John Lee Hooker

INCLUDES 4 BONUS TRACKS

This quintessential release includes one of John Lee Hooker’s lesser-known gems from his most inspired years, the splendid Burning Hell, recorded at United Sound Systems in Detroit during April 1959. Originally, the Riverside label issued the LP just in England (in the 1960s). John Lee Hooker only plays acoustic guitar throughout the album, which is a country blues classic, and sings straight to the bone with his soul drenched vocal delivery. It was Hooker’s second LP packaged for the folk/traditional blues market (following The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker, issued by Riverside in 1959, which included other tracks from those same sessions).

In addition to the original masterpiece, this remastered LP also contains 4 bonus tracks, including a number of solo recordings taped in different locations between 1952 and 1961. Among the highlights are “Crawlin’ King Snake,” “Worried Life Blues” and the live recording at 1960’s Newport Folk Festival of “Tupelo Blues”, one of Hooker’s all-time classics. This material constitutes the foundation of John Lee Hooker’s incomparable musical legacy.

JOHN LEE HOOKER, vocals & acoustic guitar
Recorded at United Sound Systems, Detroit, Michigan, April 20, 1959.

(*) BONUS TRACKS::

SIDE ONE, tracks 7 & 8
Solo recordings by John Lee Hooker (vocals & guitar).
Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, January 22, 1959 (track 7), and March 1960 (track 8).

SIDE TWO, track 7: Same as above. Recorded in Detroit, Michigan, late 1952.
SIDE TWO, track 8: John Lee Hooker (vocals & guitar) plus Bill Lee (string bass).
Recorded live at the Newport Folk Festival, Newport, Rhode Island, June 25, 1960.

SIDE 1

01. BURNING HELL
02. GRAVEYARD BLUES
03. BABY PLEASE DON’T GO
04. JACKSON, TENNESSEE
05. YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE AND I’LL LIVE MINE
06. SMOKESTACK LIGHTNIN’
07. CRAWLIN’ KING SNAKE (*)
08. I CAN’T BELIEVE (*)

SIDE 2

01. HOW CAN YOU DO IT?
02. I DON’T WANT NO WOMAN IF HER HAIR AIN’T NO LONGER THAN MINE
03. I ROLLED AND TURNED AND CRIED THE WHOLE NIGHT LONG
04. BLUES FOR MY BABY
05. KEY TO THE HIGHWAY
06. NATCHEZ FIRE
07. WORRIED LIFE BLUES (*)
08. TUPELO (Live) (*)