Blues

John Lee Hooker - On Campus (1964)

2019-03-08T14:29:53Z

John Lee Hooker - On Campus (1964)


1 	I'm Leaving 	2:11
2 	Love Is A Burning Thing 	2:37
3 	Birmingham Blues 	2:52
4 	I Want To Shout 	2:23
5 	Don't Look Back 	2:54
6 	I Want To Hug You       2:39
7 	Poor Me 	3:10
8 	I Want To Ramble 	2:27
9 	Half A Stranger         4:22
10  	My Grinding Mill 	3:09
11 	Bottle Up And Go 	2:24
12 	One Way Ticket 	3:27

Vocals, Guitar, Written-By – John Lee Hooker

Vee Jay's 1964 album John Lee Hooker on Campus is titled to sound like a live recording but it isn't. As part of the Collectables Vee Jay reissue campaign, these 12 tracks originally tried to capitalize on Hooker's emergence on the coffeehouse/college tours he was involved in at the time. This is an electric album that contains excellent material from Hooker, even though the occasional background singers get in the way, attempting to modernize his gritty blues with a smoother soul sound. All of the Vee Jay reissues of John Lee Hooker material are worth having and are budget priced as a bonus. ---Al Campbell, AllMusic Review

I had this album many years ago in vinyl format under the title of John Lee Hooker Big Band Blues. The sessions were originally done in 1963, but the music really holds so many years later. It was such a great blues album back then and had I known it was available on remastered cd I would have bought it a few years ago. Actually, the only reason I knew if was available was because Sears Canada used the tune 'I Want to Hug You' for their Christmas TV ad. I highly recommend this album! ---dghawk, amazon.com

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John Lee Hooker ‎– Urban Blues (1967/1995)

2018-11-27T11:14:30Z

John Lee Hooker ‎– Urban Blues (1967/1995)


1 	Cry Before I Go 	2:38
2 	Boom Boom Boom 	2:45
3 	Backbiters & Syndicaters 	2:50
4 	Mr Lucky 	2:52
5 	My Own Blues 	2:32
6 	I Can't Stand To Leave You 	2:30
7 	Think Twice Before You Go 	2:03
8 	I'm Standing In Line 	2:17
9 	Hot Spring Water Pt. 1 	2:29
10 	Hot Spring Water Pt. 2 	2:00
11 	The Motor City Is Burning 	2:45
12 	I Gotta Go To Vietnam	4:25
13 	Messin' 'Round With The Blues	3:18
14 	Hold On Baby	3:32

John Lee Hooker - Guitar, Vocals
Al Duncan - Drums
Eddie Taylor - Guitar (Bass)
Phil Upchurch - Guitar (Bass)
Eddie Kirkland - Guitar
Louis Myers - Harmonica 
Roosevelt Sykes - Drums 
Earl Hooker - Guitar 
Jeff Carp - Harmonica 
Johnny "Big Moose" Walker - Keyboards
Gino Skaggs - Bass

This is the Boogie Man's 1967 ABC-BluesWay album in its entirety. Hooker's Chicago sidemen (including Eddie Taylor, Wayne Bennett, and Louis Myers) deftly handle Hooker's eccentricities on "Mr. Lucky," and the harrowing "The Motor City Is Burning," as well as a sprightly remake of "Boom Boom." ---Bill Dahl, AllMusic Review

First, I am a fan of John Lee Hooker and have bought as many of his CDs as I could find. With that in mind, I gave this CD four stars (instead of five) only because this one is not essential for a proper music collection. However, along with a newer version of "Boom Boom" being included, John Lee also makes two musical statements about current events (of the late 1960's) with "The Motor City is Burning" and (as a bonus track) "I Gotta Go to Vietnam". Both are splendid and are of some significance to those who are interested in tracking the public's attitude towards the war through song. Overall, it is a great album, just not an "essential" one. ---J. Bynum, amazon.com

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John Lee Hooker - Black Man Blues (1998)

2018-10-29T12:52:48Z

John Lee Hooker - Black Man Blues (1998)


1. Stomp Boogie
2. Black Man Blues
3. Helpless Blues
4. Goin' Mad Blues
5. Morning Blues
6. Roll N' Roll
7. No Friend Around
8. Low Down-Midnite Boogie
9. House Rent Boogie
10. Wandering Blues
11. Landing Blues
12. My Baby's Got Somethin'
13. Do The Boogie

John Lee Hooker - Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals 
James Watkins - Piano
Curtis Foster - Drums

