★ ★ ★ ★ ★

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Fantastic set from the king of boogie. Disc 1 captures John Lee mostly at his acoustic best. This first disc is comprised of 'Burning Hell' and 'I'm John Lee Hooker.' "Baby Pease Don't Do" is a statement of Hooker's prowess. this first disc is an acoustic set of what John Lee Hooker is all about. Simply fantastic. My first exposure to John Lee Hooker was the great "Hooker "N Heat" album with Canned Heat. That disc really propelled me to other Hooker recordings. Thank you John Lee! Here we have four discs which places two classic Hooker albums per disc. This disc is a real collection of Hooker songs ,largely alone with a guitar and nothing else. Simply brilliant. Hooker's vocals are outstanding on this set really setting a standard to be followed by many other blues/boogie vocalists. "Rolled and Turned and Cried The Whole Night Long" is worth the price of admission. "Blues For My Baby" is a stellar rendition of the blues that John Lee is trying to convey here. "Key to the Highway" is another important version of a great blues standard. Hooker's almost deferential vocal delivery here is fantastic and is brilliant in it's delivery. The second part of disc one is an electric part of John Lee's legacy. Truly inspirational. "Hobo Blues" being an absolute version of Hookers true example of blues/boogie music. The second half of this disc is a classic sound of electric/blues boogie music which is a showplace of Hooker's great vocal stylings, "Boogie Chillun" being a perfect example. The sound of this album is truly fantastic, for the time period that this recording was made one can't ask for more.

CD 2 is more of an electric Hooker that is bad to the bone. The albums comprising this second disc are 'Travlin'' and 'That's My Story.' This disc features one of Hookers best songs, "Whiskey and Wimmen," which he would replicate on the 'Hooker 'n Heat" album with Canned Heat. This song gives John Lee a beautiful vehicle with which to give boogie the attention that it deserves. This recording certainly set the stage for the Canned Heat boogie explosion. Hooker is clearly one of the most important artists in this genre. The songs on disc two are to me boogie at it's finest and hopefully many new generations can learn to appreciate boogie music for what it is and this is the springboard from which Canned Heat fully exploited this form of music. "I Need Some Money" is a classic Hooker tune that lays it all on the line when it comes to explaining what a bluesman needs from his "wimmen.' The second half of disc 2 ('That's My Story') is comprised of more acoustic Hooker. "Come See About Me" is an acoustic beauty as is "I'm Wonderin." "Gonna Use My Rod" is a heart-felt admonition of a lovers warning to a lover and her paramour. Simply brilliant. These recordings are so very important in the overall history of American music, boogie in particular, and their importance can not be underestimated.

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- Brent

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

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Complete historical collection of JLH’s work!

- Toni