The Afghan Whigs

A promotional EP released in conjunction with the Afghan Whigs' 1965, Live at Howlin' Wolf captures a high-spirited quartet and their many stage hands (a horn section, background vocalists, a caterer providing a bottomless platter of mashed potatoes and giblets for Greg Dulli and John Curley) performing their usual blend of originals and covers to a packed house on Turkey Night 1997 in New Orleans. Judging from the opening crowd roar that kicks off a shortened but faithful version of Curtis Mayfield's "If There's a Hell Below (We're All Going to Go)," you'd think the Whigs were playing in a venue ten times the size of the Howlin' Wolf; thankfully, the mix is kept a little lower on the crowd for the remainder of the well-recorded and well-performed set. The Whigs make good use of the horn section for Black Love's "Blame, Etc.," making the song more exciting and dramatic than the studio version. A rather messy version of "Going to Town" is prefaced with an intro courtesy of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" and an exclamation from Dulli, who confesses, "Kinda sounds like ZZ Top, dudn't it." Gentlemen's "Debonair" closes out the disc; while the playing is typically hot, Dulli frequently sounds a bit tired of singing the then four-years-old song. Until that all-too-necessary double live album is issued, this is well worth tracking down. (Don't miss a nod to Prince's "Housequake" during the set, either.) ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide