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BLUES & GOSPEL
John Lee Hooker

JOHN LEE HOOKER Ace CDCHD 315 Legendary Modern Recordings 1948-54 ● CD $18.98
24 tracks, 71 min., essential
The stomping foot, the unique guitar figures, and the plaintive moan all come together to transport listeners to an hypnotic blues trance, to a doomed world of betrayal and bad luck. Have hope but don't expect it to do any good. These are the first and fiercest Hooker recordings, cut for Modern Records in the late 1940s/early '50s. Boogie Chillen/ Hobo Blues/ Hoogie Boogie/ Crawling Kingsnake, and others put Hooker on the musical map fast, selling millions of copies to a boogie-starved public. Recording techniques that show Hooker in his best light are experimented with, as, from one session to the next, his foot is miked, his vocals are layered, his guitar is overdubbed, Eddie Kirkland's guitar is added. Excellent track selection, informative booklet notes, indispensable blues. (JC)

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Ace CDCHD 405 Blues Brother ● CD $18.98
For pure intensity, no other blues artist can match John Lee Hooker at his best. And on these 24 Sensation recordings cut in Detroit between 1948-51, he is definitely at his best. His foot is pounding; his guitar is rumbling relentlessly. And when he sings, his emotive wail threatens to take over the world. "Ain't no burnin' hell" moans Hooker in Burnin' Hell, as he puts that question to rest, his guitar and Eddie Burns' harmonica still bickering as the song ends. But most of the time Hook is alone in a universe that's ambivalent at best and malicious at worst. But does that bother him? Damn right it does. Just listen to Three Long Years Today/ Alberta/ Graveyard Blues/ Goin' On Highway 51/ Do My Baby Think Of Me? and just about everything else here. Excellent sound. Major duplication with Specialty 7018, which includes 3 cuts that aren't here, while this has 7 songs which aren't on the Specialty CD. Got it? (JC)
JOHN LEE HOOKER: 21 Boogie/ Alberta/ Alberta - Part 2/ Boogie Chillen/ Boogie Chillen # 2/ Burnin' Hell/ Canal Street Blues/ Do My Baby Think Of Me?/ Find Me A Woman/ Goin' On Highway 51/ Graveyard Blues/ Grinder Man/ Hastings Street Boogie/ Henry's Swing Club/ Huckle Up Baby/ I Need Lovin'/ Momma Poppa Boogie/ My Baby's Got Something/ Rollin' Blues/ Sail On Little Girl/ Sailing Blues/ Three Long Years Today/ War Is Over (Goodbye California)/ Women In My Life

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Ace CDCHM 530 Original Folk Blues ● CD $13.98
Reissue of Kent album with 6 bonus cuts - 18 tracks of prime John Lee Hooker, 1948-54 - 10 tracks solo - rest with Eddie Kirkland or various small groups.
JOHN LEE HOOKER: Baby I'm Gonna Miss You/ Boogie Chillen/ Cold Chills/ Cool Little Car/ Crawlin' King Snake/ Drifting From Door To Door/ I Need Love So Bad/ I Wonder Little Darling/ Jump Me One More Time/ Let Your Daddy Ride/ Let's Talk It Over/ Lookin' For A Woman/ Queen Bee/ Ride 'til I Die/ Sally Mae/ The Syndicator/ Weeping Willow Boogie/ Whistlin' And Moanin' Blues

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Ace CDCHD 799 House Rent Boogie ● CD $18.98
Great collection of 24 Hooker sides recorded for Modern between 1948 and 1955. It includes solo sides as well as recordings with some of his first groups. Includes six previously unissued alternate takes including a version of I'm In The Mood with Hooker overdubbing a harmonica part!
JOHN LEE HOOKER: Anybody seen my baby/ Baby you ain't no good/ Build myself a cave (alternate take)/ Half a stranger/ House rent boogie (alternate take)/ How can you do it/ Hug and squeeze/ I got eyes for you (alternate take 2)/ I tried hard/ I'm in the mood (with harmonica overdub)/ I'm ready/ It's been a long time baby/ It's stormin' and rainin'/ Key to the highway (alternate take with less overdub)/ Lets talk it over/ Love money can't buy/ Nobody talk to me/ Numbers blues (alternate take)/ Roll 'n' roll/ Sally Mae/ Taxi driver/ You receive me

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER BGO BGOCD 40 Simply The Truth ● CD $17.98
Exact repro of Bluesway LP from 1969. Hooker's backed here by an unknown (except for Pretty Purdie on drums) but good group on 9 blues and boogies. He does some jumpin' tunes like I Wanna Bugaloo and (Twist Ain't Nothin') But The Old Time Shimmy but mostly sticks to his patently mournful style, especially effective on numbers like I Don't Want To Go To Viet Nam , Tantalizing With The Blues and the haunting One Room Country Shack (AE)

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER BGO BGOCD 123 Free Beer And Chicken ● CD $17.98
This reissue of ABC 838 from 1974 states in the liner notes that Hooker is "accompanied by a goodly number of veritable, variable, and venerable rock and roll heavies", but fails to elaborate. Sounds like Joe Cocker singing on the opening and closing of Five Long Years and on the last track. Most of the songs, including an average version of One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer were written by Hooker, but nothing here is indispensible. Still, the funky Homework, which has more to do with sex than algebra, is fun. His 713 Blues/ 714 Blues is a tribute to Hank Aaron and rides the same groove for seven and a half minutes. The rest is relatively unfocused jamming, mostly from the heavies and not the Hook. (JC)
 
JOHN LEE HOOKER BGO BGOCD 363 Coast To Coast Blues Band ● CD $17.98
Reissue of United Artists album featuring 14 early sides - Come Back baby/ Streets Is Filled With Women/ Whistle Done Blown/ She Was In Chicago/ Just Like A Woman/ Johnny Lee's Mood, etc.

