John Lee Hooker

INCLUDES 2 BONUS TRACKS

Long unavailable on vinyl, this quintessential collector’s edition includes one of Hooker’s most difficult to find LPs, the eponymous John Lee Hooker. It was originally released in 1962 by the Fantasy Records’ subsidiary Galaxy label. (It was retitled The King of Folk Blues on a later reissue for the French label America Records.) The album includes a selection of hard-to-find recordings taped during different sessions in the early 1950s, allof them produced by Bernard Besman, the man who helped define Hooker’s recorded sound, which has often relied upon heavy walking beats, boogies, and eerie atmosphere.

Mostly, this long-play contains raw solo recordings like the opener “Might As Well Say We’re Through,” “Left My Wife and My Baby,” and “Fire at Natchez,” among others, combined with some full band performances such as “Lost My Job” and the great “Shake It Up and Go.”

In addition, this 180-gram vinyl release includes 2 bonus tracks from the same period: “Let’s Talk It Over” and “Baby, You Ain’t No Good.” This music is raw and riveting. Its emotional depth demands much of listeners. John Lee Hooker was a true original, often imitated, but never equaled.

PERSONNEL:

SIDE 1 [1, 2, 4, 5 & 6] / SIDE 2 [2-6]:
Solo recordings by JOHN LEE HOOKER (vocals, electric guitar and foot stomping). Recorded in the early 1950s, probably in Detroit and Chicago.

SIDE 1 [3]:
JOHN LEE HOOKER (vocals, electric guitar and foot stomping) plus unidentified personnel.
Recorded in the early 1950s, probably in Detroit.

SIDE 2 [1]:
JOHN LEE HOOKER (vocals, electric guitar and foot stomping) plus unidentified rhythm section and horns.
Recorded in 1959, probably in Chicago.

SIDE 1 [7]:
JOHN LEE HOOKER (lead vocals, guitar and foot stomping) plus Eddie Kirkland (guitar and second vocals).
Recorded in Detroit, May 1954.

SIDE 2 [7]:
Solo recording by JOHN LEE HOOKER (vocals, guitar and foot stomping)
plus Eddie Kirkland (guitar and second vocals).
Recorded in Detroit, early 1950s.

SIDE A

01. Might As Well Say We're Through
02. Risisng Sun
03. Lost My Job
04. Left My Wife and My Baby
05. Travelin' Day and Night
06. Deep Down in My Heart
07. Let's Talk It Over (bonus track)

SIDE B:

01. Shake It Up and Go
02. Fire at Natchez
03. The Sweetest Girl I Know
04. Mad with You Baby
05. My Mother-In-Love MoveIn
06, Ballad to Abraham Lincoln