Tired of the “Monster Mash?” This Halloween why not spin your Vampira or Wolfman to a different kind of graveyard smash: a spooky slice of classic blues?
Here are 10 recommendations:
“Evil,” Howlin’ Wolf: Strictly speaking this blustery shuffle is about cheatin’, and not at cards, but just hearing Big Foot Chester howl the word “evil” over Hubert Sumlin’s hellfire six-string is enough to send a chill up any spine.
“Downbound Train,” Chuck Berry: The duck-walker explains it all on his brilliant After School Session album: “The engine with blood was sweaty and damp/And brilliantly lit with a brimstone lamp/And imps for fuel were shoveling bones/While the furnace rang with a thousand groans/The boiler was filled with lager beer/The devil himself was the engineer.” And that’s just the start of the ride.
“Nightmare Blues,” Lightnin’ Hopkins: The Texas legend’s spare guitar licks put cold sweat in this story of suffering the grip of lonely night visions.
“I’m Gonna Murder My Baby,” Pat Hare: Hare brought his dirty toned guitar to Sun Records in 1954 to cut this tune vowing bloody revenge on his “cheatin’ and lyin’ ” woman. Horribly enough, it was prophetic. He murdered his girlfriend eight years later and spent nearly the rest of his life in prison contemplating his crime.
“Devil Got My Woman,” Skip James: Country blues gets no more shivery than James’ ghost voiced whisperings. This iconic song’s title provides a preview of its haunting story.
“Burnin’ Hell,” John Lee Hooker: The dark magus of Mississippi blues is downright existential here, challenging the existence of both Heaven and Hell in his powerful lyrics while pouring on the rolling thunder with his guitar.
“I Put a Spell On You,” Screamin’ Jay Hawkins: Hey, this one’s a hoodoo classic. You gotta love it, and its creator, who was known for popping out of a coffin on stage and wielding a skull on a stick for a cane.
“Me and the Devil Blues,” Robert Johnson: A man meets his destiny in the Delta master’s tale of fate and the grey ghostly afterlife. Tunes like this and “Hellhound on My Trail” did much to inspire the fable of Johnson’s relationship with the Devil.
“Insane Asylum,” Koko Taylor/Diamanda Galas: Lost love, depression, and dissipation are the themes of this blues about madness. Penned by Willie Dixon and sung in howling desperation for Chess Records by Koko Taylor, diva of darkness Diamanda Galás resurrected the tune for 1992’s The Singer adding layers of emotional complexity to its already cold-running veins.
“V-8 Ford,” Willie Love & His Three Aces: “I’ll be right there at your burial,” piano man Love sings in this nakedly threatening number. His message is clear: be careful of who or
what you cross. Especially on Halloween.