Customer Reviews

Mojo Hand: Anthology

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

 

 

This is a problematic release. Great idea, marvelous packaging, provides a career overview of a fabulous artist in one place, the music is almost always excellent, and yet... This has gotten marvelous reviews everywhere I've looked, but no one seems to point out that track selection could have been much, much better. There's an over-reliance on his rockin' early to mid-'50s stuff to the shameful detriment of the recordings immediately after his 'rediscovery' in 1959, and the scarcity of the great Prestige/Bluesville recordings for which Lightnin' is most well known, is positively baffling. The second disc is padded with some tracks notable mostly for their unavailability when this set was issued (since remedied by reissues). I wanted to give the person who selected the tracks thirty whacks with my mojo hand. If you want only one Lightnin' disc (well, there's two here) it's a good purchase, I suppose, but TRUST ME, you'll want more than this. You might as well save yourself the trouble of future duplication of tracks (which will be a problem with Lightnin', anyway!) and just get the originals.

I think this compilation of Lightnin' Hopkin's work is of strikingly high quality. If you don't know old Lightnin' this will be a revelation. There are so many great tracks on this (41 with very little filler) that I don't even know where to begin. Lightnin' Boogie and Black Cat Bone of course, Lightnin' Don't Feel Well, Wimmin From Coast to Coast, Fan It, Black Ghost Blues, Mojo Hand Pt 1, and the aforementioned Mr. Charlie parts 1 and 2, these are just the ones that come to mind at first. The expressive quality of Lightnin's voice as a blues singer is second to none (not even Howlin' Wolf) and his guitar work is, as any player will tell you, pure genius in the genuine Delta style and tradition. He was the genuine article, one of the greatest guitar players that ever lived. Jimi Hendrix obviously LOVED him. There's a picture in this compilation of the younger Lightnin' smiling big at the viewer and holding a flask of bourbon to his lips. Lightnin' this bud's for you.

I think this compilation of Lightnin' Hopkin's work is of strikingly high quality. If you don't know old Lightnin' this will be a revelation. There are so many great tracks on this (41 with very little filler) that I don't even know where to begin. Lightnin' Boogie and Black Cat Bone of course, Lightnin' Don't Feel Well, Wimmin From Coast to Coast, Fan It, Black Ghost Blues, Mojo Hand Pt 1, and the aforementioned Mr. Charlie parts 1 and 2, these are just the ones that come to mind at first. The expressive quality of Lightnin's voice as a blues singer is second to none (not even Howlin' Wolf) and his guitar work is, as any player will tell you, pure genius in the genuine Delta style and tradition. He was the genuine article, one of the greatest guitar players that ever lived. Jimi Hendrix obviously LOVED him. There's a picture in this compilation of the younger Lightnin' smiling big at the viewer and holding a flask of bourbon to his lips. Lightnin' this bud's for you.

Nice Packaging, I guess the people at Rhino don't know much about Lightnin Hopkins cause the trk selection to this box set is not the best in the world and it's very pricey on top of that I guess thats what your really paying for (the packaging) I wish I could wack them across there head with my MOJO HAND like one reveiwer already mentioned . I wanna let yall know I'm a huge Lightnin Hopkins fan he is one of my very favorites. Most of these trks are taken from Lightnins later years. If your new to Lightnin Hopkins get : Wolf records B.O.B Lightnin Hopkins 1947-1969 King of the Texas blues singers (25 solid trks my favorite) then get the best of Lightnin Hopkins featuring Brownie McGhee, Sonny Terry & Big Joe Williams ,next you wanna get The Complete Aladdin Recordings then finally you wanna get Mojo Hand cause it looks so nice there are also a few good trks on it to .

A story-teller extraordinairre! This is quite possibly my favorite blues CD. Everyone who has heard this CD has asked "Who is that and where can I buy it?". If you like the blues and want to hear one of the greats, this is a must buy!

Nice Packaging, I guess the people at Rhino don't know much about Lightnin Hopkins cause the trk selection to this box set is not the best in the world and it's very pricey on top of that to, I guess thats what your really paying for (the packaging) I wish I could wack them across there head with my MOJO HAND (like one reveiwer already mentioned) . I wanna let yall know I'm a huge Lightnin Hopkins fan he is one of my very favorites. Most of these trks are taken from Lightnins later years. If your new to Lightnin Hopkins get : Wolf records B.O.B "Lightnin Hopkins 1947-1969" King of the Texas blues singers (25 solid trks my favorite) then get "The Best of Lightnin Hopkins" featuring Brownie McGhee, Sonny Terry & Big Joe Williams ,next you wanna get "The Complete Aladdin Recordings" then finally you wanna get Mojo Hand cause it looks so nice there are also a few good trks on it to .

I own perhaps 20 blues albums, so you couldn't call me a serious collector or fan. That said, I think this is a great album, especially for those who are interested in rock roots. Some of the electric numbers are truly rockin';)

Sam "Lightnin" Hopkins was a prolific and highly influential bluesman. Born in Centerville, Texas in 1912, Hopkins came from a family of musicians and apprenticed under Blind Lemon Jefferson and Texas Alexander. It is estimated that he wrote some 600 songs in his career, many of which he recorded and sold for $100 apiece, inadvertently cheating himself out of a fortune in royalties. He greatly influenced the generation of bluesmen who came after him, some indirectly through the legacy of his music, and others very directly, like his younger cousin Albert "Iceman" Collins, who received his first guitar lessons from Hopkins.

The 40 tracks of this compilation represent a tasty cross-section of Hopkins' career from 1947 to 1974, and illustrate clearly why he is regarded as a trailblazer in the evolution of the blues, from the country acoustic blues he learned from Blind Lemon Jefferson to the electric urban blues he helped forge and pass down to the next generation of bluesmen. Digitally remastered, the sound quality of Mojo Hand is quite good, and the liner notes thoroughly document the life of this blues legend from his humble birth to his death from cancer in 1982.

The music varies greatly and shows Hopkins' versatility as a musician/songwriter; low-down Texas blues, country/folk blues, jump, jazzy R&B -- even rock-n-roll. "Play With Your Poodle," a flat-out rocker, was recorded in 1947, long before white artists like Jerry Lee Lewis and a sissy-boy named Elvis came along and stole the black man's music.

It is the blues that Hopkins was best known for, and that which he best played. "Short Haired Woman" has Hopkins' older brother Joel helping out on guitar; Brownie McGhee, Big Joe Williams and Sonny Terry assist on "Wimmin From Coast to Coast." Other well-known Hopkins tunes appear -- "Mojo Hand," "Death Bell Blues," "Shaggy Dad" and "Black Cat Bone," just to name a few.

Story-teller, singer, songwriter, guitar-picker -- Hopkins was all these things and more, as Mojo Hand clearly shows. For someone just getting into the blues, this fine anthology would be vital to their education in the genre...for the confirmed bluesaholic, it's a must-buy, as no blues collection could be complete without it. A bargain at any price, Mojo Hand gets four stars.

As the Texas blues was just coming into its own, Lightnin Hopkins (from Houston, TX) helped to push the envelope with his genuine acoustic guitar sytles and unforgettable songwriting.

For this blues singer, any Lightnin Hopkins disc should not go unnoticed--the same for y'all!

THIS IS GREAT MAN AND HIS BLUES HE IS GOOD. HAROLD MILES SR. MR DJ.