Chuck Higgins - Blows His Wig! '2011

Tracks list

Tracklist
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01. Iron Pipe
02. Blues N Mambo
03. Long, Long Time
04. Boyle Heights
05. Blue Sax
06. Papa Charlie
07. The Duck Walk
08. Tortas
09. Stormy
10. Higgins Bounce
11. Higgins Blues
12. Cotton Picker
13. Motor Head Baby
14. The Rooster
15. West Side
16. Aint Gonna Leave, Baby
17. Im In Love With You
18. Higgins Bounce (Take 2)
19. Higgins Blues (Take 2)
20. Love Me, Baby
21. Just Wont Treat Me Rite
22. Chucks Wig
23. Real Gone Hound Dog
24. Big Fat Mama


Blows His Wig is a stunner. There have been a few Chuck Higgins collections out
there on disc; the best until this one was the great Pachuko Hop set issued by
Specialty in 1992. The track by the same name is noticeably absent form this
collection, so thats a downer. However, you do get the flip - the amazing Motor
Head Baby, which features a young John Watson on piano and vocals; he also
appears here on Stormy and Just Dont Treat Me Right -- these are early sides
that feature the R&B and funk monster Johnny Guitar Watson before he took up his
notorious six-string. The rest of the material - 24 cuts in all - comes from the
sides Higgins cut for Combo. While the mad saxophonist blew his guts out for
many labels during the 50s, its here that he did his most consistently raw and
unhinged work. The music dates between 1952 through 1957. Higgins recorded until
well into the 60s, and then again for Rockin Ronnie Weiss Rollin Rock imprint.
There are tracks here, such as the badass Iron Pipe, written by Jake Vernon
Porter, Higgins longest musical collaborator, along with the smokin The Rooster,
Papa Charlie, and the burning Tortas. There are a number of cuts released here
on CD for the very first time, many of them feature vocals by Daddy Cleanhead
Higgins brother, Geechie Howard, as well as Ora Mae Garvin. There are no
duplications between the Pachuko Hop disc and this one by Ace - which sounds a
hell of a lot better than anything Higgins has on CD thus far - which easily
comprises the finest, rawest, honkinest sessions by a true rockin R&B original.

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