John Lee Hooker And Elmore James: Deep Blues

Perfectly complementary in the earthy simplicity of the music, archive titles by John Lee Hooker and Elmore James offer an antidote to the antiseptic ephemera that is contemporary pop. The Standard School Broadcast of the former's presents an unusual concert recording originally presented on an educational radio series, while erudite essayist Bill Dahl curated the latter's Hits & Rarities, Historically valuable and meticulously annotated to that end, the essential wonder of both titles, however, is that each in its own way can supply as many revelations for purists as dilettantes. And not just in rediscovering how contemporary acts of the era appropriated stylistic ideas (Canned Heat and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band to name just two): the presence and poise of James' and Hooker's respective personalities compares favorably to the sonics of the recordings too.

John Lee Hooker
The Standard School Broadcast
BMG
2025

It is no small compliment to state that esteemed British journalist Charles Shaar Murray's liner notes here are fully complementary to John Lee Hooker's slightly less than an hour of playing and singing with his sympathetic trio of accompanists in 1973. As is usually the case with such radio programs, the clarity of sound (thanks to original producer Bernard Besman) allows bassist Gino Skaggs, drummer Ken Swank and offspring/ pianist Robert Hooker to come through the mix with as much presence as depth. The breadth of the sonics in fact matches the emotional expanse in Hooker's singing on the eight cuts (including two bonus tracks on CD and digital versions); as the aforementioned author details, John Lee Hooker continued to hone his live presentation even as he eschewed business and creative partnerships with the record companies of the day. To that end, then, it is not just the boogies like "Rock With Me" and "Should Have Been Gone" that transcend the artist's rightfully bitter attitude: the purposeful gait of "Hard Times," decorated as it is with fills from electric guitar and the ivories, is a primer in the cathartic power of the blues. At the same time, even as the droning effect of much of this content may sound tedious to some, its generally hypnotic quality is an exemplary depiction of just how subtle music can be when parlayed by a musician who has mastered its nuances.

Elmore James
Hits & Rarities
Sunset Blvd. Records
2025

Not the first time this collection has been issued, (even by this label), this limited edition 2-CD set renders moot the slight duplication of material with King of the Slide Guitar (Capricorn Records, 1992). Reissue producer/ coordinator Bill Dahl's erudite writing in the gatefold of the double-CD set corresponds to the arc of this blues icon's career, rendered fully vivid over the course of thirty-six tracks. The demarcation of the cuts into the separate categories in the album title proves a bit arbitrary though: while there is no arguing the fame of songs like "The Sky is Crying" and "Dust My Broom," it is debatable that "One Way Out" and "It Hurts Me Too" may be equally influential. And, as with the more than acceptable audio quality courtesy mastering engineer Jesse Fishman (via Fire label owner Bobby Robinson on the original sessions), there is certainly no vacillation in the passion and composure in Elmore James' performances here; the ebb and flow of his career—documented with discernible momentum here, especially on disc two—left him undaunted when he came to record for Harlem-based Fire Records. While there are more than a few conflicts in track listings and a paucity of musician credits applied to this one- hundred minutes—who are 'the Broomdusters' the aforementioned writer mentions?—such scholarly shortcomings dissolve when absorbed in the supreme braggadocio of "Done Somebody Wrong" (and not necessarily by association with the Allman Brothers Band).

Tracks and Personnel

The Standard School Broadcast

Tracks: Bad Boy; Hard Times; Rock With Me; Should Have Been Gone; I Hate The Day I Was Born; When My First Wife Left Me/Hobo Blues; Sally Mae; Coast Recorders Jam.

Personnel: John Lee Hooker: vocal, electric guitar; Robert Hooker: piano; Gino Skaggs: bass; Ken Swank: drums.

Hits & Rarities

Tracks: The Sky Is Crying; Bobby's Rock; Held My Baby Last Night; Dust My Broom; Baby Please Set a Date; Rollin' and Tumblin'; I'm Worried; Done Somebody Wrong; Fine Little Mama; I Can't Stop Lovin' You; Early One Morning; I Need You; Strange Angel; She Done Moved; Something Inside Me; Stranger Blues; Anna Lee; Bleeding Heart. CD 2: Standing At The Crossroads; One Way Out; Got To Move; So Unkind; My Kind of Woman; Look on Yonder Wall; Shake Your Moneymaker; Mean Mistreatin' Mama; Sunnyland; Go Back Home Again; You Know You're Wrong; It Hurts Me Too; Talk To Me Baby; Pickin' The Hook Blues; Twelve Year Old Boy; Can't Stop Loving My Baby; I Believe; Make My Dreams Come True.

Personnel: Elmore James: vocals, guitar; Jimmy Spruill: guitar; King Mose:guitar: Johnny "Big Moose" Walker: piano; Johnny Jones: piano; Riff Ruffin: piano: Paul Williams: baritone saxophone; J. T. Brown: saxophone; Johnny Acey: trumpet: Homesick James: bass guitar; Sam Myers : drums, harmonica; Johnny Williams: drums; Danny Moore: vocals.