The ragged, raw, rough roots sound of blues is usually not thought of as a music suited to audiophile listening. However, it has spawned numerous recordings that have been released when new audiophile formats and companies have emerged.
Two recent releases have been given the full high-end reissue treatment by one of the most important audiophile companies around, Acoustic Sounds Series. One of the releases, Lightnin’ Strikes from Lightnin’ Hopkins, is, if not the best, then one of the best-ever recorded blues albums. The other one, It Serve You Right To Suffer, from John Lee Hooker, now has to be considered a blues audiophile must-have release.
Lightnin’ Strikes from Lightnin’ Hopkins was released in 1966 at the height of the blues revival, when many pioneering, post-war blues musicians were being rediscovered by young, scholarly folk and blues music purists in America and the emerging British rock artists of the blues and R&B boom.
A previous Lightnin’ Hopkins album called Lightnin’ Strikes was released in 1962 on Vee-Jay Records from recordings made in Texas of tracks different from those here. This album, recorded in Los Angeles in 1965, was reissued as part of the Verve Folkways roots imprint after Vee-Jay went out of business. Its original reissue title was Nothin’ But the Blues.
The Vee-Jay album was primarily a solo album, with some additional musicians on two tracks. This Verve Folkways album features a band that includes the legendary Earl Palmer on drums, Jimmy Bond on bass, Don Crawford on harmonica, and Hopkins on electric guitar and vocals. This is the Hopkins album that was recorded and released after his legendary 1965 Newport Folk appearance. That was the same festival that saw Dylan go electric and Sam Lay, who played with Hopkins on drums on five tracks, also played with Dylan at that fateful festival.
For a full electric band, the album has a sparse, downhome intimate feel. Because of the excellent recording and even better remastering, one feels like they’re in the room with Hopkins and his cohorts. One can almost smell the stale odor of cigarettes, taste the bitter whiskey, and feel the unspoken, relaxed interplay of these blues masters.
Hopkins had recorded for a myriad of labels since the late ’40s, and released one more album on Verve Folkways in 1967, Something Blue, which was recorded in 1966. This is one of the most important albums of the blues revival period and the cornerstone of any blues library for a fan who also appreciates great sound. It is an indispensable album and a slam dunk for any audiophile, no matter what genre or genres of music they like.
Few blues musicians had a more fruitful and influential career than John Lee Hooker, and he remained active and relevant until his death in 2001 in his 80s. Listening to this electric blues masterpiece reveals just how much of an influence his key works had on people like Van Morrison and groups like the Rolling Stones. Bursting on the scene in the late ’40s with the seminal track “Boogie Chillen’,” Hooker was essential to the British blues boom of the 1960s and the birth of British rock.
Primarily recording early on for Chess and Vee-Jay in Chicago, he also recorded for Modern, Riverside, and eventually ATCO in 1963. This album came in 1966, a year after his 1965 …And Seven Nights, recorded in London where he was hailed as royalty. This Impulse recording was part of a short-lived experiment by the label to cash in on the roots and blues movement, albeit with the backing of primarily jazz players, the only time Hooker would work with musicians from that genre.
Don’t’ be mistaken. This is a blues recording. The musicians comfortably settle into a blues groove and the results are a silky and sultry laid-back feel that does not sacrifice any grit. With production by jazz producer Bob Theil, Hooker rarely ever sounded this good on record.
Drummer Panama Francis brings his swing-era chops to the proceedings and provides a subtle hip-shake bomp and matches musical wits perfectly with the legendary jazz bassist Milt Hinton. Barry Galbraith adds guitar to Hooker’s guitar and vocal. One track, a cover of the Berry Gordy co-write workhorse “Money,” is aided by Dicky Wells on trombone.
The whole album just grooves and smolders and it’s clear that everybody is having a good time. Few blues records are recorded with this much polish without sounding tamed, making this a perfect choice for the Acoustic Sound Series treatment.
Both of these reissues are mastered from the original analog tapes and pressed at QRP on 180-gram vinyl. Each release is a sturdy gatefold package with photos and liner notes and comes in an outer sealed plastic bag, that can be easily opened by tearing away the perforated top.
These albums are as good as it gets for audiophile reissues of roots music and just two more notches in the Acoustic Sound Series run of must-have reissues.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
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