Howlin' Wolf's Soul Message

Howlin' Wolf - She's Looking Good

TGIF, so says your ever-lovin' Stepfather of Soul, and I am glad to bring another groove your way to take into the weekend!


Chess Records' attempts to "modernize" the sounds of (and increase record sales on) Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters have been discussed on this blog previously, and today's selection comes from the second "modern" Howlin' Wolf album Message to the Young. Alongside the interesting but somewhat corny title track, in which Wolf encourages the love crowd to be themselves ("if you wanna wear your hair long, wear your hair long ... you girls, if you wanna wear your dresses short ... I'll appeciate it if don't nobody else will") but also to "love your mother and father," acid rock-tinged stuff like "Miss Jane" and funky tracks like "I Smell a Rat" is Wolf's cover of Rodger Collins' "She's Looking Good." With assistance from the hot track laid down by the Chess house band, especially Gene Barge's horn charts, Wolf actually pulls off a great reading of the song and even manages to get some of his trademark howlin' in there.