John Lee Hooker Detroit 1948-1949 CD

DETROIT 1948-1949 features recordings that have previously only been available as singles on the Savoy label.

Acoustic or electric, alone or with a few friends, John Lee Hooker is always interesting. He has the gift to take the typical three-chord blues song and boil it down to its essence, relying on two, and sometimes no more than one, chord. Detroit 1948-1949 captures him early in his career, delivering 16 songs on solo guitar (both acoustic and electric) and four with a raucous band. Savoy purchased the recordings -- perhaps illegally since Hooker was under contract elsewhere -- and never got around to issuing more than a few of them. It is funny to hear Hooker refer to himself in several places as "Slim," part of his effort to throw the record labels off the trail of his multiple commitments. These recordings reveal a bluesman that had already found his voice on numbers like "Landing Blues" and "Shady Grove Blues." This second number features the less than cheerful lyric, "Well they tell you the graveyard, is a low down dirty place/they take you way down to the graveyard, lord they throw dirt in your face." These lyrics are delivered in his characteristically uneven lines and punctuated by his idiosyncratic guitar playing. Also of special note are the four tracks featuring Hooker playing acoustic guitar, with energetic cuts like "Boogie Awhile" showing that his style remained intact plugged or unplugged. All of these songs are credited to Hooker and include no less than five songs with the word "boogie" in the title. While his voice lacks its noted resonance on these early recordings, it is nonetheless distinct. The detailed liner notes attempt to unravel just when these songs were recorded and under what circumstances. This makes for entertaining reading, but the important thing is the recording itself. It'll be a blessing to Hooker fans that these recordings are now available for everybody to enjoy. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.

Includes liner notes by Colin Escott and Dave Sax.

This is part of Savoy's Blues Legends series.

Personnel includes: John Lee Hooker (vocals, guitar); James Watkin (piano); Curtis Foster (drums).

Producer: Elmer Barbee.

Compilation producers: Dave Sax, Colin Escott.JazzTimes (12/00, p.98) - "...Highlights Hooker in an unaccompanied setting doing what he does best: Free-form nonrhyming poetry flowing over hypnotic boogies and one-chord drones....typically riveting."
Living Blues (11-12/00, p.83) - "...Musically, everything on this CD is superb, from the apocalyptic gloom of 'Grievin' Blues' and 'Mercy Blues' to the several frenzied boogies..."