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Just about all of the blues standards that he is known for are on this collection - Boogie Children, Crawling Kingsnake Blues, House Rent Boogie, One Bourbor, One Scotch, Onr Beer, and many others.If you want to get the best representation of his early era, and pickup his later comeback material elsewhere, this is a great way to get your fill of Johnny Lee. John Lee Hooker: The Ultimate Collection 1948-1990 is one of the best, if not the best anthologies of the blues master early work and some of his later work.Hooker, who because of legal entanglements, recorded under a lot of different names (John Lee Cooker, etc.)., is one of the alltime greats, able to evoke haunting tones and moods on some songs, while kicking off a rocking boogie vibe in others.
pretty good but a little disappointing for the price
My favorite John Lee Hooker treasure is the The Healer Original Master Recording Gold CD B000000IS9. You will be disappointed if you go out and buy everything out there. You can run into some pretty iffy recordings and collections, and lots of rehashed material pieced together under different titles, especially when rummaging through all the Best ofs and compilations that have been produced over the years, so it is best to stick with John Lee's early and later classics, like Live at the Cafe Au Go-Go and Live at Soledad Prison, and for more recent excellence The Healer and The Best of Friends. A truly original Emperor of the Blues has left behind a legacy that few of us can fathom. Beautiful. This collection of 31 classic hits, though some 12 years premature to be complete, is an excellent start, and will literally save you hundreds of dollars if you are an avid collector. Where does one begin. I might add that you will need that money to own every recording he's made since 1990; they are superb.
Thank you Rhino for doin' it one more time. Most Hooker songs aren't even structured like songs, they seem to begin and end in vapor. Perfect if you're new to John Lee and an excellent overview for those attempting to efficiently replace several worn-white Hooker LPs, The Ultimate Collection 1948-1990 provides everything except the board he's beating his foot on. And it was incredibly simple.
You simply can't go wrong in this anthology but I guarantee you that if you begin with Peavine you will find it almost impossible to turn back. But what happens in-between is nothing short of magical.The blues has never, never produced a richer or more authoritative voice, as a singer, John Lee Hooker is untouchable. What is really nice about this compilation is the authenticity, you get The Hook in the raw. In a world of manufactured music that is slick, shiny smooth, and totally without soul it is thoroughly refreshing to encounter this. (Some later work had him collaborating in very unfortunate over-productions). This fabulous 2-CD compilation, nicely packaged and including a good booklet, profiles The Hook in all his glory.
His guitar playing is beyond simple, it's rudimentary, but that boogie groove is his and his alone and he works it to death - you can feel it in bones you didn't know you had. Buy it. Those who would weep and wail that this compilation is incomplete are losing sight of the basic truth about Hooker, he only did one thing. And he did it over and over and over.
It doesn't have every important track by him, but it's the best that's available. This is a solid collection of songs by John Lee Hooker, spanning most of his long career.
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