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Body & Soul 3057012 Complete John Lee Hooker, Vol. 1 : Detroit 1948-49 ● CD $25.98
Two CDs, 46 tracks, 146 mins, essential
The first in what promises to be an extensive and invaluable series featuring all the recordings by one of the all time great blues singers, in chronological order. This double set features 46 tracks recorded between June 1948 and February 1949 including his #1 R&B hit Boogie Chillen and a whole lot more. Of these incredible tracks only 13 were originally issued on 78 - the rest have turned up over the years and were reissued on various LPs. Although all these tracks have been reissued on LP some are making their first appearance on CD and having them all together in chronological order is invaluable. For pure intensity, no other blues artist can match John Lee Hooker at his best and the recordings here feature him at his best with his foot pounding, his guitar rumbling relentlessly and his voice full of overwhelming and, at times, threatening, emotion. His repertoire was amazing - effortlessly shifting between traditional elements he no doubt picked up when he was growing up in Mississippi to the rigors of urban life. And luckily for us he would record for anyone who could come up with some money and the range of his repertoire meant that he never repeated himself, even when he sang the same song - the two alternate takes of Boogie Chillen are so different that they are given different titles. The recordings here were primarily recorded for his early manager Elmer Barbee, Detroit entrepreneur Joe Von Battle (who sold Hooker's masters to different labels using pseudonyms like Birmingham Sam, Alabama Slim and Texas Slim) and record distributor Bernard Bessman who recorded him for Modern. Except for a few cuts with some bizarre piano playing the rest is all Hooker alone with his guitar. Sound quality is generally excellent and there are informative notes by Neil Slaven. I'm looking forward to the next half a dozen volumes in this series! (FS)
JOHN LEE HOOKER: Alberta/ Black Man Blues/ Boogie Awhile/ Boogie Chillen/ Boogie Woogie/ Christmas Time Blues/ Crawling King Snake/ Crazy 'bout That Woman/ Do The Boogie/ Down So Long/ Drifting From Door To Door/ Goin' Home Blues/ Goin' Mad Blues/ Good Business/ Grievin' Blues/ Helpless Blues/ Henry's Swing Club/ Hobo Blues/ Howlin' Wolf/ I Rule My Den/ Johnny Lee's Original Boogie/ Landing Blues/ Leavin' Chicago/ Like A Woman/ Long, Long Way From Home/ Low Down-midnight Boogie/ Mercy Blues/ Miss Pearl Boogie/ Morning Blues/ Poor Joe/ Poor Slim/ Poor Slim/ Rocks/ Sally Mae/ Sally Mae/ See, See Baby/ Shady Grove Blues/ Shake Your Bougie/ She Ain't Good For Nothin'/ She Was In Chicago/ Stomp Boogie/ Tuesday Evening/ Twister Blues/ War Is Over/ Wednesday Evening Blues/ Who's Been Jiving You

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Body & Soul 3063142 Complete John Lee Hooker, Vol. 2 : Detroit 1949 ● CD $25.98
Two CDs, 46 tracks, 140 mins, essential
The second volume in what promises to be an essential series covering the complete early recordings of John Lee Hooker features 46 tracks recorded in 1949. It includes tracks that were issued as 78s at the time as well as 19 sides not originally issued. Because he was under contract to Modern at the time some of the recordings were issued under pseudonyms - Little Pork Chops, Johnny Williams, Texas Slim and a very thinly disguised John Lee Booker! It's mostly Hooker at his best, by himself, accompanied by his intense electric guitar work. A few cuts feature the bizarre piano work of James Watkins whose playing doesn't quite seem to jell with Hooker's music though he was a regular member of Hooker's group at the time. One session of five songs features some delightfully effective harmonica work by Eddie Burns including the powerful Burnin' Hell. This set also includes the two sides issued on the tiny Danceland label as Little Pork Chop that was unknown until about ten years ago. There is an eight track session that was recorded for Joe Von Battle in 1949 and issued on King that includes some of his most intense work including the ferocious Nightmare Blues/ Devil's Jump/ I'm Gonna Kill That Woman and The Numbers - by comparison his subsequent session for Modern seems almost sedate - I said "almost". A later session issued on Chance is almost as intense with a version of Graveyard Blues where the violence in the lyrics becomes almost palpable. Again, sound is generally very good and there are informative notes by Neil Slaven. (FS)
JOHN LEE HOOKER: 609 Boogie/ Black Cat Blues/ Build Myself A Cave/ Burnin' Hell/ Cotton Pickin' Boogie/ Curl My Baby's Hair (Miss Sadie Mae)/ Devil's Jump/ Don't Go Baby/ Forgive Me/ Graveyard Blues/ Graveyard Blues/ Grievin' Blues/ Hastings Street Boogie (alternate take)/ Heart Trouble Blues/ Highway Blues/ Hoogie Boogie/ I Had A Dream/ I Love To Boogie/ I Love To Boogie (alternate take)/ I'm Gonna Kill That Woman/ Late Last Night/ Low Down Boogie/ Miss Eloise/ Miss Lorraine/ Miss Rosie Mae/ Miss Rosie Mae/ Miss Sadie Mae/ Moaning Blues/ Momma Poppa Boogie/ Must I Wait Til Your Man Is Gone/ My Baby She's Long And Tall (alternate take)/ My Own Boogie (alternate take)/ Nightmare Blues/ Numbers, The/ Road Trouble/ Roll My Baby/ Sailin' Blues/ Slim's Stomp/ Snap Them Fingers Boogie (alternate take)/ Sometime/ Talkin' Boogie/ Wandering Blues/ Wayne Country Ramblin' Blues/ We Gonna Make Everything Alright/ Weeping Willow/ Whistlin' And Moanin'

