John Lee Hooker – Burnin’
While the CD boasts a 68:00-minute run time a listener must consider that 10 cuts appear both in stereophonic & mono versions of the same song. For aficionados this is excellent. For blues lovers with no stake in being a purist, they may feel like they paid for something twice. No matter. Personally, I favor the blues in its traditional mono incarnation. More powerful, thick & warm. Leave the stereo to those British blues interpreters.
Recorded in Chicago in 1962 the music on Burnin’ (Drops Feb 24–Craft Recordings/Concord/VeeJay Records) is just that – burnin’. It’s solid throughout with full-band accompaniment & John Lee Hooker’s dynamic deep blues-inflected vocals. Hooker had in the past performed in a stripped-down manner with small combos or when solo. He played both in a fiery electric guitar style but also adopted a more acoustic-folk-blues manner that worked well for him.
The collection includes the now classic stop-time vocal blues-rocker “Boom Boom.” It’s based on an angry woman bartender shouting “boom, boom, you’re late again!” at Hooker. He picked up on that. It’s simple but so adaptable & compelling at the same time. Hooker had the right booming voice for such a lyric & a classic was born.
Hooker was creative with his music – while other blues singers often cooked up the same cheating & drinking scenarios John complained about his girl’s expensive processed hairdo. The band follows him in “Process,” with a hip-grinding slow thrust blues swagger tinted with deep bellowing saxes & tinkling piano. So cool. This is blues storytelling at its finest. His sequel could be the more chauvinistic (by today’s standards) “Drug Store Woman.”
John Lee Hooker (Aug 1917-June 2001) always created an atmosphere around his music unlike other bluesmen as if that was as important as the music & lyrics themselves. I don’t know any other blues singer with the intonation & phrasing of Hooker who came across this way. “A New Leaf,” & “Blues Before Sunrise” both captivate — not only bluesy but with a jazzy grin.
Organized by pianist Joe Hunter with James Jamerson (bass), Benny Benjamin (drums), Hank Cosby (tenor sax), Andrew “Mike” Terry (baritone sax) & Larry Veeder (guitar).
Highlights – I refer the mono “Boom Boom,” “Process,” “A New Leaf,” “Blues Before Sunrise,” some great sax runs on “Let’s Make It,” “I Got A Letter,” “Thelma,” (with its “Peter Gunn” type noir-melody), “Drug Store Woman,” “Keep Your Hands To Yourself,” (with its Champ’s 1958 “Tequila” riff that takes a novelty tune to blues classic) & a commercial stab with “What Do You Say,” with its Howlin’ Wolf influenced narration.
Reissue produced with delicacy by Mason Williams. Original liner notes & insert with a Bill Dahl essay included. B&W image courtesy of Robert Knight Archive/Redferns.