The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions (Deluxe Edition)

Although The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions was not a high point in the careers of either Howlin' Wolf or the guest superstars Eric Clapton, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Stevie Winwood, and Ringo Starr, it's not as bad as some blues purists make it out to be. This deluxe edition two-CD set pads out the original with an entire disc of previously unreleased alternate takes/alternate mixes (and three tracks from the same sessions that eventually showed up on the 1974 compilation London Revisited, which also included material by Muddy Waters). Fewer and fewer leftovers from the Chess catalog were available at the beginning of the 21st century, so here this is, bolstered by lengthy and entertaining liner notes spotlighting memories from producer Norman Dayron. The original album, presented here in its original mix, was adequate but flawed. The alternate versions really aren't all that different from the ones selected for the album, and some, in fact, are just alternate mixes. There are, however, some occasional notable differences, like "What a Woman!" with an organ overdub,"Poor Boy" with different lyrics, "The Red Rooster" with an alternate piano, a rawer "Who's Been Talking" with lots of studio chat, a version of "Do the Do" that goes on more than twice as long as the album rendition, and a "rehearsal take" (the only such item here) of "Worried About My Baby" that's far sparser than the one ultimately chosen.