Customer Reviews

Mr Lucky

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

 

 

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.

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.

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.

First, I'm grateful that John Lee spent the final years of his life sharing his music with the world. I'm not even going to get into an argument about whether this is "pure" JLH in light of the guest musicians. I challenge anyone to listen to "This Is Hip," featuring Ry Cooder, and find fault. The same holds true for "Crawlin' Kingsnake," with Keith Richards and Canned Heat's Larry Taylor. When this album came out in 1991 it was a very welcome blast of John Lee, who STILL didn't care what they allowed...he boogied anyhow. He was still full of attitude and rocked harder than most musicians half his age.

This great 1991 recording captures JLH with a galaxy stars in the Winter of his career. You might think this would be a recipe for an awful album -you'd be wrong.

From the first notes you know this is going to great. Johnnie Johnson's Piano (Chuck Berry's long time Piano Player) introduces us to "I Want To Hug You" and then that voice comes in. This is no messin' straightahead boogie. The title track follows with the Robery Cray band supporting JLH. This is my favourite track. Great guitar playing from Robert Cray with JLH refusing to be quiet in the background!

There are no duff tracks on this album, and if you like the blues there will be something for you. Oh this bliss....

My personal favorite. The alblum starts off with an upbeat duo from one of the best piano men around Johnnie Johnson. It only gets better when Robert Cray joins in to play and sing vocals for the title track, a definate feel good song!!! Hooker also is accompanied by many other great guitar legends such as Albert Collins, Ry Cooder, John Hammonds and even Rolling Stone Keith Richards. If you enjoy Carlos Santana's powerful guitar playing, along with Hooker's legendary blues vocals "Striped Me Naked" will take you to another world. The more you listen to this alblum the more you will like it!!! ;)

John Lee Hooker's deep, baritone growl and infectious boogie rhythms personify the sound of original delta blues like no-one else, and have almost certainly influenced more blues and rock musicians worldwide than anyone else in the 20th century. `Mr. Lucky' released in 1991 was John Lee's second Pointblank label collaboration album (following on from 1989's `The Healer'), where a stellar cast of younger musicians stand in line for the honor of recording with the great master: Albert Collins, Van Morrison, Ry Cooder, John Hammond, Carlos Santana, Johnnie Johnson, Robert Cray, Johnny Winter and Keith Richards all feature and the result is a fitting tribute to one of the 20th century's most iconic and enduring natural talents.

The result is better than you might expect. Stand-out tracks would be boogie-woogie numbers `Father was a jockey', `I want to hug you', `Stripped me naked' and the slow 6-minute `I cover the waterfront' with Van Morrison's soulful tenor proving the perfect counterpoint to John Lee's rich, low-register soul-croon in a sublime duet which lingers in memory.

The album contains some of John Lee's last great recordings, and is worthy of any serious collection.

I bought this cd as a present to my son, so we both got to listen. The shipping, price, packing, all that were great.

The album is a tribute to Hooker of sorts, with him playing and singing with other recognized masters. ( I was surprised to see Johnny Winter was still alive.) In an earlier effort with Canned Heat, Hooker is so obviously beyond Heat, it is almost painful. That doesn't happen here. Everybody is competent, and at it's best it is masters jamming together.

John Lee Hooker should be proclaimed a National Treasure, and 'Mr. Lucky' is in my mind his masterpiece. It is not a 'greatest hits' collection, but a unified work of timeless music. 'Stripped Me Naked' is worth the price of the album alone. All-star supporting musicians!

Thank God for Amazon.Com! After misplacing our Mr. Lucky CD (Or perhaps it magically disappeared), and looking high and low, over the hills and through the woods (in our area,at least) I finally found this wonderful piece of music history! Its truly an icon by John Lee Hooker!