The driving instrumental that opens this collection, "Stomp Boogie" (so called because Hooker keeps time loudly with his foot throughout), should give listeners a sense of what to expect from BLACK MAN BLUES. Primitive, gutbucket electric guitar is the main ingredient here, and it is Hooker's hard-edged boogie playing that fuels the 14 early sides that span from '48-'51. Hooker's voice, though somewhat less growling than on later recordings, is no less soulful or urgent, and on cuts like the title track and the propulsive "Goin' Mad Blues," it presages a rock & roll vocal aesthetic. There is plenty of old school blues too, such as the moping lope of "Landing Blues" and the wrenching confessions of "Morning Blues." Taken together, these are excellent examples of Hooker's early work and its gripping synthesis of folk blues and electric power. ---AllMusic Review

Very early John Lee Hooker (1948-1951), with several virile rockers in the bunch, like "Stomp Boogie," "Goin' Mad Blues," and "Do the Boogie"--the latter probably the rawest boogie stomp ever put on record. Magnificent minimalist blues that you need to have in your collection, in spite of the C-minus sonics. Don't miss out on this material! ---Lee Hartsfeld, amazon.com

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John Lee Hooker ‎– Everybody's Blues (1954/1993)

2018-03-11T13:54:18Z

John Lee Hooker ‎– Everybody's Blues (1954/1993)


1 	Do My Baby Think Of Me 	2:52
2 	Three Long Years Today 	3:04
3 	Strike Blues 	2:37
4 	Grinder Man 	3:10
5 	Walkin' This Highway 	2:16
6 	Four Women In My Life 	3:11
7 	I Need Lovin' 	2:54
8 	Find Me A Woman 	2:39
9 	I'm Mad 	2:44
10 	I Been Done So Wrong 	2:42
11 	Boogie Rambler 	2:36
12 	I Keep The Blues 	2:29
13 	No More Doggin' AKA No More Foolin' 	2:25
14 	Everybody's Blues 	2:48
15 	Anyone's Blues (I Love You Baby) 	2:19
16 	Locked Up In Jail AKA Prison Blues 	2:47
17 	Nothin' But Trouble (Don't Take Your Wife's Family In) 	3:23
18 	I Need Love So Bad 	3:08
19 	Don't Trust Nobody 	3:44
20 	Odds Against Me AKA Backbiters And Syndicators 	3:06

John Lee Hooker - guitar, vocals
+
Johnny Griffith  - piano (tracks: 9 to 16)
Johnny Hooks - saxophone(tracks: 9 to 16)
Theophilus Roosevelt - bass (tracks: 9 to 16)
Thomas Whitehead - drums (tracks: 9 to 16)

John Lee Hooker reissues abound, as might be expected of a singer and guitarist who's recorded hundreds of songs for countless labels since the late '40s. What makes the 20 tracks on Everybody's Blues different from the mountain of other Hooker material available is the fact that seven of them are newly issued, and most were done in the studio with Hooker wailing and accompanying himself on guitar minus any backing chorus or production armada. Even the cuts with a supporting combo are animated and loose, with the vocal trademarks that are now established Hooker cliches sounding fresh and genuine. ---Ron Wynn, AllMusic Review

This compilation of recordings from 1950, '51, and '54 for the Modern and Specialty labels is an intriguing relic from Hooker's past. Many of these sides went unreleased, due to Specialty president Art Rupe's dissatisfaction with the singer-guitarist's crude style. But that's precisely why this CD is a treat for lovers of lowdown blues. Mostly it's Hooker alone--almost always the way he sounds best. Still, there are chances to hear him with horns and a gestational version of what would eventually become his hair-raising "I'm Bad Like Jesse James" (called "I'm Mad") that features fleet piano accompaniment. There's also an early reading of "Backbiters and Syndicators" (named "Odds Against Me") that showcases Hooker's riveting backcountry guitar virtuosity. --Ted Drozdowski, amazon.com

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From Clarksdale To Heaven - Remembering John Lee Hooker (2002)

2018-01-12T13:13:00Z

From Clarksdale To Heaven - Remembering John Lee Hooker (2002)


1 	–Zakiya Hooker & Johnnie Johnson & Bobby Murray - I Want To Hug You

Bass – David Daniel
Drums – Marlon Green
Guitar [Synth] – Tony Cook
Lead Guitar – Bobby Murray
Lead Vocals – Zakiya Hooker
Percussion – Victor Puebla
Piano – Johnnie Johnson

