| features in: Album Chart of 1973 ● Album Chart of the Decade: 1970s |
If there’s such a thing as stoner-blues then I think this might be it. The action is largely slow-chugging, but rich and vibrant all the same. The album was recorded at Wally Heider Recording, San Francisco over the course of two days, September 28th-29th, 1971. Playing on this one were: John Lee Hooker (vocals, guitar); Van Morrison (vocals, guitar); Don ‘Sugarcane’ Harris (violin); Steve Miller (electric piano); Mark Naftalin (piano); Robert Hooker (organ); Elvin Bishop (slide guitar); Gino Skaggs (fender bass) and Chuck Crimelli (drums). The semi-autobiographical title-track opens the set and sets the mellow tone. Long jams are the order of the day, with only 3 tracks on each side of the LP. “Going Down”, the album’s sole cover version, closes side 1 and emerges as my favourite track in the set. Van Morrison appears casually, and plays his part in an intriguing 10 minutes, impressive for its spontaneity and heady mix of instrumentation. Written by Don Nix, it was originally done by Moloch in 1969. For added spice, the musicians flirt with motifs from Canned Heat’s “On The Road Again”. They’re all just lost in music here – John Lee and Van would meet sporadically on several occasions in the decades which followed, both live and in the studio. On this evidence, it seems their reasons for doing so were pure and true. It’s another long piece, the 9 minute “Younger Stud”, which steals my greatest affection on side 2. This time the mischievous blues orchestra have got the Doors “Roadhouse Blues” at the back of their minds as they rock out. There’s not a bad track here, with some cool highs along the way. With John Lee it was ever thus.
The Jukebox Rebel
17–Jun–2012
| Tracklist |
| A1 | [06:11]  John Lee Hooker - Born In Mississippi, Raised Up In Tennessee (John Lee Hooker) Blues / Rhythm n Blues |
| A2 | [05:11]  John Lee Hooker - How Many More Years? (John Lee Hooker) Blues / Rhythm n Blues |
| A3 | [10:02]  John Lee Hooker - Going Down (Don Nix) Blues / Rhythm n Blues |
| B1 | [09:10]  John Lee Hooker - Younger Stud (John Lee Hooker) Blues Rock / Soul Rock |
| B2 | [06:22]  John Lee Hooker - King Of The World (John Lee Hooker) Blues / Rhythm n Blues |
| B3 | [06:09]  John Lee Hooker - Tell Me You Love Me (John Lee Hooker) Blues / Rhythm n Blues |