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Body & Soul 3067872 Complete John Lee Hooker, Vol. 3 : Detroit 1949-50 ● CD $25.98
46 tracks, 131 mins, essential
The third volume in this wonderful series features one side recorded in 1949 and 45 in 1950. One of the joys of having the recordings in (as best as can be determined) chronological order is that one can trace the developments and changes in John's music over the years. By the time of these recordings John had already had several big R&B hits and was no doubt a bit more comfortable than when he first started and was settling into being a professional musician. A few of the rough edges have gone and while this is still truly powerful and intense music there is nothing here with quite the ferocity of his earlier Graveyard Blues or I'm Gonna Kill That Woman. Most of the tracks here were recorded in professional studios with a much better sound on John's voice, guitar and pounding foot. John is a little more adventurous in his guitar playing with more single string runs. He is also coming up with less original material - often revamping previously recorded songs or doing his own very unique versions of older or current blues favorites. I hope this doesn't sound like I'm complaining since the music here is still consistently powerful, inventive and imaginative - it's just a bit more polished than it had been. (FS)
JOHN LEE HOOKER: 21 Boogie/ 609 Boogie/ Alberta - Part 2-/ Boogie Chillen 2/ Boogie Now/ Canal Street Blues/ Crying All Night/ Decoration Day Blues/ Do My Baby Think Of Me/ Don't You Remember Me/ Don't You Remember Me/ Give Me Your Phone Number/ Goin' On High Way 51/ Huckle Up Baby/ I Don't Be Welcome Here/ John L's House Rent Boogie/ Jump Chillun/ Let Your Daddy Ride/ Let Your Daddy Ride/ Lord What More Can I Do/ Mad Man Blues/ Moon Is Rising/ My Baby's Got Somethin'/ Never Satisfied/ No Friend Around/ No Mortgage On My Soul/ Notoriety Woman/ One More Time/ Playin' The Races/ Please Have Mercy/ Queen Bee/ Roll' N 'roll/ Rollin' Blues/ Sail On Little Girl/ She Let Me By Myself/ Strike Blues/ The Moon Above/ The Story Of A Married Woman/ Thinking Blues/ Three Long Years Today/ Throw This Old Dog A Bone/ Turnin' Gray Blues/ Wednesday Evening/ Welfare Blues/ Well I Got To Leave/ You Sure Look Good To Me

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Body & Soul 3074242 Complete John Lee Hooker, Vol. 4 : Detroit 1950-51 ● CD $25.98
46 tracks, essential
The fourth volume in this great series is now available featuring 46 tracks recorded by John Lee in 1950 and 1951. To the great pleasure of blues fans many years later John Lee was willing to record for anyone who had the money to pay him and the sides here recorded for Bernie Bessman, Joe Von Battle and others were released on a number of different labels and includes sides not originally issued. The majority of the songs here are just John Lee, his guitar and stomping foot but by April, 1951 there was a a second guitar added on some tracks - that of Eddie Kirkland whose playing was some of the most sympathetic of Hooker's early years though, as always, it is Hooker on his own that is the most compelling. Among the highlights here are several different "takes" of the song Tease Me Baby based on a song by bluesman Tony Hollins - as always a Hooker alternate is a very different performance and always fabulous. (FS)
JOHN LEE HOOKER: Anybody Seen My Baby/ Bumble Bee Blues/ Cat Fish/ Dreamin' Blues/ Feed Her All Night/ Four Women In My Life/ Grinder Man/ Ground Hog/ Ground Hog Blues/ High Priced Woman/ House Rent Boogie/ How Can You Do It/ How Long Must I Be Your Slave/ I Did Everything/ I Met The Grindin' Man/ I Need Lovin'/ I Work For Her Everyday/ I'm Going Away/ I'm In The Mood/ I'm In The Mood/ If You Need My Lovin' Baby/ Johnny Lee's Mood/ Just Me And My Telephone/ Leave My Wife Alone/ Little Boy Blue/ Looking For Romance/ Louise/ Me And A Woman/ Mean Old Train/ My Daddy Was A Jockey/ Nobody To Talk To Me/ Prison Bound/ Questionnaire Blues/ Ramblin' By Myself/ Reach My Goal/ Real Gone Gal/ Streets Is Filled With Women/ Tease Me Baby/ Tease Me Baby/ Turn Over A New Leaf/ Two Voice Original Mood/ Union Station Blues/ Walkin' This Highway/ Wandering Blues/ Whistle Done Blown/ You've Got Another Man

