The Real Folk Blues is a compilation album by blues musician Howlin' Wolf, which was released by Chess Records in 1965.[1] The album's songs, which were originally issued as singles, were recorded in Chicago between 1956 and 1965.[2]
A review by AllMusic states: "In the mid-'60s, Chess Records released a great series of compilations of '40s and '50s singles by some of its best blues artists, all of them called The Real Folk Blues. The Howlin' Wolf entry is possibly the best of the batch, and one of the best introductions to this mercurial electric bluesman. Opening with the savage 'Killing Floor,' the album doesn't let up in intensity, and it happily focuses on Wolf's less-anthologized sides, which gives the album a freshness a lot of blues compilations lack".[1]
Track listing
All compositions credited to Chester Burnett except where noted
Recorded in Chicago on July 19, 1956 (track 9), June 24, 1957 (track 5), December 1957 (tracks 3 & 4), September 28, 1962 (track 7), August 14, 1963 (tracks 8 & 10), August 1964 (track 1, 2 & 6) and April 15, 1965 (tracks 11 & 12)