Until someone releases the entire works in chronological order this is, without doubt, the most enjoyable anthology of John Lee Hooker's music I've ever encountered.![John-Lee-Hooker-Stomp-Boogie-1.jpg]()
This box set is made up of his recordings from his first session for King in 1948 to 1958 when he was making hits for Vee Jay and it contains random selections from his records made for Chance, Acorn, Sensation, Gone, Chess, Fortune, Hi-Q. For the most part, John Lee plays solo electric guitar, ripping out fourteen and fifteen bar riffs, vicious string popping licks and free form percussive tempos that perfectly accompanied his dark expressive vocals. These rumbling blues with their almost improvised movements, full of surprisingly rhythmic invention, are primitive and raw but they are what set him on his career as one of the blues world's best loved musicians. Listen to any of the tracks here and you'll realise why.
This box set is made up of his recordings from his first session for King in 1948 to 1958 when he was making hits for Vee Jay and it contains random selections from his records made for Chance, Acorn, Sensation, Gone, Chess, Fortune, Hi-Q. For the most part, John Lee plays solo electric guitar, ripping out fourteen and fifteen bar riffs, vicious string popping licks and free form percussive tempos that perfectly accompanied his dark expressive vocals. These rumbling blues with their almost improvised movements, full of surprisingly rhythmic invention, are primitive and raw but they are what set him on his career as one of the blues world's best loved musicians. Listen to any of the tracks here and you'll realise why.I particularly love the very early stuff with its spontaneous wide-open phrasing and almost African rhythms and strange mood changes - he really gets way out on songs like High Priced Woman. As the music moved into the 50s he was forming a more structured form of blues with Eddie Kirkland, Eddie Taylor and Jimmy Reed producing important hits like Dimples and I Love You Honey but, even at this stage, John Lee Hooker was still keen to sit down, tap his foot and deliver music as archaic and mysterious as anything that had ever gone before in the blues.
He was a one-off and it's no wonder his name is always mentioned when aficionados discuss the best blues musicians that have ever lived. Get this and you'll find out why! (Red Lick)
INFO
http://www.redlick.com/review_read.php?id=154
trax disc 1:
01 Black Man Blues 02 Poor Joe 03 Shady Grove Blues 04 Stomp Boogie 05 Who's Been Jiving You
06 I Had A Dream 07 Miss Eloise 08 Miss Lorraine 09 Talkin' Boogie 10 Do the Boogie 11 Devil's Jump 12 Nightmare Blues 13 Don't Go Baby 14 I'm Gonna Kill That Woman 15 Moaning Blues 16 The Numbers 17 Wandering Blues 18 Heart Trouble Blues 19 Slim's Stomp 20 Thinking Blues 21 Mad Man Blues 22 Boogie Now
trax disc 2:
01 Decoration Day Blues 02 Lord What More Can I Do 03 Moon Is Rising 04 The Story Of A Married Woman 05 Throw This Old Dog A Bone 06 Turnin' Gray Blues 07 Welfare Blues 08 High Priced Woman 09 Union Station Blues 10 Leave My Wife Alone 11 Ramblin' By Myself 12 Dreamin' Blues 13 Just Me And My Telephone 14 Walkin' the Boogie (Alternate Take) 15 Sugar Mama 16 Please Don't Go 17 I Don't Want Your Money 18 Hey Baby 19 Bluebird 20 Walkin' The Boogie 21 Love Blues 22 Lonely Boy Boogie 23 Apologiz 24 The Journey
trax disc 3:
01 Worried Life Blues 02 Down at the Landing 03 You Have Two Hearts 04 It's My Own Fault 05 Blues For Big Town 06 Women and Money 07 Big Fine Woman 08 Love You Baby 09 Blues for Christmas 10 Cry Baby 11 Time Is Marching 12 Unfriendly Woman 13 Wheel And Deal 14 Baby Lee 15 Dimples 16 Every Night 17 Trouble Blues 18 Stop Talking 19 I'm So Excited 20 Everybody Rockin' 21 I See You When You're Weak 22 Little Wheel 23 You Can Lead Me Baby 24 I Love You Honey
…served by Gyro1966...