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Charisma 86553-2 Boom Boom ● CD $18.98
10 tracks, 42 min., good
Say, how about another re-recording of Boom Boom from Hooker? And new versions of Sugar Mama/ Bottle Up And Go/ I'm Bad Like Jesse James? Even when Hooker is left alone with his guitar (previously proven to be a sure thing), he never manages to muster much intensity. Instead, his producers have him doing this sedate whisper that sounds like a boring obscene phone call. For all the big-name musicians here - Robert Cray, Jimmie Vaughan, and Albert Collins among them - the album is merely okay. And that ain't enough, especially since Hooker is still capable of being great. (JC)
 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Chess CHD 9383 His Best Chess Sides ● CD $9.98
15 cuts - Mad Man Blues/ Ground Hog Blues/ Leave My Wife Alone/ Walkin' The Boogie (undubbed version)/ Please Don't Go/ Worried Life Blues/ Let's Go Out Tonight/ One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer, etc

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Chess 9391 Complete '50s Chess Recordings ● CD $22.98
Two CD set - 29 tracks - mostly raw solo sides plus a few with small groups. Includes the previously unissued You Have Two Hearts with added celeste accompaniment!
JOHN LEE HOOKER: Apologize/ Big Fine Woman/ Bluebird/ Blues for Big Town/ Blues for Christmas/ Down at the Landing/ Dreamin' Blues/ Ground Hog Blues/ Hey Baby/ Hey Boogie/ High Priced Woman/ I Don't Want Your Money/ It's My Own Fault/ Just Me and My Telephone/ Leave My Wife Alone/ Lonely Boy Boogie (Aka New Boogie)/ Louise/ Love Blues/ Mad Man Blues/ Please Don't Go/ Ramblin' by Myself/ Sugar Mama/ Tell Me Baby/ The Journey/ Union Station Blues/ Walkin' the Boogie/ Walkin' the Boogie (Alternate Take)/ Women and Money/ Worried Life Blues/ You Have Two Hearts/ Cry Baby Cry

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Chess 112 821 Real Folk Blues/ More Real Folk Blues ● CD $13.98
Two LPs previously available as separate CDs
JOHN LEE HOOKER: Catfish Blues/ Deep Blue Sea/ House Rent Blues/ I Can't Quit You Baby/ I Put My Trust In You/ I'll Never Trust Your Love Again/ I'm In The Mood/ Lead Me/ Let's Go Out Tonight/ Mustang Sally And Gto/ Nobody Knows/ One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer/ Peace Lovin' Man/ Stella Mae/ This Land Is Nobody's Land/ Want Ad Blues/ Waterfront/ You Know, I Know

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Collectables 5151 Gotham Golden Classics ● CD $11.98
11 sides recorded for the Gotham label in Philadelphia during 1950/51. According to the Ledbitter & Slaven blues discography 8 of these have appeared only on 78, while the remaining three (Feed Her All NIght/ How Long Must I Be Your Slave/ Ground Hog) are unissued! With familiar and great titles like House Rent Boogie/ Questionaire Blues/ My Daddy Was A Jockey. (MB)
JOHN LEE HOOKER: Catfish/ Feed Her All Night/ Ground Hog/ House Rent Boogie/ How Long Must I Be Your Slave/ Little Boy Blue/ Mean Old Train/ My Daddy Was A Jockey/ Questionnaire Blues/ Real Gone Gal/ Wandering Blues

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER/ EDDIE BURNS Collectables 5316 Detroit Blues, 1950-51 ● CD $11.98
CD issue of Krazy Kat 816. Another great collection of down home blues from Gotham this one features 11 cuts by Hooker (3 previously unissued) and 5 by Eddie Burns which were unknown until recently. This is Hooker in his prime - brooding intense vocals and fierce plangent guitar. Songs include the driving Real Gone Gal & My Daddy Was A Jockey, the ferocious previously unissued Feed Me All Night and a unique treatment of the Mississippi blues standard Catfish. Eddie Burns who has frequently worked with Hooker is fine singer and harmonica player strongly influenced by John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson. He is accompanied here by Tennessee guitarist John T. Smith and, on one cut, by Hooker. Fine, if somewhat chaotic, cuts. Sound on this album is not as good as on some of the other Gotham reissues. Full discographical details and excellent notes by Mike Rowe. (FS)
EDDIE BURNS: Gangster Blues (Previously Unreleased)/ Grieving Blues (Previously Unreleased)/ Making A Fool Out Of Me (Previously Unreleased)/ Squeeze Me Baby (Previously Unreleased)/ Where Did You Stay Last Night (Previously Unreleased)/ JOHN LEE HOOKER: Catfish/ Feed Her All Night (Previously Unreleased)/ Ground Hog (Previously Unreleased)/ House Rent Boogie/ How Long Must I Be Your Slave (Previously Unreleased)/ Little Boy Blue/ Mean Old Train/ My Daddy Was A Jockey/ Questionnaire Blues/ Real Gone Gal/ Wandering Blues