2 	–Jack Bruce & Gary Moore - I'm In The Mood

Bass – Jack Bruce
Drums – Gary Husband
Lead Vocals – Gary Moore

3 	–Leo Lyons & Ric Lee & Vince Converse - Bad Like Jesse James

Bass – Leo Lyons
Drums – Ric Lee
Lead Guitar, Vocals – Vince Converse

4 	–Jeff Beck With The Kingdom Choir - Will The Circle Be Unbroken

Arranged By – John Lee Hooker
Arranged By [Vocals] – Laura Howard
Backing Vocals – The Kingdom Choir
Bass – David Hadley
Drums – Richard Bailey
Guitar [All] – Jeff Beck
Lead Vocals – Earl Green 
Lead Vocals, Arranged By [Vocals] – Siggi Josiah
Piano – Dave Moore
Tambourine – Pete Brown 

5 	–Gary Brooker & Andy Fairweather-Low - Baby Lee

Bass – Matt Pegg
Drums – Henry Spinetti
Lead Guitar – Andy Fairweather-Low
Piano, Lead Vocals – Gary Brooker
	
6 	–T.S. McPhee & Dick Heckstall-Smith - Ground Hog Blues

Lead Guitar, Vocals – T.S. McPhee
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Dick Heckstall-Smith

7 	–Mick Taylor & Max Middleton - This Is Hip

Backing Vocals – Pete Brown
Bass, Backing Vocals – Michael Bailey
Drums – Godfrey MacLean
Lead Vocals, Vocals – Mick Taylor
Piano – Max Middleton
	
8 	–Peter Green Splinter Group - Crawlin' King Snake

Bass [Upright] – Pete Stroud
Guitar [Open-Tuned] – Nigel Watson
Lead Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica – Peter Green
Rhythm Guitar – Roger Cotton 

9 	–T.S. Mcphee & Dick Heckstall-Smith, Clem Clempson - I'm Leaving

Bass – David Hadley
Drums – Jeff Allen 
Lead Guitar, Vocals – Tony McPhee
Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitar [Second] – Clem Clempson
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Dick Heckstall-Smith
	
10 	–Gary Brooker & Andy Fairweather-Low 	Little Wheel

Bass – Matt Pegg
Drums – Henry Spinetti
Lead Guitar – Andy Fairweather-Low
Piano, Lead Vocals – Gary Brooker
	
11 	–Greggs Eggs - 	The Business

Bass – Chris Wilson
Congas – Lonnie Walter
Drums – Ken Greene 
Lead Guitar – Futoshi Morroka
Lead Vocals – Suzanne Sterling 

12 	–Jeff Beck 	Hobo Blues

Bass – David Hadley
Drums – Richard Bailey
Lead Guitar – Jeff Beck
Lead Vocals – Earl Green 

13 	–Gary Moore & Jack Bruce - Serve Me Right To Suffer

Bass – Jack Bruce
Drums – Gary Husband
Lead Guitar, Vocals – Gary Moore
	
14 	–John Lee Hooker & Booker T & Randy California - Red House

Bass – Phillip Chen
Drums – Bruce Gary
Lead Guitar, Vocals – John Lee Hooker
Organ – Booker T. Jones
Rhythm Guitar – Randy California

For the first of two tribute albums to John Lee Hooker, executive producer Arnie Goodman of Blue Storm Music has assembled an impressive list of British musicians from the 1960s who helped spark the '60s blues revival that was responsible for the ascension of Hooker (among others) into legendary status. The biggest name on his own is Jeff Beck, who plays guitar on "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" and "Hobo Blues," but other notable figures include Cream's Jack Bruce, Leo Lyons and Ric Lee from Ten Years After, Procol Harum's Gary Brooker, ex-Rolling Stone Mick Taylor, former Fleetwood Mac leader Peter Green, and Gary Moore. The performers are reverent toward Hooker's music, maintaining its relentless rhythmic power and even at times re-creating the master's haunting mumble of a voice. The set is not entirely given over to the Brits, however, as it opens with "I Want to Hug You," sung by Hooker's daughter, Zakiya, and ends with Hooker himself, accompanied by Booker T. Jones and Randy California, among others, performing a previously unreleased "Red House" that was cut for a Jimi Hendrix tribute album. There is also a newly written song ("The Business") penned by Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter and Bay Area musician Greg Anton that was earmarked for a Hooker project never recorded due to his death. Such tracks provide some variety, but the strength of the album is still in the devoted performances of people like Beck and Green. ---William Ruhlmann, AllMusic Review

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John Lee Hooker – Travelin’ (1960/2003)

2017-06-25T13:02:44Z

John Lee Hooker – Travelin’ (1960/2003)


1 	No Shoes 	2:10
2 	I Wanna Walk 	2:15
3 	Canal Street Blues 	2:30
4 	Run On 	2:10
5 	I'm A Stranger 	2:35
6 	Whiskey And Wimmen 	2:10
7 	Solid Sender 	2:30
8 	Sunny Land 	2:15
9 	Goin' To California 	2:20
10 	I Can't Believe 	2:37
11 	I'll Know Tonight 	2:35
12 	Dusty Road 	2:09
13 	Nightmare 	4:24
14 	Drive Me Away 	2:53
15 	Love Me All The Time 	3:11
16 	Bundle Up And Go 	2:28

John Lee Hooker – guitar, vocals
Lefty Bates - guitar
Sylvester Hickman - bass

When I started to get interested in music in the middle 1960s, this was one of the Albums everyone who was serious was supposed to have. Jazz musicians and Blues lovers alike would take me aside and tell me to listen seriously when they played these sides for me because this was education.

