This
John Lee Hooker set is volume 38 in the Charly Blues Masterworks series, which shows no sign of slowing down. There are 16 tracks recorded between the late 1940s and the early '60s; these sides make up some of the less obvious choices in a best-of -- and that's a good thing. How many more comps do we need with the same versions of "Boogie Chillun'" and "Crawling King Snake"?
Hooker is featured both solo and in various combinations here. The raw, murderous guitar stomp of "Mad Man Blues," recorded live, juxtaposes nicely against the combo sessions with a horn section on cuts like "Big Fine Woman." Thankfully, the compilers saw fit to put "Bluebird" here, which features one of the most soulful vocals
Hooker ever committed to tape. The slow, creeping, sorrow-drenched "Apologize" is here, as is a smoking read of
Muddy Waters' "Baby Please Don't Go" -- the only cover on the set. The title tune is a pure house rocker with piano, drums, and horns as well. The edge in
Hooker's guitar here, with a far more distorted high end than usual, is a nice treat. You really can't go wrong with any of these Charly recordings; they don't sound the best, but they do feel warm and live and immediate despite tape hiss in some places. And the performances they manage to issue in this series are spectacular. This volume is no exception to that rule.