The bizarre years

Description

Screamin' Jay Hawkins was the wildest of all the R & B "Wild Men"The Jay legend begins on September 12, 1956, when, after being given and served a bottle of cheap Swiss Colony wine, he recorded the most insane vinyl track of all time, "I Put a Spell on You"The song became an underground hit and launched a career spanning more than three decades during which, in the indelible words of liner note author Chris Morris,"Hawkins materialized on stages around the world as a screaming, tail-dragging hoodoo creature. Rising like an undead being from a coffin, his hair sculpted into an imposing conk, his nose pierced by a sharp bone, he shook a staff topped with a skull (nicknamed Henry) in the face of his audience, declaiming his delirious songs. In a molten baritone punctuated by piercing shrieks, deep moans, resounding howls, and guttural screams."This 10-track compilation gathers the best tracks cut by Hawkins in the early 90s for Bizarre Records (could a label have a more perfect name for Screamin' Jay?), the label founded by Frank Zappa and his manager Herb Cohen.Highlights include his two covers of Tom Waits, "Whistling Past the Graveyard" and "Heart Attack and Vine."Also notable on vinyl for the first time is his discourse on oral hygiene, "Shut Your Mouth When You Sneeze," and his lustful anthem to the Twin Peaks star, "Sherilyn Fenn."Pressed on violet purple vinyl limited to 1000 copies, with the aforementioned notes by Mr. Morris.Bizarre indeed!