Screamin’ Jay Hawkins – The Singles Collection (2cd set)

Artist: Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Format: 2CD
Bar-code: 5060143494987
Cat No: NOT2CD498

£5.99

Long before Alice Cooper or Marilyn Manson made headlines with their shocking antics, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins blazed a trail through late-Fifties rock, earning a reputation for the unexpected and leaving the world a bona fide classic in ‘I Put A Spell On You’. This compilation covers his first recording decade, from 1953 to 1962, and includes both singles and bonus album versions. He first cut the self-penned song in 1954, but it was when producer Arnold Maxim matched him with some of the era’s greatest session musicians –guitarist Mickey Baker, drummer Panama Francis and sax-player Sam ‘The Man’ Taylor – two years later that the ingredients of a hit fell into place. There was one crucial addition to come when the producer brought a case of whiskey into the studio. His legend was confirmed when ‘I Put A Spell On You’, covered by everyone from Nina Simone to the Simpsons, was selected as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. But as this compilation proves, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins – outrageous, occasionally out of tune and definitely outta’ sight – was much more than a one-hit wonder.

CD 1

1. I Put A Spell On You
2. Little Demon
3. Yellow Coat
4. Person To Person
5. I Hear Voices
6. This Is All
7. Whamee (She Put The Wamee On Me)
8. Frenzy
9. Ashes
10. Just Don’t Care
11. You’re All Of My Life To Me
12. Even Though
13. Not Anymore
14. Please Try To Understand
15. I Is
16. You Made Me Love You (I Didn’t Want to Do It)
17. Talk About Me
18. Well I Tried
19. I Found My Way To Wine
20. Baptize Me In Wine

CD 2

1. There’s Something Wrong With You
2. Alligator Wine
3. The Past
4. Orange Coloured Sky
5. Armpit No. 6
6. Darling, Please, Forgive Me
7. Take Me Back
8. Hong Kong
9. Why Did You Waste My Time (with Tiny Grimes)
10. Nitty Gritty (With Shoutin’ Pat)
11. Take Me Back To My Boots

Bonus Tracks:

12. Temptation (Album Track)
13. If You Are But A Dream (Album Track)
14. Ol’ Man River (Album Track)
15. I Love Paris (Album Track)
16. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (Album Version)
17. Deep Purple (Album Track)