Howlin' Wolf

The opening half of this set of Wolf's first two albums features the uptown classics "Spoonful," "Red Rooster," and "Wang Dang Doodle." These are great songs, to be sure. But in the second half, it's the creeping paranoia of Wolf's voice; the slippery, satanic guitar work of Willie Johnson, and the sweatiness of it all that's really going to tattoo your brain.