Lightnin' Hopkins

Part of the ultimate audiophile Prestige stereo reissues from Analogue Productions — 25 of the most collectible, rarest, most audiophile-sounding Rudy Van Gelder recordings ever made. All cut at 33 1/3 and also released on Hybrid SACD. All mastered from the original analog master tapes by mastering maestro Kevin Gray.

Lightnin' Hopkins - Lightnin' Strikes plus Lightnin' Hopkins (2013) {Remastered and Expanded Soul Jam 600821 rec 1959-1962}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 332 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 180 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 282 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remastering
© 1959-62, 2013 Soul Jam Records | 600821
Blues / Acoustic Texas Blues / Regional Blues / Texas Blues

Lightnin’ Hopkins is arguably the greatest Texas blues star of the 1960s era. A country bluesman of the highest caliber, his career began in the 1920s and stretched all the way into the 1980s. Along the way, Hopkins watched the genre change remarkably, but he never altered his mournful Lone Star sound, which translated onto both acoustic and electric guitar. His style, strong rhythms punctuated by his flowing but compact lead lines, created a stinging and heart-tearing evocative sound.

Originally released as The Roots of Lightnin' Hopkins, Smithsonian/Folkways' Lightnin' Hopkins was recorded in 1959. Upon its initial release, it was a pivotal part of the blues revival and helped re-spark interest in Hopkins….

Aubrey Mayhew, founder of the maverick country label Little Darlin' Records, sought out taciturn bluesman Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins in Houston in 1967 and persuaded him to make some casual field recordings for him at nearby Gold Star Studio and, as it turned out, at two small local bars. The results of these extremely loose and casual sessions were issued as a series of five short albums under the blanket title of The Lost Texas Tapes, and it is those five releases that are collected here into one double-disc set. Intimacy is the operative word for these tracks, as Hopkins (playing solo electric guitar) sounds relaxed and at ease, and while these recordings are hardly the place to start with Lightnin', die-hard fans will find them indispensable for the insight they give into his creative process…

The famous bluesman's stellar recordings for Tradition epitomized Lightnin's spare "country blues" which was in contrast to the brash and bold Chicago blues so commercially appealing at the time. Lightnin' started his career singing on Houston's street corners for change and drink and his best performances are those intimate concerts. Lightnin's first two albums for Tradition (AUTOBIGRAPHY IN BLUES and COUNTRY BLUES) were just that-down and dirty, out and out blues, honest and true-perfect documents of Lightnin's style, songs and performance.