Lightnin' Hopkins

A Lightnin' solo concert from his college kiddie-folk period (1964), this languished unissued in Fantasy Records' vaults until its release in the early '90s. That's a shame, because this concert captures Lightnin' at his beguiling best, spinning tales and blues magic with every track. His introductions are half the show, making even shopworn staples like "Baby Please Don't Go" and "My Babe" sound fresh. His guitar work is astounding, pulling off inventive leads while maintaining a constant boogie rhythm that makes other instruments superfluous. If you want a disc that clearly showcases Lightnin' Hopkins at his enchanting best, start your collection with this one; it's a charmer.

This recording brings to life "lost" sessions recorded spontaneously over a few hours in a L.A. studio in 1972. It's loose, shambolic, and thoroughly authentic. You can all but smell the stale smoke hovering in the air. Hopkins' guitar moans lazily as he banters with buddy John Lee Hooker, then spits out some surprisingly biting slide work. A historic document of the genre.

The late, great Lightnin' Hopkins was one of the most natural of bluesmen, a poet who would often make up lyrics as he recorded. He was at his best when unaccompanied, as on this Prestige date recorded in 1961. Though he usually played electric guitar, the Texas blues titan performed on this release with an acoustic, and the result is most rewarding. Tunes include "Goin' to Dallas to See My Pony Run" and "Buddy Brown's Blues."

There's something affecting about Lightnin' Hopkins' off-the-cuff approach. Whether he's in the studio or before an audience, he gives the impression of a guitar player and singer who's just doing his own thing. When he breaks out a signature piece like "Mojo Hand," he isn't really trying to impress the listener as much as do what he does best: just play a little blues. Recorded in 1965, Live at Newport captures Hopkins in a loose mood communing with an appreciative audience. The mostly solo electric set apparently didn't cause any controversy (as Dylan's electric set with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band would in 1965). The nice thing about the album is that all the material seems to have come from the same set, giving the listener a taste of what seeing Hopkins at Newport might have been like…

These 22 sides offer a very telling portrait of Texas blues giant Lightnin' Hopkins between 1965 and 1969 when he was recording for Jewel. Almost all of these sides are electric, many of them up-tempo idiosyncratic takes on Texas jump blues or far Western versions of Delta music. West Side has done a fine if not exemplary job of cleaning up sound and getting dates correct, as well as the sidemen.

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.

The first half of Sometimes I Believe She Loves Me captures a nine-song 1964 improvisational jam between Barbara Dane and Lightnin' Hopkins which remains a charming, if not revelatory, meeting of the minds. The remainder of the record consists of Dane's solo performances of such standards as "Careless Love" and "Betty & Dupree."