Alive Natural Sound just keep on digging the seam of Swamp Dogg related releases that have been languishing for decades, and it keeps on turning up riches. Wolf Moon’s eponymous album (originally released in 1969) is another lost classic: how could it not be with a cover like that? The back-story, as recounted by tha Dogg himself in the liner-notes, is a bittersweet one: Wolf’s talent isn’t in question, although the working relationship between Dogg and Wolf broke down. But the way Dogg tells it is killer, he’s not only got a gift of songwriting greatness, but the gift of the gabb.
Still, there’s no doubting Wolf Moon’s abilities either: as a recording artist, at least, he demonstrates a clear knack for getting under the skin of a song and making it his own, living it, feeling it. When it comes to performing Dogg’s compositions, it’s hard to argue that he was the right man for the job. Then there are the two songs not composed by Dogg, or Wolf for that matter, and they’re as telling as they are unique. Moon’s version of ‘If I Had a Hammer’ is bold, brassy and as funky as fuck. The 8-minute rendition of Curtis Mayfield’s classic ‘People Get Ready’ has a long, spaced-out intro before really getting down.
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Dogg may have subsequently ‘fired his ass’ from his band and parted ways with the Wolfman, but that doesn’t diminish the merits of this album. Obscure it may be, but it’s badass alright, and worth it for the liner notes alone.
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