craig MacGregor. His solid, driving approach to bass playing reflected Foghat's increased emphasis on simple, aggressive boogie-rock numbers. "Slow Ride' became a trademark song for us, and that was where the music headed," Peverett says. "The band's sound got bigger. We were playing larger venues, and that sort of influenced our stuff. We wanted songs that would work in front of big audiences."
Night Shift (1976) continued the certified-gold success of "Fool For The City," yielding the hit "Drivin' Wheel." "I'll Be Standing By" (which reached #67) and a rocking remake of the R&B classic "Take Me To The River" were also released as singles. "Night Shift" was produced by ex-Edgar Winter Group member Dan Hartman, who helped to nudge Foghat even further in a commercial, airplay-oriented direction.
Foghat Live (1977), produced by Nick Jameson, captured the band at the height of their Boogie Monster phase. From the bombastic intro to "Fool For The City" to the drawn-out treatment of "Slow Ride," the album found them playing the roll to the hilt. The album's version of "I Just Want To Make Love To You" was released as a single and reached #33 in the U.S. "Foghat Live" went on to earn double platinum status. "I thought a live album would do well," says Peverett. "It pushed us even further. That was as big as we ever got."
The band's next studio album, "Stone Blue" (1978) paired them with producer Eddie Cramer, who had previously engineered recordings for Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. Cramer and Foghat didn't collaborate smoothly, but the tension in the studio may have helped to give the album an added edge. Besides the title track (a Top 40 hit), "Stone Blue" contained a ferocious cover of Robert Johnson's "Sweet Home Chicago," reasserting the band's blues credentials.
Stone Blue went gold, as did the band's 1979 LP "Boogie Motel," which included their version of General Johnson's "Somebody's Been Sleepin' In My Bed." Still, Foghat was getting restless with the formula perfected on "Fool For The City."
Peverett, for one, was drawn to the sounds of New Wave rock. "Punk and New Wave reminded me of early rockabilly," he says. "It appealed to me, even though I felt Foghat was part of what New Wave was trying to replace. So I was kind of knocking myself in a way."Tight Shoes from 1980 (featuring "Stranger In My Home Town") was a tentative foray into New Wave. It was also the last album Rod Price participated in until 1994's Return of the Boogie Men. He was replaced on lead guitar by Erik Cartwright, a versatile player who had previously recorded with Dan Hartman.
Cartwright joined Foghat in time to appear on "Girls To Chat & Boys To Bounce" (1981), which was produced by Nick Jameson, also serving as bass player. A surprisingly credible effort in a Dave Edmunds/Elvis Costello vein, yet tracks like "Live Now - Pay Later" failed to win Foghat many new converts.
In The Mood For Something Rude (1982) was largely an album of R&B covers, rendered in a spirit of good fun (as evidenced by "Slipped, Tripped, Fell In Love").
A similarly playful approach can be heard on "Zig-Zag Walk" (1983), Foghat's final Bearsville album. "That's What Love Can Do" was among the stripped-down rockers in this set. Following Craig MacGregor's departure, old mate Nick Jameson served both as producer (under the nom du disque "Franz Leipkin") and bassist/keyboardist (credited as "Eli Jenkins").
After Zig-Zag Walk's release in 1983, Craig Macgregor departed Foghat and was replaced by Kenny Aaronson, who had to leave the group for medical reasons. Aaronson was replaced by Rob Alter (former Guitarist for the Ian Hunter Group), who also had to leave for medical reasons the following year. Alter was replaced by returning alumni Craig Macgregor.
Foghat continued to tour until early 1985, when Lonesome Dave retired to England after some 16 years on the road.
The remaining members (Roger Earl, Erik Cartwright and Craig MacGregor) took a brief break and along with Jim Robarge on Hammond B-3 & piano, reunited as The Kneetremblers. Billed as "formerly Foghat," The Kneetremblers played R&B until 1986 when Robarge left the group and was replaced by Eric "EJ" Burgeson on guitars. A few months later, The Kneetremblers, citing both fan pressure and Burgeson's knowledge of the material (Burgeson had auditioned for Rod Price's position), began touring as Foghat. This band later became commonly known as "Roger Earl's" Foghat.
Roger Earl's Foghat went through a number of players over the next few years. Craig MacGregor continued until the end of '86, when he departed to record his own music. MacGregor was replaced on Bass by Erik's brother Brett Cartwright (Joan Jett), who stayed until 1989 and was subsequently replaced by Jeff Howell (Savoy Brown). Also departing in 1989 was Eric "EJ" Burgeson, who left to join Craig MacGregor's band. Burgeson was replaced by Phil Nudelman who in turn left in 1990 and was replaced by Billy Davis. The final replacement being Dave Crigger, who replaced Jeff Howell on Bass in 1992.
