The best album I'll never own?

I've been known to push the boat out as much as the next music lover when it comes to buying great records, but above all else I like to listen to records, so I draw the line when it comes to buying ultra-rare records because I wouldn't want to diminish their value by playing them, but then what's the point if you can't play them?

If I'm honest, that attitude is much more borne out of financial constraints - if I could afford to buy awesomely cool rare records, then who am I kidding - of course I would.

So my friend Will played a fantastic record at the Young Offenders Institute the other night, one which was new to me. It was a Howlin' Wolf album from 1968, and WIll told me that it came out of an idea that Marshall Chess had (he of the legendary blues label Chess Records) to pair a couple of his star artists (Howlin' Wolf was one, Muddy Waters was the other) with a bunch of psych rock session musicians. This was when Hendrix was in full swing, so the market for psych rock was pretty high, and Marshall presumably didn't get to where he was without seeing a business opportunity when it was there. So the record was done, and to my ears, it's AMAZING. However, to Wolf's blues-purest ears, he hated it, apparently calling it "dog shit". But, the album's sleeve is one of those simply amazing things, an idea of Marshall Chess's that he later claimed hurt the record's sales. It's a real "that would never happen now" moments. Check it out...



Absolutely brilliant isn't it? But Howlin' Wolf's dislike for it, coupled with its poor sales at the time have meant that the record's now hard to find, and as I write this the only copies on ebay are in the US for upwards of $100. Here it is on ebay, in case you're short of Christmas present ideas for me. Will got his for about £40 on ebay, which though steep, seems like a bargain compared with the ones out there this minute.

I have the Muddy Waters record, by the way. It's called Electric Mud and is easy to come by, on vinyl and CD, and is as good as the Howlin' Wolf record, except of course for that fact that it isn't rare. In fact, one of the tracks, I Just Want To Make Love To You, is on the new issue of The Monthly. Again, another great cover, but in a slightly more understated way...