Screamin' Jay Hawkins

With only one single in the first rank of rock & roll hits, Screamin' Jay Hawkins has suffered at the hands of compilers. Except for a 14-track Rhino compilation released back in 1990, and the great work of reissue pinnacle Bear Family, it's been mostly obscure labels pumping out brief compilations with "I Put a Spell on You" and not much more. Bear Family had previously released a two-disc completist set, titled Spellbound! 1955-1974, but it wisely added a volume on him to their Rocks series of single-disc releases. If listeners care enough about Hawkins to pay the import prices, this is indeed an excellent set, with 31 tracks of the best and most bonkers that Screamin' Jay ever got. All but eight of the tracks come from the '50s, with early classics like "Little Demon" and "(She Put The) Wamee (On Me)" reflecting his heavy Howlin' Wolf influences and paving the way for the mighty "I Put a Spell on You." Those looking for craziness beyond even that will find plenty in evidence, including the whooping-and-roaring "What That Is" and the jungle madness of "Alligator Wine," although the infamous latter-day nugget "Constipation Blues" is absent here (but is on the Rhino compilation). ~ John Bush, All Music Guide