Artist: Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Title Of Album: Voodoo Jive: The Best Of Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Year Of Release: 1956-69/1990
Label (Catalog#) : Rhino [R2 70947]
Country: USA
Genre: Early
R&B,
Blues Rock,
Rock & Roll
Quality: Ape (image + cue,log)
Bitrate: Lossless
Total Time: 00:45:45
Total Size: 221mb(+3%)(covers)
AllMusic Review by Mark Deming
Screamin' Jay Hawkins -- genius or lunatic? An investigation of Hawkins' body of work suggests these two options were hardly mutually exclusive in his case, and while he certainly tended to favor material that indulged his fondness for the vocal freak-out, the man also possessed a solid baritone voice and knew just what to do with it. (A careful examination of his music reveals that Screamin' Jay could sing "straight" and do it quite well if the occasion called for it -- he simply wasn't asked to do so very often.) At his best, Hawkins was a musical eccentric in the great tradition of Spike Jones, Captain Beefheart, and Prince, determined to follow his own unique path, consequences be damned. Sadly, most of Hawkins' albums were wildly uneven, but Voodoo Jive: The Best of Screamin' Jay Hawkins filters out the duds to serve up 17 perverse gems from his work on a handful of labels; along with his biggest hit, the once-scandalous "I Put a Spell On You," you get such wonders of modern recording as "Alligator Wine" and "Feast of the Mau Mau," his singular interpretations of "I Love Paris" and "You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)," and the definitive music statement on the inability to void, "Constipation
Blues" (which actually charted in Japan, proving this theme truly spans cultural boundaries). If you're only going to own one Screamin' Jay Hawkins disc, Voodoo Jive is definitely the one to get, though we accept no responsibility for the reaction of your neighbors if you play "(She Put The) Wamee (On Me)" at three in the morning.
Tracklist---------
01. I put a spell on you (Jalacy Hawkins) (03:50)
02. Little demon (03:01)
03. Alligator wine (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) (05:41)
04. I love Paris (02:25)
05. Person to person (02:11)
06. Frenzy (02:12)
07. Do you really love me? (02:10)
08. This is all (02:51)
09. Just don't care (02:29)
10. You made me love you (02:02)
11. Yellow coat (05:57)
12. I hear voices (02:40)
13. Orange colored sky (02:52)
14. (She put the) Wamee (on me) (03:04)
15. Feast of the Mau Mau (Jalacy Hawkins) (03:29)
16. Move me (03:01)
17. Constipation
blues (Jalacy Hawkins) (04:43)
Personnel:------
Screamin' Jay Hawkins (vocals, piano, organ)
Mike Anthony (guitar, banjo)
Mickey "Guitar" Baker, Danny Perri, Everett Barkdale (guitar)
"Big" Al Sears, Sam "The Man" Taylor, Plas Johnson (tenor saxophone)
Heywood Henry, Teddy McRae (baritone saxophone)
Ernie Hayes (piano)
Al Lucas, Lloyd Trotman, Lyle Ritz (bass)
David "Panama" Francis, Earl Palmer (drums)
Carl "Beef" Gottlieb, Deirdre La Porte, Thea Marcus, Tom Reid, Christopher "Egg" Ross, Sal Valentino (background vocals).
Recorded between 1956 and 1969.
All thanks to original releaser