The Ultimate Collection: 1948-1990: John Lee Hooker: Amazon.ca: Music

Disc: 1
1. Teachin' The Blues
2. Boogie Chillen'
3. Sally Mae
4. Let Your Daddy Ride
5. Crawlin' King Snake
6. Weeping Willow Boogie
7. Hobo Blues
8. Huckle Up Baby
9. I'm In The Mood
10. John L's House Rent Boogie
See all 16 tracks on this disc
Disc: 2
1. Boom Boom
2. Big Legs, Tight Skirt
3. You Know I Know
4. One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer
5. Let's Go Out Tonight
6. I Cover The Waterfront
7. She's Mine (Keep Your Hands To Yourself)
8. Back Biters And Syndicators
9. Think Twice Before You Go
10. Shake It Baby
See all 15 tracks on this disc

Product Description

From Amazon.com

This 2 CD set represents the best introduction to Hooker's trademark sound: one- and two-chord vamps delivered with a hypnotic, perpetual boogie rhythm and accented by reverberating staccato runs and intense foot-stomping. With his deep, rich voice, Hooker electrified the blues of the Delta, bringing the stark, brooding sound to the city and influencing scores of rock musicians. Most of his highlights are here: from early Modern classics "Boogie Chillen," "Crawlin' King Snake," and "House Rent Boogie"; to Vee-Jay singles "Boom Boom" and "Dimples"; to 1966 Chess work with Chicagoans Lafayette Leake and Willie Dixon; to 1971 collaborations with rockers Canned Heat; to performances with modern blues stars Roy Rogers and Bonnie Raitt. --Marc Greilsamer

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

10 Reviews

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.6 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Good tunes, but compilers show lack of respect for music, Jan 2 2001

By

Nolan Warden (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Ultimate Collection: 1948-1990 (Audio CD)

This is the first John Lee Hooker album I've ever bought. I love the music, but as a product, it's not worth the price. Originally, I couldn't decide between this and a couple other compilations. I went for this one because it had good reviews and seemed the most complete. I was dismayed to find out that, although there are lots of tunes, many of them fade out right in the middle of the song for no good reason. There was plenty of room left on the disc to have the songs in their entirety (less than 50 minutes of music out of a possible 75?). Personally, I think that fading out tunes like that shows a complete lack of respect for soloing and arrangement. In addition to this, the liner notes are are less than thorough and not too interesting. I would recommend finding another recording of this fine artist.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

4.0 out of 5 stars As Close as It Gets!, Sep 15 2003

By

chris meesey Food Czar (The Colony, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ultimate Collection: 1948-1990 (Audio CD)

Let's get one thing straight: as of today 09/15/03, there is no "ultimate" John Lee Hooker collection. But with 31 of his best tracks, this Rhino mini-box comes the closest to Hooker nirvana. (There is a 10-CD set, Epitath, but since it would take a week to listen to it once, I'll pass.) The problem with compiling such a collection is implied in Boogie Man, Charles Shaar Murray's fine biography. Hooker recorded for a number of different labels, especially in his early days, and also under a variety of different names (John Lee Booker, John Lee Cooker, Little Pork Chop, etc.), so it takes a lot of legwork to figure out just which recordings were made by Hooker at all, much less obtain the rights to rerelease them. (Murray spends almost half the book on such detective work.) Therefore, such classic gems as "The Flood" and "Whiskey and Wimmen" are not included in this set. Still, it's a very good attempt. Rhino has chosen to start the collection with the track "Teachin' the Blues," which is an aural primer on how he created his unique sound. Thus educated, the listener can then move on to such primal tunes as "Boogie Chillun" (A live staple for virtually every major blues band from Canned Heat to Savoy Brown, this was the number Hooker chose to perform in a guest spot on the Rolling Stones Steel Wheels tour in the eighties.), "Crawling King Snake" (covered wonderfully by the Doors), "Boom, Boom" (the Animals), and his reinterpretation of an Amos Milburn song, here entitled "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer (which, when combined with John L's House Rent Boogie, was very well covered by George Thorogood). He recorded several such reinterpretations, most notably "Frisco Blues" (In this case, he reportedly didn't try to get the correct lyrics to Tony Bennett's famed "I Left My Heart in San Francisco;" he just sat down and recorded his own off-the-cuff rendition.). In conclusion, there is plenty of John Lee Hooker's best stuff here to warrant a recommendation; it's just not as "ultimate" as his most devoted fans would want it to be.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the best available overviews of the Hook's career, May 4 2003

By

Docendo Discimus (Vita scholae) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Ultimate Collection: 1948-1990 (Audio CD)

So why "only" four stars?
Well, the music is great, but Rhino could certainly have found room for more than 31 songs on two compact discs. And why include two versions of "In The Mood" when songs like "I'll Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive", "Onions" and "Old Time Shimmy" are missing?

The sad thing is that there are really no John Lee Hooker-compilations on the market that truly get it right. Either they're too short, or they're limited by the fact that the compilers were only able to chose from recordings made for one particular record company.
This one is the best of the lot in my view, though. It almost gets it right (although the missing "Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive" is a pretty big minus), and the sound quality is very, very good.

(If you're not against spending a little extra, you might want to look for the fine Vee-Jay compilation "The Early Years", which also spans 31 tracks, and MCA's "The Best Of John Lee Hooker 1965-1974" instead of this album. Those two will satisfy almost everyone. And if it doesn't, there's always the ten-CD "Epitaph" box set.)

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 10 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Want to see more reviews on this item?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 16 reviews 4.4 out of 5 stars

Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Rhino Captures the Hooker.
This is such a nice set.

Almost a primer for the new fan, and a refresher course for seasoned vetrans...John Lee is well portrayed on these very nicely remastered cuts. Read more

Published on Jan 16 2001 by Tom

5.0 out of 5 stars Now I got this rent, let's have a ball!
People who know nothing about any kind of blues and blues afficionados alike will have a ball with this collection of some of the finest moments of Hooker's long career. Read more

Published on Aug 26 2000 by anscules

5.0 out of 5 stars Hooked On Classic Rockin' Blues In This Essential 2CD Set
John Lee Hooker, who turns 80 August 22nd, is America's greatest living bluesman. His warm, grumbly vocals toasted over trademark blues rhythm guitar formed the bottom of today's... Read more

Published on Aug 8 2000 by Anthony G Pizza

5.0 out of 5 stars Just a Big Beat - Throw the Fancy Chords Away
Muddy Waters and Howlin's Wolf may be more important historically, but I enjoy John Lee Hooker more. Read more

Published on July 23 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Just a Big Beat - Throw the Fancy Chords Away
Muddy Waters and Howlin's Wolf may be more important historically, but I enjoy John Lee Hooker more. Read more

Published on July 23 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Have YOU ever met the Boogie Man?
Listen to this long enough, and it'll just whet your appetite. Now in his mid-'80's, John Lee Hooker has recorded some of the most original electric blues in the history of the... Read more

Published on Dec 28 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars A collection I've had for years
I have never tired of it. The quality and depth are too good.