• LIMITED EDITION CLASSIC LPs
• HIGH-DEFINITION PREMIUM VINYL
• 180 gr. VINYL–AUDIOPHILE PRESSING
• INCLUDES 2 BONUS TRACKS
Originally issued by Chess Records in 1961, John Lee Hooker Plays and Sings the Blues is primarily Hooker’s solo performance, and the master charges ahead with nothing but his raw, electric guitar, soul-drenched, worldweary vocal delivery, and his foot to keep rhythm. One of Hooker’s finest tracks, “The Journey,” kicks off the set. This album also features a naked cover of Muddy Waters’ “Please Don’t Go,” an excellent example of Hooker’s tremendously influential “boogie” style.
PERSONNEL:
- Solo recordings by John Lee Hooker- vocals, lead guitar, and foot stomping.
- Plus Eddie Kirkland (bass on “Just Me and My Telephone”).
- SIDE A [1-3], [5 & 6] / SIDE B [1-3]:
- Recorded in Detroit, Michigan, April 24, 1952.
- SIDE A [4] / SIDE B [5]:
- Recorded in Detroit, Michigan, 1950
- SIDE B [4] & [6]: Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, 1951.
TRACKS:
- SIDE A
- 01 THE JOURNEY
- 02 I DON’T WANT YOUR MONEY
- 03 HEY, BABY
- 04 MAD MAN BLUES
- 05 BLUEBIRD
- 06 WORRIED LIFE BLUES
- 07 BABY, YOU AIN’T NO GOOD (*)
- SIDE B
- 01 APOLOGIZE
- 02 LONELY BOY BOOGIE
- 03 PLEASE DON’T GO
- 04 DREAMIN’ BLUES
- 05 HEY BOOGIE
- 06 JUST ME AND MY TELEPHONE
- 07 THE ROAD IS SO ROUGH (*)
- (*) BONUS TRACKS:
- “Baby, You Ain’t No Good”: Solo recording by John Lee Hooker (vocals, lead guitar, and foot stomping). Probably recorded in Detroit, Michigan, 1954.
- “The Road is So Rough”: Solo recording by John Lee Hooker (vocals, lead guitar, and foot stomping). Recorded in Detroit, Michigan, 1956.