| features in: Album Chart of 1971 ● Album Chart of the Decade: 1970s |
The 53 year-old journeyman lands with ABC for his latest offering – a highly polished full-group effort, but a highly relaxed affair all the same. 2 tracks get a reworking – “House Rent Boogie” (No Friend Around, 1969) and “We Might As Well Call It Through” (John Lee Hooker, 1962). Produced by Bill Szymczyk and Ed Michel, the double album was recorded in November 1970 at Wally Heider Recording with top-notch session musicians such as Jesse Ed Davis, Carl Radle, Steve Miller, Gino Skaggs and Mark Naftalin. The picks are all to be found at the very beginning. “(I Got) A Good ‘Un” swings with a tough backbeat – just love that sound. The remake of “House Rent Boogie” is an absolute classic – feel the menace, what drama. “Kick Hit 4 Hit Kix U (Blues For Jimi And Janis)” continues the gloomy tone, as John pays tribute to two recently deceased friends and fires a warning shot to other friends un-named, as well as his audience at large: “Lookey here, I'm gonna tell you a story about two friends whom I known, and the whole world knowed 'em, the one and only Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin, who passed on from the needle… Stop shootin' those needles, and stop swallowin' in those pills, that needle's too heavy man, your heart can't take it none. Hey, hey, I know, so many young folks, they're hooked, they're doomed to die” The message is clear kids – one bourbon, one scotch, that'll do you.
The Jukebox Rebel
17–Jun–2012
| Tracklist |
| A1 | [05:12]  John Lee Hooker - (I Got) A Good ‘Un (John Lee Hooker) Blues / Rhythm n Blues |
| A2 | [06:23]  John Lee Hooker - House Rent Boogie [1970 version] (John Lee Hooker, Bernard Besman) Blues / Rhythm n Blues |
| A3 | [06:41]  John Lee Hooker - Kick Hit 4 Hit Kix U (Blues For Jimi And Janis) (John Lee Hooker) Blues / Rhythm n Blues |
| B1 | [06:08]  John Lee Hooker - Standin’ At The Crossroads (John Lee Hooker) Blues / Rhythm n Blues |
| B2 | [11:22]  John Lee Hooker - Pots On, Gas On High (John Lee Hooker) Blues Rock / Soul Rock |
| C1 | [08:04]  John Lee Hooker - We Might As Well Call It Through (I Didn’t Get Married To Your Two-Timing Mother) (John Lee Hooker) Blues / Rhythm n Blues |
| C2 | [03:31]  John Lee Hooker - Doin’ The Shout (John Lee Hooker) Blues / Rhythm n Blues |
| C3 | [06:27] John Lee Hooker - A Sheep Out On The Foam (John Lee Hooker) Blues / Rhythm n Blues |
| D1 | [04:17]  John Lee Hooker - I Don’t Need No Steam (John Lee Hooker) Blues / Rhythm n Blues |
| D2 | [05:38] John Lee Hooker - Sittin’ In My Dark Room (John Lee Hooker) Blues / Rhythm n Blues |
| D3 | [08:44]  John Lee Hooker - Endless Boogie, Pts. 27-28 (John Lee Hooker) Blues Rock / Soul Rock |
