On The Prowl With The Wolf – Various Artists
Released 2025 on Bear Family Bear Family Records - Vinyl, CD, DVD- Musik Mailorder Online (bear-family.com)
The wolf has captivated the human imagination since the very beginning. No surprise, as it has accompanied us from the beginning, watching, tracking and threatening us - it was our main competitor in the food chain, and we learned a lot by observing its hunting techniques.
Our ancestors recognized the opportunities that domestication offered to help us hunt - and protect us from wolves. The wolf plays a central role in major religions and mythologies around the world. Its social order is similar to that of Homo Sapiens.
Bear Family offers a range of songs that deal with the wolf or use the wolf as an image/metaphor. A wide selection of styles and artists are presented here, ranging from beat pioneer and jazz eccentric Harry 'The Hipster' Gibson to Elvis Presley - the King of Rock and Roll, to legendary blues icon Howlin' Wolf and obscure cult heroes such as Bunker Hill, Leon Payne and Ray Harris. It's all here - from blues to northern band sound, from hillbilly to Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Reviewed date February 2025.
Review
Freddie Bell And Bell Boys get the CD started with a good rockin’ track that features a fine sax break. “Big Bad Wolf” come from 1957 when it was released on Mercury records. The second track, “I'm The Wolf Man” by Round Robin also has a rockin’ vibe to it though it dates from the mid-60s. Plenty of man made growls and some wild guitar. Track three, “Weerdo The Wolf” by Frankie Stein And His Ghouls also dates from the mid-60s. An harmonica is the lead instrument on this instrumental. Rockabilly guitar legend, Al Casey features on “Wolf Call” from Mark Anthony, a record first issued in 1957 on the Phoenix based Porter label. Given the theme of this collection, it is no surprise that there is track from blues master Howlin’ Wolf. His “The Wolf Is At Your Door” is classic blues number with trademark harmonica and guitar work. The sixth track is a mid-paced novelty track from 1962. “Wolf Gal” by Skipper Ryle has some over the top sound effects but the saxophone is the main instrument back the Skipper’s narration. With track seven there is a witch of styles to hillbilly bop as, The Maddox Brothers And Rose give us “Stop Whistlin' Wolf”. Leon Payne aka “the Blind Balladeer” is another name well known to country music fan. His song, “I’m A Lone Wolf” is a dyed in the wool country number from 1950 when it was issued on Capitol, it even name checks Hank Williams. “The Wolf Hop” from the Anderson Sisters is a slow hillbilly bopper from 1958. Track ten from Billy Strickland is unusual as it’s rare to get a track with surface noise from Bear Family. However, fans of country/hillbilly boogie will not complain as “Hillbilly Wolf” is a great track.
R&B singer, Piney Brown, gives us a potential stroller with his “Ooh You Bring Out The Wolf In Me” from 1953. At track twelve we have piano boogie maestro, Amos Milburn, with “Wolf On The River”, excellent piano based R&B with a wailing sax for good measure. The Four Mints recorded “Wolf” for the Georgia based NRC label in 1958. A nice group vocal from a white doo-wop foursome. Tennessee Slim, real name Roe Hollingsworth, performs his country ballad “I’m An Old Wolf” for track fourteen. “Lonely Wolf” by Ray Harris is an up-tempo country rocker that Ray recorded for Sun in 1957, but the track was not issued at the time. Taken from the mid sixties film “Girl Happy”, “Wolf Call” is typical of the songs Elvis was churning out at the time. Obscure rockabilly artists, Clinton O'Neil And Country Drifters, give us track seventeen with “Big Bad Wolf” which is more a country rocker than rockabilly. The mood turns bluesy with track eighteen. “Wolf Bait” by Henry Thome is a slow number featuring some nice piano playing supporting a good vocal. “The Prowler” by The Idols is novelty rocker from 1958. What “Red Riding Hood And The Wolf” lacks in sound quality is more than made up for it with the high energy performance of Bunker Hill who was clearly influenced by Little Richard. Ace Harris was an American jazz pianist during the 30s and 40s and his recording “Baby, Maybe Your The Wolf” fits nicely in this compilation. Wildman rocker, Kid Thomas, takes his foot of the throttle a bit for his mid paced number, “The Wolf Pack” which could make a good stroller.
Track 23 “Wolf Call Boogie”, by Coy “Hot Shot” Love was recorded in 1954 in that little studio at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee and was number 196 on the Sun Label. A great example of what Sam Phillips was doing at the time. Cue some more eerie sound effects for “Wolf Call” by Lord Dent And His Invaders, a moody and rather sinister sax lead instrumental from 1959. Track twenty five, “Big Bad Wolf” by the San Diego Misfits is a typical mid sixties pop song with screaming girls in the background. More weird vocal effects grace track 26, "Li'l Red Riding Hood" a 1966 song performed by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. It was the group's second top-10 hit, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1966. We stay with the mid sixties for “Big Bad Wolf” by Brian Diamond And Cutters, a nice enough pop song typical of the time. “Wolf Boy” by Sammy Salvo is mid paced pop rocker issued on RCA in 1959. “Wolf Call” by Billy Wallace is a slow rockabilly track with some rather odd vocal effects in the background to make a rather eerie song. Track thirty, “An Old Wolf Whistle” by Jack Butler is a slow number with a rockabilly feel that dates from 1958. As you might expect from the title of track 31, it is a rather weird instrumental, “Weird Wolf” by Ghouls was recorded in 1964. Harry “The Hipster” Gibson brings this collection to a close with his novelty jazz track, “The Wolf Song” which has echoes of Louis Jordan about it.
Summary and recommendation
I’m a great fan of these eclectic compilations from Bear Family. They are entertaining and educational as I listen to tracks I would not normally play. Plus, I like the vast majority of them. This compilation is another fun way to seek out new music for a great price so why not buy a copy?
Reviewed by Jailhouse John Alexander
Track List
1, Big Bad Wolf, Freddie Bell And Bell Boys
2, I'm The Wolf Man, Round Robin
3, Weerdo The Wolf, Frankie Stein And His Ghouls
4, Wolf Call, Mark Anthony
5, The Wolf Is At Your Door, Howlin' Wolf
6, Wolf Gal, Skipper Ryle
7, Stop Whistlin' Wolf, Maddox Brothers And Rose
8, I'm A Lone Wolf, Leon Payne
9, The Wolf Hop, Anderson Sisters
10, Hillbilly Wolf, Billy Strickland
11, Ooh You Bring Out The Wolf In Me, Piney Brown
12, Wolf On The River, Amos Wilburn
13, Wolf, Four Mints
14, I'm An Old Wolf, Tennessee Slim
15, Lonely Wolf, Ray Harris
16, Wolf Call, Elvis Presley
17, Big Bad Wolf, Clinton O’Neil And Country Drifters
18, Wolf Bait, Henry Thome
19, The Prowler, Idols
20, Red Riding Hood And The Wolf, Bunker Hill
21, Baby, Maybe Your The Wolf, Ace Harris And His Orchestra
22, The Wolf Pack, Kid Thomas
23, Wolf Call Boogie, Hot Shot Love
24, Wolf Call, Lord Dent And His Invaders
25, Big Bad Wolf, San Diego Misfits
26, Lil Red Riding Hood, Sam The Sham And Pharaohs
27, Big Bad Wolf, Brian Diamond And Cutters
28, Wolf Boy, Sammy Salvo
29, Wolf Call, Billy Wallace
30, An Old Wolf Whistle, Jack Butler
31, Weird Wolf, Ghouls
32, The Wolf Song, Harry Gibson
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