Screamin' Jay Hawkins - I Shake My Stick At You (1994/2007) [SPV Blue Label]

Although it's a studio effort (recorded while Hawkins was on tour in Australia a year before the album's release), I Shake My Stick at You manages to capture the energy and looseness of a live gig – in fact, with the addition of audience cheering, you could be fooled into believing it's a concert recording.

Tracks:
01. Live Love or Die
02. Because of You
03. Don't Fool With Me
04. Furburger
05. Cookie Time
06. Rose, The
07. Tear Drops
08. Bushman Tucker
09. In My Heart
10. Rockin' Away
11. Rock Australia Rock

Review by Greg Prato
For many, when you think of early rock & roll, certain images and sounds immediately come to mind – Chuck Berry strumming his red Gibson while duck-walking, a sweaty Little Richard wailing into the mike, Jerry Lee Lewis bashing the piano, etc. But what's often forgotten is that in rock's dawning moments, horns played a big part in the then-new genre's sound. And Screamin' Jay Hawkins was one of rock's early artists to embrace blaring saxophones – as well as theatrics. As evidenced by the 1994 release I Shake My Stick at You, Hawkins was rockin' and hollerin' till the very end. Although it's a studio effort (recorded while Hawkins was on tour in Australia a year before the album's release), I Shake My Stick at You manages to capture the energy and looseness of a live gig – in fact, with the addition of audience cheering, you could be fooled into believing it's a concert recording. Hawkins is at the top of his game on such highlights as the album-opening "Live Love or Die," "Because of You," and the X-rated "Furburger." If you're interested in digging a bit deeper into Hawkins' catalog beyond just "I Put a Spell on You" and perhaps a hits set, I Shake My Stick at You is certainly one of his stronger studio releases (which is quite an accomplishment, considering it appeared this late in Hawkins' career).

Personnel
Screamin' Jay Hawkins - vocals, piano
Rodney Lee Schnitz - bass
Bari Southers - saxophone
Gene Pello - drums
& probably (not credited) ex-Beat Farmers' Buddy Blue

Notes @ cduniverse
This is a re-release of Screamin' Jay Hawkins's 1994 studio album, I SHAKE MY STICK AT YOU. It's amazing enough that Screamin' Jay, a pioneer from rock & roll's early days, was still recording in the 1990s, but that he sounded this vital, outrageous, and–well–amazing after 40 years in the business is downright shocking. Hawkins was never much for variation, or subtlety, but that wasn't what made him great. What did make him great–his Dionysian spirit, his crazed hoodoo-man vocals, his outrageous sense of theatricality–is all here, and better than ever. Check out "Live Love or Die," "Cookie Time," and the self-explanatory "Fur Burger."