Mr Lucky

John Lee Hooker | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 29, 1992)
• Original Release Date: September 10, 1991
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Virgin Records Us
• ASIN: B000000WI4
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  DVD Audio  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #101,497 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #35 in Music > Blues > Regional Blues > Detroit Blues

Editorial Reviews

From Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD

John Lee, he of the mojo hand and wearing voice, says, 'Bad luck can't do me no harm." Certainly not with attendants named Robert Cray, Albert Collins, John Hammond, Van Morrison, Keith Richards, Carlos Santana, Johnny Winter, and Ry Cooder on hand to make him feel better. The highlight is "I Cover the Waterfront," wherein true believers Hooker and Morrison go deep into the mystic. See also Canned Heat and John Lee Hooker -- © Frank John Hadley 1993

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All Star Cast, June 12, 2001

By 

Russell Diederich (Littleton, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Mr Lucky (Audio CD)

When one of the most revered blues guitarists asks for help on his album, there is no shortage of great talent to show up. The likes of Santana, Ry Cooder, Albert Collins, Johnny Winter, John Hammond, and Robert Cray (to name just a few) come out in support of "Mr. Lucky", the follow up guest album to "The Healing". But, John Lee Hooker doesn't need all of this talent to put out a great blues album.

Robert Cray shows up on the title cut of this album providing some great leads to Hooker's rhythm. A tune that makes Hooker "... feel a little better". Albert Collins steps in for "Backstabbers" providing a powerful presence that only he was capable of. All you have to hear is one note of Collins to know it's him. "I Cover the Waterfront" is a haunting tune with Van Morrison taking over the guitar work and Booker T. Jones on organ. Morrison's voice complements the low-boom of Hooker's. Another highlight is Santana's work on "Stripped Me Naked".

Hooker's Delta Blues sound is hypnotizing, and his deep voice is lazy and sweet. There are very few that have shaped the sound of music, especially the blues, as he has. This album, a tribute of sorts, is a must for blues lovers. To hear so much talent gathered in one place playing with a legend like Hooker gives me the chills.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Lucky, my review from Barcelona, July 28, 2007

By 

Jose Maria Domenech Fedi - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mr Lucky (Audio CD)

If you are going to give an opinion about a John Lee Hooker's record, you must have present that your talking about one of the most important bluesmen of all times and this is not easy. Hooker has a very extensive discography. In my opinion he has records on several levels, but most of them are on a high level. This 'Mr. Lucky' is really good and even more if you take into account the contributions of his companions (Johnnie Johnson, Robert Cray, Albert Collins, Van Morrison, John Hammond, Carlos Santana, Johnny Winter, Keith Richards). All the songs are good, although I am partial to "I want to hug you" with Johnnie Johnson playing piano, "Mr. Lucky", "Backstabbers", "Stripped me naked", with Robert Cray, the impressive Albert Collins and Carlos Santana starting a row with their guitars (and in the case of Cray also with his extraordinary voice), "Susie" with an electrifying Johnny Winter's guitar solo, and closing this good LP "Father was a jockey" with the magnificent Jonh Hammond on guitar and harmonica. As a whole, a great disk. I recommend and I give it 4 stars.

13 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars If you must have everything, July 10, 2001

By 

Tim Weber (Iowa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mr Lucky (Audio CD)

Hooker's second album on the Pointblank label is a guest-heavy homage that doesn't have a great deal to do with John Lee Hooker as an artist and only occasionally plays to his strengths. Some cuts, such as the opening "I Want to Hug You" are just plain odd in their selection. This album is for the completist; sporadically enjoyable but unnecessary. The title cut is much better in its original version on "Urban Blues" (a somewhat chaotic but quite good album from the late '60s), while "Backstabbers" (actually "Backbiters and Syndicators", another remake from the same album) meanders too. The later cuts are better and, as usual, the fewer musicians playing with Hooker the less his sound gets mucked up. "Highway 13", "Father Was a Jockey" and yet another remake of "Crawlin' Kingsnake" are all quite nice. One wishes Hooker's late '80s and '90s producers more often had had the sense to leave him by himself or with minimal accompaniment. So, like all of Hooker's work on Pointblank, this is less about making a good album than honoring a lifetime of work. Still and all, worth having. His June 21st passing is greatly mourned.