In 1990, Lonesome Dave Peverett reactivated Foghat as "Lonesome Dave's Foghat" with new players; including guitarist Brian Bassett (original Wild cherry guitarist and later Molly Hatchet), drummer Eddie Zyne (Hall and Oates), bassist Stephen Dees (from Hall and Oates) and later, bassist Riff West (10 year Molly Hatchet bassist), hitting the U.S. club circuit once more. Lonesome Dave's Foghat also included performances by Rod Price.
The two versions of Foghat toured separately from 1990 until 1993. The original Foghat was reformed in 1993 when Tony Stevens and Rod Price rejoined, and things were patched up between Dave & Roger.
Lonesome Dave Peverett, Rod Price, Tony Stevens, and Roger Earl, the original founding band members, toured with their studio CD, "Return Of The Boogie Men" and the followup live CD "Road Cases" (with Bryan Basset replacing Rod Price in 1999) until Lonesome Dave's untimely death in 2000. They had returned to the basic blues/rock sound of 29 years ago. Even at their peak as hitmakers, that was the essence of the band's sound. They remained true believers at heart.
Foghat Live is a 1977 live album by the band Foghat. The release is Foghat's best selling album with over two million copies sold and is certified 2x platinum in the United States. In 2007, to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the album, Foghat released the Live II album, a double album.
01. Fool for the City - 5:31
02. Home in My Hand - 4:56
03. I Just Want to Make Love to You - 8:36
04. Road Fever - 5:29
05. Honey Hush - 5:38
06. Slow Ride - 8:21
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America's Choice was the fifth album by the American blues rock band Hot Tuna, recorded in 1974 and released the following year. The first of the "Rampage" trilogy albums (the others being Yellow Fever and Hoppkorv) recorded by the now power trio, it marked a major shift in musical direction by the group. With new drummer Bob Steeler, Tuna now performed in a predominantly hard rock style rather than their previous more acoustic flavored manner.
Seven of the eight songs are Kaukonen originals, the cover being Robert Johnson's "Walkin' Blues". The album is characterized by Kaukonen's multi-layered and hard edged guitar solos and Bob Steeler's frantic drumming, which give a somewhat schizoid feel to the entire proceedings.
Songs resonate between the somber and the frenetic, which adds to the moody atmospherics, especially on "Serpent of Dreams" and "I Don't Wanna Go". Three of tracks, "Funky #7", "Invitation" and "Walkin' Blues", often evolved into extended jams when performed live at this time. The album rose to #75 on the Billboard charts.
Hot Tuna returned to a heavier sound on their fifth album, which, although it again was dominated by Jorma Kaukonen's compositions, leaned more heavily on extended electric-guitar solos and even included a Robert Johnson classic, "Walkin' Blues." Drummer Bob Steeler replaced Sammy Piazza as of this release. The result was a modest recovery from the disappointing sales of The Phosphorescent Rat, although not a complete return to form.
The album was originally released in Quadraphonic.
The album cover art depicts a box of laundry detergent, complete with dripping suds, labeled "America's Choice: Hot Tuna". On one side of the detergent box, a contents label lists the musicians as the "active ingredients", and also says, "Pure, unadulterated sounds with amplified additives and the necessary polytonal ingredients to handle heavy loads." On another side of the box is a "warning" stating, "This album to be played at full volume for maximum effect."
01. "Sleep Song" (Jorma Kaukonen) — 4:23
02. "Funky #7" (Kaukonen, Jack Casady) — 5:47
03. "Walkin' Blues" (Robert Johnson) — 5:22
04. "Invitation" (Kaukonen) — 6:50
05. "Hit Single #1" (Kaukonen) — 5:10
06. "Serpent of Dreams" (Kaukonen) — 6:52
07. "I Don't Wanna Go" (Kaukonen) — 4:56
08. "Great Divide: Revisited" (Kaukonen) — 5:16
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Hot Tuna's first album made after the breakup of Jefferson Airplane found Jorma Kaukonen taking a firm hand: he's the author of nine out of ten songs.
The walking tempos and familiar soaring, psychedelic guitar solos are in place, but much of the music is given over to Kaukonen's reflective lyrics, sung in his matter-of-fact voice, and there are strings on a couple of tracks.
The group's fans, devoted as they were to its extended versions of blues standards, seem to have been unimpressed: the album was Hot Tuna's lowest-charting among those released during their 1970-1978 heyday. Probably a lack of enthusiasm at RCA, due to the demise of Jefferson Airplane, didn't help in the album's promotion, either.
01. I See the Light Kaukonen 4:16
02. Letter to the North Star Kaukonen 2:32
03. Easy Now Kaukonen 5:11
04. Corners Without Exits Kaukonen 3:38
05. Day to Day Out the Window Blues Kaukonen 3:28
06. In the Kingdom Kaukonen 5:27
07. Seeweed Strut Kaukonen 3:26
08. Living Just for You Kaukonen 3:20
09. Soliloquy for 2 Kaukonen 3:43
10. Sally, Where'd You Get Your Liquor From? Davis 2:58
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