Wolfmoon - Wolfmoon

  by Fiona Hutchings

published: 14 / 10 / 2013

---

The liner notes on this album by producer Swamp Dogg starts with reflections on his food intake and resultant diarrhoea. The cover looks like something from the 70's with a disco king dressed in a sort of psychedelic wizard cloak holding the earth in his hand with a full moon behind him, and the track list includes 'If I Had A Hammer' and 'Proud Mary'. I had no idea what to expect and little information to go on. What I do know is that this is the first reissue of this album in any format, that Mr Tyrone 'Little Tommy' Thomas aka Wolfmoon really pissed off Swamp Dogg's wife when the producer took him in as a house guest in 1964, that Swamp Dogg is pissed off with a lot of people and this is an album of southern soul and pop gospel. To quote Swamp Dogg “the album is timelier today than it was in '69. Forget that taste I have in my mouth and listen to a bad mother**ker sing some great Swamp Dogg songs.' I opt for the line of least resistance and stick it on. My fears that this would be some kind of novelty album subsided from the opening chords of 'Cloak of Many Colors'. It is flawless vocally and musically and has enough confidence to strip away any frippery. 'If He Walked Today' just oozes soul, and 'My Kinda People' marries electric guitar with that funk that makes you inadvertently impersonate a nodding dog - and you don't care. 'If I Had a Hammer' sounds like a call to arms carried by joyful horns and a cool piano break. Like so many before and since (including Bob Dylan on three separate occasions), Wolfmoon takes on the Curtis Mayfield classic 'People Get Ready'. The original by the Impressions was 2 minutes and 38 seconds long. Wolfmoon stretches that to eight and half minutes and I fail to see what the extra 5 minutes and 52 seconds add other than what sounds like saucepans being hit and crisp packets being rustled. This was what I was dreading when I pressed play. It is also out of place in an album where most of the ten tracks clock in around the two and a half minute mark. Thankfully 'Proud Mary' gets the album back on track. It is shorter than the original and less frantic than the Ike and Tina Turner version, but in this instance slowing down works and gives the track quite a different and more bluesy feel. 'God Bless' seems to be a prayer asking the Lord’s blessing on everyone from Mommy and Daddy to Elmer Fudd and the Easter Bunny. I am both non-plussed by the song and love it. The idea of a more peaceful world seems too innocent to disparage, especially when we consider both the time in history this was recorded and the world we live in today. 'What is Heaven For' runs with the idea and also allows Wolfmoon to showcase just how low he can indeed go. 'Treasure That I Found' is uplifting, and closer 'The Artist' has a hint of country guitar twanging which is slightly out of place as is the occasionally spoken lyrical style but it also has the drum roles that hint of the end of show climax even though it never actually comes. All in all there are enough satisfyingly authentic numbers on this album to counter the uneven tone. Hopefully this reissue will bring Wolfmoon (and Swamp Dogg's gastric difficulties) to a much wider audience who will take the rough with the smooth.

Track Listing:-

1 Cloak of Many Colors
2 If He Walked Today
3 My Kinda People
4 If I Had a Hammer
5 People Get Ready
6 Proud Mary
7 God Bless
8 What Is Heaven For
9 The Treasures I've Found
10 The Artist

Label Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/AliveNaturalsoundRecords
http://www.alive-records.com/
https://twitter.com/AliveRecords
https://instagram.com/alivenaturalsound/
https://www.youtube.com/user/JIMalive1

Post A Comment

---

Comment

Name

your name

Location

ie London, UK

Submit

Check box to submit

Adam Coxon
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson

Dixie Ernill
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart

Malcolm Carter
Marie Hazelwood
Mark Rowland
Nick Dent-Robinson
Nicky Crewe
Nige Nudds
Philamonjaro
Richard Lewis
Shirley Procter
Spencer Robertshaw
Steev Burgess
Steve Kinrade

Steve Miles
Tommy Gunnarsson
Zena Grieg