Chubby Checker: Goodbye Victoria and Stoned In The Bathroom
From: Chequered [Ariola, 1971]
Howlin' Wolf: Smokestack Lightning and Down in the Bottom
From: This Is Howlin' Wolf's New Album [Cadet Concept, 1969]
Wow! It's been awhile since I've posted something on here. I've been inundated with looking for a new job and moving into my girlfriend's apartment, so you can probably understand why I haven't been posting so regularly. I've had this post on the backburner for about a month now, and I want to bless your ears with two psychedelic fuzz guitar masterpieces recorded by Chubby Checker and Howlin' Wolf.
Chubby Checker became popular when his 60' s dance hit called "The Twist" caused a teenage dance craze that took the nation by storm. He went on to record several other dance-themed hits and had as many as 5 albums in the top 12 at once. Unfortunately, Chubby's hit-making career came to a grinding halt in 1965 when the public's taste veered into the more exciting music of the times such as psychedelic rock and folk.
However, Chubby decided to experiment with psychedelic rock and bluesy-soul with this rare gem released in 1971 entitled Chequered/New Revelation. These sessions were helmed by record company scam-artist Ed Chalpin(the same guy behind the bootleg Jimi Hendrix w/ Curtis Knight releases ) who first released them in Europe in 1971 and in a cutout-version in America. He was notorious for recording no-name studio bands playing the current hits and then he would quickly sell them to record companies in Europe and South America to stay ahead of the copyrighting laws.
Goodbye Victoria opens up with a slow lurking piano groove that is begging to be lifted by The Weathermen for their next hip-hop masterpiece. Then, Chubby's soulful vocals lift the song to greater heights and the piano and hammond organ chime in with the glorious gospel-inflected chorus of "Time Won't Forget You Victoria/Time Just Won't Let You Victoria/Goodbye Victoria/Everybody's Going to the Moon." After the chorus, the hammond organs sound off for a brief interlude and then segueway into the second verse of the song. There is an incredibly funky hammond organ breakdown after the second chorus that sounds like it's highly influenced by Jimmy Smith. What makes this track so unforgettable is that it has soul dripping from it's pores. You can feel the pain that Chubby was feeling in each and every heart-wrenching verse. My Mind Comes From a High Place features blistering guitar solos, funky drum breakdowns and soulful psychedelic vocals that remind you of the Band of Gypsys. On If the Sun Stops Shinin', Chubby comes out shining with a beautiful vocal that could be compared to Bill Withers on "Lean on Me". Stoned in the Bathroom starts out with a playful carnival organ and martial drums intro that leads into Chubby's hazy verse about being "Stoned in the bathroom/on a Sunday afternoon/Stoned in the bathroom/just sitting on the moon." Then, the bridge/chorus ignites the track with a fiery guitar/organ combo that goes for broke. Towards the end of the track, Chubby screams at the top of his lungs which seems to push the band into overdrive for the last thirty seconds of the song. Overall, this is an amazing record that is definitely worth looking for.
Side note:
Rumor has it that Chubby reluctantly agreed to record this album, and even to this day doesn't want to discuss the details of how it came to be. As far as I know, it never received an official release in the US, so it remains a rare psych-soul masterpiece that probably goes for some serious coin on E-Bay.
Howlin Wolf was persuaded to record This is Howlin' Wolf's New Album for Cadet Concept in 1969. This label also released Muddy Water's Electric Mud which has a similar electric rock-n-roll blues sound designed to pull in bigger audiences for both bluesmen. Wolf's opinion of this record was emblazoned on the cover in bold letters- This Is Howlin Wolf's New Album. he Doesn't Like It. He Didn't Like His Electric Guitar At First Either. The idea of creating this album came to Marshall Chess after he toured with the Rolling Stones and realized that they were making money off of the blues legends who influenced them. He brought in the same band that was used in the Electric Mud sessions: Pete Cosey and Phil Upchurch- guitars, Louis Satterfield on bass and Morris Jennings on drums to create the psychedelic blues-funk- rock-n-roll fusion that was becoming popular at the time.
The whole album is funky with chicken scratch wah-wah guitar and funky basslines that would make Bootsy Collins blush. The rhythm section is tight as a vice and Wolf's bluesy vocals work well with the funky backbeat and acidic guitars. On this version of Smokestack Lightning, a funky Yusef Lateef style flute complements Wolf's gruff vocals while the band switches up from a midtempo funky jam to a psychedelic hazy dream filled with wah-wah guitars. Down in the Bottom gets a groove going that reminds me of the Meters mixed with the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The rest of the album is just as funky and gritty as these two tracks, so keep an eye out for this one at your local record store. It is a definite must for fans of fuzz guitar blues psychedelia.
<< Home