Released, coincidentally, within days of Hubert Sumlin's death – the extraordinary Chicago blues guitarist who was the rocks to Wolf's gravel on most of these sides – this sumptuous set of Chess label masters flags up yet again the sheer visceral power of Wolf's performance and the colossal influence he's had on blues, rock and jazz over the years. Wolf's towering physical presence and the most inspired, commanding and menacing voice in blues history meant you simply had to take notice. And plenty did. Not just the Rolling Stones and the 1960s blues boomers, but musicians as diverse as Jimi Hendrix, Taj Mahal, Captain Beefheart, Tom Waits and Nick Cave, while anyone who fails to join the dots between Wolf and Albert Ayler and Archie Shepp is clearly looking in the wrong direction.

Born Chester Burnett in 1910, Wolf learnt and played with Charlie Patton, Robert Johnson, Son House and later Matt ‘Guitar’ Murphy before signing with Chess in 1951 after a short period with Sun Records. Not only was he an utterly unique singer and tough harmonica player but he was a prolific writer too and Chess paired him with giant players such as Otis Spann, Earl Philips, Willie Dixon and Sumlin, and let him rip across a smokin’ selection of originals including ‘Moanin’ At Midnight’, ‘How Many More Years’, ‘Forty Four’, ‘Baby How Long’, ‘Smokestack Lightning’, and ‘Sittin’ On Top Of The World’, as well as some of Dixon's greatest bluesbusters, ‘Evil’, ‘Spoonful’ and ‘Back Door Man’. Gathered across these four CDs are the 97 tracks cut for Chess up to his June 1960 session, including alternate takes and unreleased tracks (though why they didn't extend it to 1961 and include the standouts ‘Little Red Rooster’ and ‘Ain't Superstitous’ is anyone's guess) and comes packaged with 45 pages of illustrated liner notes and discography in a beautiful retro card and cartridge paper book-style slip case. One of the most important Chicago blues catalogues delivered just the way you want it. As Mr Burnett says ‘The Wolf Is At Your Door’, and don't you forget it.