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Dejavue Retro Gold 4070 The Gold Collection ● CD $11.98
Two CD set with 40 tracks - an inexpensive introduction to John Lee's Vee-Jay recordings.
JOHN LEE HOOKER: Blues Before Sunrise/ Boogie Chillen/ Boom Boom/ Cool Little Car/ Crawlin' King Snake/ Dimples/ Everybody Rockin'/ Gonna Boogie/ Ground Hog Blues/ Half a Stranger/ Hard Hearted Woman/ Hobo Blues/ House Rent Blues/ I Love You Honey/ I Wanna Walk/ I'm So Excited/ I'm So Mad Again/ I'm So Worried Baby/ I'm in the Mood/ Little Fine Woman/ Louise/ Love Blues/ Mambo Chillun/ Maudie/ My First Wife Left Me/ No Shoes/ Ramblin' by Myself/ Ride Till I Die/ Rock House Blues/ Run On/ Shake, Holler, and Run/ Stella Mae/ Sugar Mama/ Time Is Marching/ Trouble Blues/ Unfriendly Woman/ Want Ad Blues/ Wednesday Evening Blues/ Whiskey and Wimmen'/ You've Taken My Woman

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Dressed To Kill DTKBOX 90 Trilogy ● CD $17.98
3 CD set, 64 tracks, 3 Hrs 10 mins, recommended
A nice, inexpensive compilation of Hooker's work from various periods. The first disc is the same as Charly CDGR 176 issued a while back featuring material mostly not on other CDs. The first 9 tracks from 1948-1950 are fantastic solo cuts with Hooker at his most ferocious and there are 3 cuts from the same period with piano and drums, There are 3 late 50s Vee-Jay cuts not on Charly's box set of Hooker material, two 1960 cuts recorded for Fortune and 5 songs from the 1960 Newport Folk Festival where he is accompanied by the Muddy Waters band. Sound on the latter is muddy (sorry!) but there is some fine playing, particularly by Otis Spann. The other two discs features 42 of Hooker's Vee-Jay sides from the mid 50s to the early 60s - no real surprises, but all good stuff - Mambo Chillun/ I'm So Worried Baby/ Trouble Blues/ Crawlin' Black Spider/ Rosie Mae/ Blues Before Sunrise/ Dimples/ Boom Boom/ I'm Mad Again, etc. No notes or discographical info but it's a good deal. (FS)

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER & CANNED HEAT EMI 97896-2 Hooker 'N Heat ● CD $21.98
During the late 60's and early 70's many elder blues statesmen recorded LP's with young rock stars who were in awe of them. Except for The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions, most were terrible because the performers had little common ground. Hooker 'N' Heat, a double album recorded in 1970, was another exception to the rule, mostly because Canned Heat understood Hooker and let him shine; they frequently played together live and recorded this after building a musical and personal rapport. This is a straight CD reissue (two discs totalling 87 minutes) of that friendly, casual album, complete with between-song patter. The first CD is mostly Hook stomping in his ominous solo incarnation and will satisfy all but the most niggling purists. Canned Heat shows up on the second disc, and their accompaniment is remarkably sympathetic and unencumbering. Hooker 'N'  Heat has aged extremely well - if only The Healer was this good... (JG)
JOHN LEE HOOKER & CANNED HEAT: Alimonia Blues/ Boogie Chillen No. 2/ Bottle Up And Go/ Burning Hell/ Drifter/ I Got My Eyes On You/ Just You And Me/ Let's Make It/ Meet Me In The Bottom/ Messin' With The Hook/ Peavine/ Send Me Your Pillow/ Sittin' Here Thinkin'/ The Feelin' Is Gone/ The World Today/ Whiskey And Wimmen'/ You Talk Too Much

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Evidence 26004 Get Back Home ● CD $12.98
16 tracks recorded in 1969 - previously on Black & Blue CD 59.023. These tracks feature Hooker alone with his electric guitar. It includes versions of some old favorites like When My First Wife Left Me/ Boogie Chillen/ Sittin' Here Thinkin'/ I'm Going Upstairs and others. Hooker was in pretty good form but 70 minutes with very little variety is hard to take in one sitting!

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Fantasy 24706 Boogie Chillun' ● CD $18.98
Two LP set on CD (less one track for time reasons) featuring John Lee's fine solo live sides recorded at the Sugar Hill club in 1962.
JOHN LEE HOOKER: Big Legs, Tight Skirt -/ Boogie Chillun/ Boom Boom/ Bottle up & Go/ Crawlin' Kingsnake/ Dimples/ Drive Me Away/ Every Night/ Hobo Blues/ I Love You Honey/ I'm Goin' Upstairs/ I'm in the Mood/ It Serves Me Right to Suffer -/ Little Wheel/ Maudie/ No Shoes/ Solid Sender/ This Is Hip/ Want Ad Blues/ Will the Circle Be Unbroken/ You Can Lead Me Baby/ You're Baby Ain't Sweet Like Mine -

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Fuel 2000 61139 The Cream ● CD $21.98
Reissue of Tomato 7009 from 1978. This 2 CD set finds John in fine form, recorded live at the Keystone Palo Alto in Sept. '77 backed by a tight little band including Ron Thompson on second guitar and special guest harp by Charlie Musselwhite. This is a long set with most of the 15 tunes lasting over 5 minutes including a 14 minute Boogie On. Most tunes are either dark and brooding or mid-tempo, and includes some fine versions of Hook's classics including Tupelo, dedicated to the recently deceased Elvis, When My First Wife Left Me/ Louise, even a chilling version of Van Morrison's TB Sheets. (GM)
 