Hooker benefited in these sides from being on Vee Jay records, a fine, sadly defunct, black owned label that provided him quality production and recording and presentation. You have the feeling that compared with a lot of his other recording companies, Vee Jay treated Johnnie Lee as a serious artist, worthy of good sound, enough time in the studio to get the take right, and tasteful accompaniment usually just drums and bass.

Here we have Hooker recorded in a special time in his career right in between the time that RB labels were milking him for a different recording every month, sometimes under different names, and the later period when the folk and the folk blues revivals got him into do one recording it seemed every week.

In 1960 when these sides were cut Hooker still had an audience in the Black base blues community and was also known to a lot of Jazz lovers as well. He's not jiving or being a charicature of himself as on some of his last CDs, sad to say.

Johnnie had "something in him that's got to come out." It's so far inside that it evades even the heart and themind. It's deep down in our bones, fear of loneliness, isolation, poverty, and defeat, love hunger in the brick and concrete squalor of the Black ghettos that were about to explode in revolt.

There is such a feeling of despair here in bluer songs that blend together: "No Shoes," "Whiskey and Women," "Canal Street," "I'm a stranger."

Wow, just typing these titles today 40 years after the first time I heard them still moves me, still make me wonder why I don't keep this permanently on the CD player

"No food on my table no shoes on my feet my children crying for bread they ain't Got nothing to eat" "Night life night life, it ain't No good for me. If it weren't for whiskey and women and night life, I'd have a happy life."

Plain simple words, but delivered by John Lee Hooker deep from inside him, plunging out with the music, across all the years, he emerges as such a poet, such a poet!

The words are still ringing in my ears. Let them ring in yours. ---Tony Thomas, amazon.com

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John Lee Hooker - Wandering Blues (1950)

2017-06-22T12:02:46Z

John Lee Hooker - Wandering Blues (1950)


01. Stomp Boogie (3:09)
02. Black Man Blues (3:32)
03. Helpless Blues (3:40)
04. Goin' Mad Blues (3:45)
05. Morning Blues (2:46)
06. Rock N' Roll (2:41)
07. No Friend Around (2:54)
08. Low Down Midnight Boogie (3:39)
09. House Rent Boogie (2:47)
10. Wandering Blues (3:00)
11. Landing Blues (3:30)
12. My Baby's Got Something (2:52)
13. Decoration Day Blues (3:05)
14. Do The Boogie (3:13)

John Lee Hooker – guitar, vocals
James Watkins – piano
Curtis Foster – drums

This is a collection of very early tracks by John Lee (1948 - 1950) and almost all are played without a backing band. The recording quality ranges from bad to worse throughout the CD but you can hardly expect glossy 5.1 surround sound because these songs are probably over 50 years old. What you get here is a slice of classic Blues & Boogie by one of the most influential musicians ever. This is raw, emotional, top notch Blues. My favourite tracks are probably 'Morning Blues' & 'Wandering Blues' but there are a couple of tracks that let the collection down by being almost completely inaudible. --- James N. R. Goad, amazon.com

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John Lee Hooker: Kabuki Wuki - Born In Mississippi, Raised Up In Tennessee (1973)

2015-10-02T15:58:56Z

John Lee Hooker: Kabuki Wuki - Born In Mississippi, Raised Up In Tennessee (1973)

DISC 1 - Kabuki Wuki 
01. Your Love (Just A Little Bit)
02. Hold It
03. Look At The Rain
04. My Best Friend
05. Hit The Floor
06. A Little Bit Higher
07. I Wonder Why
08. If You Got A Dollar

John Lee Hooker - Guitar, Vocals
Ron Beck - Drums
Mel Brown - Guitar, Guitar (Bass), Keyboards
Clifford Coulter - Guitar, Guitar (Bass), Keyboards
Robert Hooker - Organ
L.C. "Good Rockin'" Robinson - Guitar (Steel)
Benny Rowe - Guitar
Gino Skaggs - Bass, Keyboards
Ken Swank - Drums
Luther Tucker -Guitar
Paul Wood - Guitar

