Lightnin' Hopkins

Lightnin' Hopkins recorded so often and for so many labels that it's easy to get lost in it all, and there is virtually no such thing as the perfect Hopkins album. He did his thing each time out, whether acoustic or electric, solo or with a band, half improvising his lyrics over a small assortment of different blues shuffles, shifting chords and gears seemingly at whim (which made him frequently difficult to accompany, even for the sharpest session player). His tough, Texas take on the country blues, though, and his penchant for off the wall themes and lyrics, made Hopkins an utterly unique bluesman, and if he seems to be pulling the same rabbit out of the same hat time and time again, he somehow managed to make it seem like a new trick each time. This extremely loose set was recorded in Houston in 1974 and was originally released as part of Samuel Charters' Legacy of the Blues series that same year. It features Hopkins playing an acoustic guitar with an electric pick up backed by a valiant three-piece band that consisted of Ira James on harmonica, Larry "Bones" McCall on drums, and Rusty Myers and Ozell Roberts splitting time on bass. These guys try to make sense of Hopkins' personalized sense of rhythm as best they can, and together with Hopkins' skewed, half improvised lyrics, they manage to make a few things work here, including the conversational "The Hearse Backed Up to the Door," the metaphor-filled "I Been Burning Bad Gasoline," and the brisk instrumental, "Doin' My Boogie," one of two bonus tracks included in this reissue. Most of these songs, though, feel like the kinds of things a band plays before actually recording a take, when little things like tempo and rhythm are still being worked on, and the end result seems even more ragged and random than the typical ragged and random Lightnin' Hopkins session.- Steve Leggett (AMG)

The rockingest sessions ever recorded by bluesmaster Lightnin' Hopkins. These sessions cut in Houston in 1954 and released on the New York-based Herald label feature a hard driving backbeat and an almost rockabilly feel on the faster tempo numbers. These were amongs the last sessions that Hopkins made fot the R&B jukebox market before embracing the college-based folk circuit in the late fifties. 12 of these tracks were released on an LP in 1960 aimed at the folk audience. That album is now one of the rerest blues collectables. It's all here along with every other title he recorded for Herald; roll back the carpet and put on your dancing shoes, this is no folk-blues session.

This five-disc collection from London's JSP Records brings together 126 sides that Lightnin' Hopkins tracked for the Aladdin, Modern/RPM, and Gold Star labels at the very start of his recording career. Included are the Texas bluesman's first hit, "Katie May" from 1946, "T-Model Blues" from 1949, and arguably the most startling Hopkins composition, the powerful "Tim Moore's Farm," also from 1949. Most of the tracks are Hopkins solo, playing either acoustic or electric guitar, but he takes a turn at the organ for "Organ Boogie," a track that shows the same adventuresome liberties with tempo and time that mark all of his work, whatever the instrument. Since his approach and style to the blues never altered throughout his life, a case could be made that these first recordings are the ones to get, but at an astounding 126 tracks, this set is mind-numbing overkill for all but the most devoted fan.

Lightnin' Hopkins recorded so often and for so many labels that it's easy to get lost in it all, and there is virtually no such thing as the perfect Hopkins album. He did his thing each time out, whether acoustic or electric, solo or with a band, half improvising his lyrics over a small assortment of different blues shuffles, shifting chords and gears seemingly at whim (which made him frequently difficult to accompany, even for the sharpest session player). His tough, Texas take on the country blues, though, and his penchant for off the wall themes and lyrics, made Hopkins an utterly unique bluesman, and if he seems to be pulling the same rabbit out of the same hat time and time again, he somehow managed to make it seem like a new trick each time. This extremely loose set was recorded in Houston in 1974 and was originally released as part of Samuel Charters' Legacy of the Blues series that same year…

57 Tracks/20 Never before on CD/12 Previously unreleased performances. Remastered from Analog tapes. Texas bluesman Lightnin’ Hopkins career was both long and fruitful. He performed live for six decades and recorded for over 30 years amassing a catalogue that was larger than almost any of his contemporaries. Not only was he prolific but he was also a great raconteur and a very good live performer with an ‘act’ honed to perfection at pre-war dances and parties. His guitar playing was unconventional, some have even called it ragged, but it is not as a guitarist that he will be remembered. Somehow the way he set his songs seemed totally apposite and it gave everything he did an authenticity that few others were ever able to match.

Lightnin’ Hopkins is widely considered one of the great popular architects of the blues style that came be known as “country blues” and which proved to be huge influence on the future development of Rock ‘n’ Roll. “Mojo Hand” was one of Hopkins‘ signature tunes. Mixing his own style with Louisiana Creole and voodoo culture, the song ripples with an occult energy.This album, recorded for Fire Records, is especially interesting because it casts Hopkins in a more R&B-flavored environment. This obvious effort to get a hit takes for some excellent blues; moody and powerful performances play throughout. The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings wrote that "Lightnin' is focussed and businesslike and delivers a strong and varied sequence of songs; the bassist and drummer unobtrusive but very much there”.