JOHN LEE HOOKER JSP JSPCD 7703 Classic Early Years, 1948-1951 ● CD $28.98
4 CDs, 100 tracks, essential unless ... A great cross section of the early years of the John Lee's career when he was recording some of the most powerful and raw music ever recordings. If, like me, you're a true Hooker fan you'll want to keep with the incredible two CD sets on Body & Soul which are reissuing everything in chronological order. If the Body & Soul series is too much Hooker for you (heaven forbid!) this is an inexpensive way to get about half the recordings from those critical early years. Sound quality is excellent and each CD has informative notes by Neil Slaven (who also annotated the Body & Soul sets). (FS)

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Just A Memory RSCD 001 Rising Sun Collection ● CD $13.98
The Hook recorded live in Canada in 1977 accompanied by a small group.
JOHN LEE HOOKER: Black Night Is Falling/ Boom Boom/ Chicken and Gravy/ It Serves Me Right to Suffer/ One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer/ One Room Country Shack

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Krazy Kat KKCD 05 Boogie Awhile ● CD $16.98
20 tracks, 64 mins, essential
Back in print. Fantastic CD featuring 20 early sides by this magnificent performer. In the late 40s and early 50s when these recordings were made Hooker was one of the most ferocious and intense blues singers ever to record. His music has a brooding introspective quality that is rarely heard in the work of other performers. This set was compiled by John Lee Hooker expert Dave Sax and includes Hooker's very rarest records along with unissued test pressings, alternate takes, full versions of songs originally issued in edited versions and even a 1948 rehearsal track Leavin' Chicago which pre-dates any of his commercial recordings. Bearing in mind that many of these recordings are one of a kind the sound is superb and the set comes with 16 page booklet with extensive notes on Hooker's early style and an assessment of these recordings. (FS)
JOHN LEE HOOKER: Boogie Awhile/ Boogie Rambler/ Boogie Woogie/ Christmas Time Blues/ Cotton Pickin' Boogie/ Do the Boogie/ Good Business/ Highway Blues/ I Love to Boogie/ Leavin' Chicago/ Mercy Blues/ Miss Pearl Boogie/ Miss Rosie Mae (Alternate Take)/ Morning Blues/ Must I Wait 'Till Your Man Is Gone/ No More Doggin'/ Poor Slim (Take 2)/ Shake Your Boogie/ Tuesday Evening/ Wayne County Ramblin' Blues

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER MCA MCAD 10539 Best Of John Lee Hooker, 1965 - 1974 ● CD $9.98
Another superb reissue from the most reissued man in the blues. It's hard to go wrong with this one - these were the years when Hooker was spurred on by a new generation, and new interest in the blues. Decoration Day/ Shake It Baby/ It Serves You Right To Suffer thrive on the tension of the sparse and moody Serves You Right LP on Impulse. The same year (1966) produced an upbeat session for Chess, and that mood is explored here on One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer/ I'm In The Mood/ The Waterfront, as well as I'm Bad Like Jesse James off Bluesway's Live At The Cafe Au Go Go with Muddy's band. A 1967 all-star Bluesway LP resulted in more serious blues like Mr. Lucky (original version) + Back Biters And Syndicators/ The Motor City Is Burning and more. Filling out this retrospective are early 70's sessions, mostly with young guests like Steve Miller, Van Morrison, Elvin Bishop, Mark Naftalin and more; in small doses, and scattered through the set as they are, these work well too. Hooker shines in all settings of course, and this compilation provides much more variety than most. Informative, and surprisingly frank notes are provided by Colin Escott. (MB)
JOHN LEE HOOKER: Back Biters and Syndicators/ Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang/ Bluebird/ Decoration Day/ Doin' the Shout/ House Rent Boogie/ I'm Bad Like Jesse James/ I'm in the Mood/ It Serves You Right to Suffer/ Mr. Lucky/ Never Get out of These Blues Alive/ One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer/ Shake It Baby/ The Motor City Is Burning/ The Waterfront/ Think Twice Before You Go

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER MCA MCAD 11537 Live At The Caf‚ Au Go-Go (and Soledad Prison) ● CD $9.98
13 tracks, 68 min., recommended
This disc reissues 2 full ABC LPs, "Live at Cafe Au Go-Go" from 1966 and "Live At Soledad Prison" from 1972 (minus the two cuts that feature JLH, Jr. on lead vocals). The Cafe sides find the Hook with fellow blues legend Muddy Waters and his band (including Otis Spann on keys) which, as it turns out, sounds like a better idea than it was. Styles clash (perhaps most evidently on One Bourbon, One Scotch And One Beer) and worthwhile blues seeps through only occasionally. On Soledad, Hooker is tougher, his audience more enthusiastic, as it should be. He burns a hole in the floor with What's The Matter Baby, Lucille, and Serve Me Right To Suffer. When he plays Bang Bang Bang Bang (a.k.a. Boom Boom Boom Boom), the prisoners cheer when Hooker sings "gonna shoot ya right down." Yikes. (JC)

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Original Blues Classics 538 Sings The Blues - That's My Story ● CD $11.98
JOHN LEE HOOKER: Come On and See About Me/ Democrat Man/ Gonna Use My Rod/ I Believe I'll Go Back Home/ I Need Some Money/ I Want To Talk About You/ I'm Wanderin'/ No More Doggin'/ One Of These Days/ That's My Story/ Wednesday Evenin' Blues/ You're Leavin' Me, Baby