DISC 2 - Born In Mississippi, Raised Up In Tennessee
01. Born In Mississippi, Raised Up In Tennessee
02. How Many More Years You Gonna Dog Me Round
03. Going Down
04. Younger Stud
05. King Of The World
06. Tell Me You Love Me

John Lee Hooker - Guitar, Vocals
Ron Beck - Drums
Elvin Bishop - Slide Guitar
George Bohannon - Trombone
Oscar Brashear 	- Flugelhorn
Clifford Coulter - Mellophonium
Chuck Crimelli - Drums
Oma Drake - Vocals
Don "Sugarcane" Harris - Violin
Robert Hooker - Organ
John Klemmer - Sax (Tenor)
Marti McCall - Vocals
Don Menza - Sax (Baritone)
Steven Miller - Piano
Van Morrison - Guitar, Vocals
Mark Naftalin - Piano
Gino Skaggs - Guitar
Ken Swank - Drums
Luther Tucker - Guitar
Michael White - Violin
Blinky Williams - Vocals

BGO Records has released two early ‘70s albums by the legendary John Lee Hooker. While admittedly not his best albums, they both still show this man did more than play the blues, he lived them. On these offerings, Hooker pumped out a slow moving steam engine of blues music that never picks up too much speed, yet keeps things chooglin’ along just fine.

Kabuki Wuki is the better of the two albums included on this two-disc package. This is a classic live set that saw a Hooker show captured at the Kabuki Theater in San Francisco. The music is moody and morose.

John sells it in his vocal delivery and the band moves along like a slow cooked slab of ribs. It may not thrill you, but when it’s all said and done, the meat just falls off the bone.

Born in Mississippi, Raised Up in Tennessee continues the same type of feeling but takes it from the stage to the studio. The beat moves about, slowly and carefully; Hooker’s vocals keep you on the edge of your seat, yet the pace does get to you after a while as you simply beg John Lee and band to get you on your feet. It just never happens, despite an appearance on the album by none other than the great Van Morrison.

Both of these albums would probably rank higher in, say, Colorado, where one could enhance the music with some legal herb as this is stoner rock, done up blues style.

At the end of the day remember this: a “C” rating for John Lee Hooker means that it may be better than the average album, yet when placed against his best, these two just fall somewhere in the middle. Still worthy of a listen, just not the chosen album by most of his fans. --- Jeb Wright, classicrockrevisited.com

This live set at the Kabuki Theater in San Francisco never catches fire. The great bluesman has his usual band, but he seems to be trying too hard to appeal to a young, mostly white audience that ends up too high in the mix. There are better live recordings by far in this legendary artist's lengthy career. --- Mark Allan, allmusic.com

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John Lee Hooker - Bedroom Boogie (1976)

2014-10-02T15:51:36Z

John Lee Hooker - Bedroom Boogie (1976)


01. Boom Boom (4:18)
02. Serves Me Right To Suffer (4:19)
03. You Know It Ain't Right (4:07)
04. Hobo Blues (4:20)
05. One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer (4:11)
06. Whiskey And Women (5:40)
07. Crawlin' King Snake (4:12)
08. Boogie Chillen (9:04)
09. You Know I Love You (5:42)
10. Maudie (4:11)
11. Crazy 'bout You Baby (4:44)
12. Boogie Chillen (15:32)
13. I Need Some Money (3:09)
14. Bundle Up And Go (2:14)

John Lee Hooker's show at the Wise Fools Club, Chicago, on 9 November 1976. Sourced from an FM broadcast, with a couple of audience members very audible. The performance is brilliant, with JLH fired up and full of energy, and the crowd enthusiastic. Highly reommended. --- bootlegzone.com

Bonus Track 12: Jul 15, 1983, Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, Switzerland
Bonus Tracks 13 - 14: 1962, Basel, Switzerland, Swiss Radio Broadcast

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John Lee Hooker – Moanin' The Blues (1970)

2014-06-26T15:50:53Z

John Lee Hooker – Moanin' The Blues (1970)


1. Wandering Blues
2. I’m Gonna Kill That Woman
3. Heart Trouble Blues
4. Don’t You Remember
5. Slim’s Stomp
6. The Numbers
7. Nightmare Blues
8. Moanin' Blues 
9. Don’t Go Baby
10. Thinking Blues
11. Late Last Night
12. Devil's Jump

John Lee Hooker - Guitar, Vocals

German version of the King LP "Moanin' And Stompin' Blues" with early JLH tracks that were released under the name of "Texas Slim". John Lee doing what he does best and it's always a pleasure to listen to him.

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