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Original Blues Classics OBCCD 542 Country Blues Of John Lee Hooker ● CD $11.98
Solo acoustic set recorded for Riverside in 1959.
JOHN LEE HOOKER: Behind The Plow/ Black Snake/ Bundle Up And Go/ Church Bell Tone/ Good Morning Little Schoolgirl/ How Long Blues/ I Rowed A Little Boat/ I'm Prison Bound/ Pea Vine Special/ Tupelo Blues/ Water Boy/ Weeping Willow Boogie/ Wobblin' Baby

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Original Blues Classics OBCCD 555 Burning Hell ● CD $11.98
12 tracks, 42 min., fans only
Recorded in '59, released in the UK in '64, this rare item has never been released in the U.S. until now. But before you collectors start droolin', you should know this fun fact - Burnin' Hell is one of the few, perhaps the only recording John Lee made accompanying himself with a nylon-string guitar. That instrument is fine for flamenco workouts, or all-night beach bonfire parties, but for the mighty Hook, it just doesn't cut it. The soft, sproingy sound is laughable, underlying some pretty good vocal renditions of classics like Graveyard Blues/ Smokestack Lightnin'/ Key to The Highway done in a convincing country blues mode. Oh well. (MB)
JOHN LEE HOOKER: Baby Please Don't Go/ Blues For My Baby/ Burning Hell/ Graveyard Blues/ How Can You Do It/ I Rolled And Turned And Cried The Whole Night Long/ Jackson, Tennessee/ Key To The Highway/ Natchez Fire/ Short Haired Woman/ Smokestack Lightning/ You Live Your Life And I'll Live Mine

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Rhino 70572 Ultimate Collection: 1948-1990 ● CD $31.98
While claiming this to be "ultimate" may be a bit extreme this is certainly as good a cross section of recordings of this great blues artist as one could wish for. In two CDs and 31 songs it covers his career from his first blues hit Boogie Chillen to a previously unissued live version of I'm In The Mood from 1990 on which he is joined by Bonnie Raitt and Roy Rogers. A version with similar line up won Hooker his first Grammy award. Along the way we hear some of his classic solo performances - Sally Mae/ Crawling Kingsnake/ Hobo Blues/ John L's House Rent Boogie with John's distinctive vocals accompanied by his intensely rhythmic and modal guitar style. There are some of his small group classics from Vee-Jay in the mid 50s and early 60s where he was accompanied by small groups - Frisco Blues (apparently inspired by Tony Bennett with The Vandellas on backup vocals!) / It Serves Me Right/ Boom Boom, etc. Acoustic recordings for Riverside, sessions for Chess, Wand, Bluesway and other labels including collaborations with T. Bone Walker, The Muddy Waters, Canned Heat and others. Excellent sound and decent notes by Greg Drust round out a most entertaining package. (FS)
JOHN LEE HOOKER: Back Biters And Syndicators/ Big Legs, Light Skirt/ Boogie Chillen'/ Boom Boom/ Bottle Up And Go/ Burning Hell/ Crawlin' King Snake/ Dimples/ Frisco Blues/ Hobo Blues/ Huckle Up Baby/ I Cover The Waterfront/ I Need Some Money/ I'm Bad Like Jesse James/ I'm In The Mood/ It Serves Me Right/ Jon L's House Rent Boogie/ Let Your Daddy Ride/ Let's Go Out Tonight/ No More Doggin'/ One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer/ Peavine/ Sally Mae/ Shake It Baby/ She's Mine (Keep Your Hands To Yourself)/ Teachin' The Blues/ Terraplane Blues/ Think Twice Before You Go/ Weeping Willow Boogie/ You Know I Know

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Savoy 17078 Detroit, 1948-1949 ● CD $17.98
20 tracks, 66 mins, highly recommended
More fantastic early John Lee Hooker from the birth of his career when everything he did was worth listening and some of it being among the greatest of blues creations. New research reveals that the first 12 sides represent his second recording session cut in November 1948 for his manager Elmer Barbee (not Joe Von Battle as originally thought) very soon after the session when he recorded his big hit Boogie Chillun. These were sold to Savoy who issued two singles using th pseudonyms Delta John and Birmingham Sam. Eight further sides were sold to Savoy a few months later - four featuring Hooker solo playing acoustic guitar and four from what is his first session with a group featuring James Watkins on piano and Curtis Foster on drums who like many to follow had a hard time following Hooker's timing and the result is charming chaos if not exactly great music! But the first 16 tracks are prime Hooker and vital additions to any collection of recordings by one of the all time great bluesmen. (FS)

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Snapper 705 Testament ● CD $33.98
Nicely compiled collection of John Lee's Vee-Jay recordings. Three CD set with 60 tracks plus 24 page booklet.
JOHN LEE HOOKER: Baby Lee/ Big Legs, Tight Skirt/ Birmingham Blues/ Blues Before Sunrise/ Boogie Chillun/ Boom Boom/ Crawlin’ Black Spider/ Crawlin’ Kingsnake/ Dirty Ground Hog/ Don’t Look Back/ Drive Me Away/ Drug Store Woman/ Dusty Road/ Every Night/ Everybody Rockin'/ Five Long Hours/ Half A Stranger/ Hobo Blues/ House Rent Boogie/ I Can't Believe/ I Love You Honey/ I'm A Stranger/ I'm Leaving Baby/ I'm So Worried/ I've Got A Letter/ It Serves Me Right To Suffer/ I’m Going Upstairs/ I’m In The Mood/ I’m Mad Again/ I’m So Excited/ Let's Make It/ Little Fine Woman/ Little Wheel/ Mama, You Got A Daughter/ Maudie/ Moanin’ Blues/ My First Wife Left Me/ Nightmare/ No Shoes/ One Way Ticket/ Process/ Rosie Mae/ Sally Mae/ Send Me Your Pillow/ Solid Sender/ Sunny Land/ Take A Look At Yourself/ The Road Is So Rough/ This Is Hip/ Time Is Marchin’/ Trouble Blues/ Tupelo (Live)/ Unfriendly Woman/ Want Ad Blues/ Wednesday Evening Blues/ Whiskey And Woman/ You Can Lead Me Baby/ You've Taken My Woman/ Your Baby Ain't Sweet Like Mine

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Specialty 7018 Graveyard Blues ● CD $15.98
The 20 tracks issued here were recorded between 1948 and 1950 for Bernie Besman's Sensation label in Detroit. But Besman often leased or sold his material to various other record companies with better national distribution, and that's how Art Rupe's Specialty label ended up with the rights to so many Hooker cuts. Enough, in fact, that this CD is the first of two that Specialty is planning to release. Featured numbers here include War is Over (Goodbye California)/ Burnin' Hell/ Black Cat Blues/ My Baby's Got Something/ Boogie Chillen #2 and the title tune. Ironically, Rupe only chose to release one John Lee Hooker 45 out of all the cuts he owned. He appears to have found little enjoyment in the music of primitive bluesmen like Hooker. Fortunately for those of us without that blind spot, this material has finally been made available. Good sound quality and liner notes. One fine vintage photo. (DH)
JOHN LEE HOOKER: 21 Boogie/ Alberta/ Alberta (Part 2)/ Black Cat Blues/ Boogie Chillen #2/ Build Myself A Cave/ Burnin' Hell/ Canal Street Blues/ Goin' Down Highway 51/ Graveyard Blues/ Hastings Street Boogie/ Henry's Swing Club/ Huckle Up Baby/ Miss Sadie Mae/ Momma Poppa Boogie/ My Baby's Got Something/ Rollin' Blues/ Sail On, Little Girl, Sail On/ Sailing Blues/ War Is Over

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Specialty 7035 Everybody's Blues ● CD $15.98
20 tracks, 58 min., recommended This is the second volume of Hooker's Sensation/Specialty material to be released by the current owners of the rights, and, like the earlier issue, Graveyard Blues, it's a winner. Recorded between 1950 and 1954, the featured tracks here, seven of them previously unissued, display the artist alone in the studio and in the company of an appropriately raucous combo. Among the gems are Three Long Years Today, Grinder Man, Four Women in My Life, I'm Mad, Boogie Rambler, the title track, and the philosophical Nothin' But Trouble (Don't Take Your Wife's Family In). There is no shortage of material out there featuring ol' John Lee, nonetheless, this is not one to overlook. Sound quality, cover graphics, and liner notes (repeated from the earlier issue) are all up to snuff. (DH)
JOHN LEE HOOKER: Anybody's Blues/ Boogie Rambler/ Do My Baby Think Of Me?/ Don't Trust Nobody/ Everybody's Blues/ Goin' Away Baby/ Grinder Man/ I Been Done So Wrong/ I Keep The Blues/ I Need Love So Bad/ I'm Gonna Git Me A Woman/ I'm Mad Again/ Locked Up In Jail/ No More Doggin'/ Nothin' But Trouble/ Strike Blues/ Tease Me Over Baby/ The Syndicate/ Three Long Years Today/ Walkin' This Highway

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Stax 4134 That's Where It's At ● CD $11.98
This 1979 date for the Stax label finds John Lee in the intimate solo setting. Without the accompaniment of other players his intensely personal style has an almost overwhelming purity to it. For many this is Hooker at his best, and I'm inclined to agree. Just listen to the first song, Teachin' The Blues and you'll understand as he lays it down for you - "The fancy chords don't mean nothin' if you ain't got that beat; throw them fancy chords away". After the opener, the next nine songs continue to demonstrate how one man can sound like a whole, incredibly unified band. As he taps out that big beat with his foot while playing a driving bass figure, rhythm and lead guitar and singing in that wise and sensual voice, one is reminded what "real" really means. LP)
JOHN LEE HOOKER: Feel So Bad/ Goin' Down To Louisiana/ Grinder Man/ I Just Don't Know/ I Need You/ My Love Comes Down For You/ Please Don't Go/ Slow And Easy/ Teachin' The Blues/ Two White Horses

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Vanguard 79703 Live At Newport ● CD $15.98
13 acoustic tracks recorded live at the Newport Folk Festival in 1960 and '63. The 1960 sides are solo and the '63 tracks are with stand up bass player Bill Lee.
JOHN LEE HOOKER: Boom Boom/ Boom Boom/ Bus Station Blues/ Great Fire of Natchez/ Hobo Blues/ Hobo Blues/ I Can't Quit You Baby/ Let's Make It/ Maudie/ Sometimes You Make Me Feel So Bad/ Stop Now Baby/ Tupelo/ You're Gonna Need Another Favor

 
JOHN LEE HOOKER Virgin 41763 Jealous