Customer Reviews

The Healer

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Putting an older artist together with younger blood is mostly a gimmick in the record business. The older artist gets an introduction to a new audience, the younger ones get a little reflected glory. But in this case, it is no gimmick, just a lot of terrific musicians who obviously love and respect each other and play beautifully together. John Lee Hooker had one of the most gorgeous, hypnotic voices of all blues singer, and unlike most singers, he did not lose a thing with age. I find his voice one of the most soothing things in the world to listen to (The Healer is a perfect title, HookerÕs voice could heal anything.) And the guest artists on here are incredible. Carlos Santana. Bonnie Raitt. Robert Cray. Los Lobos. George Thorogood. Charlie Musselwhite. In each case, playing with Hooker brings out the best in them. I am not a big Bonnie Raitt fan (I love her early stuff, but not her more recent pop albums), but her duet with Hooker on IÕm In The Mood is just about the bluesiest and deepest I have ever heard her sing. Los Lobos and George Thorogood are as tough as ever. And the Latin tinge that Santana lends to the title song is just gorgeous.
This is a must have album for anyone who loves blues or classic rock.

I am actually listening to this CD right now. It is awesome. This is the modern-age John Lee Hooker at his best. If you are looking for pure John Lee, though, this isn't your CD. In this CD, pretty much every song, with the exception of a couple, is a collaboration with someone, whether it's Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, Los Lobos, George Thorogood, or Charlie Musselwhite. This CD is very smooth, romantic, laid-back, classy, and has very good sound quality. I think this is a fine addition to your collection if you like either blues or rock or both. And as is true with most Hooker recordings, this is one is very energetic. Hooker's blues never really sound sad. Somehow he manages to perform even the saddest lyrics in the way that it would sound energetic rather than depressing, possibly because of his constant sense of rhythm (on other CDs, you can hear him stomp his foot in many, maybe most, songs he performs, especially in earlier work). The Healer marked re-birth of John Lee's activity in modern blues. He is a class act and aged like fine wine.

"The Healer" is an awesome album for any fans of blues music. Here we have JLH collaborating with some musicians who idolized him and were his inspiration for getting into music in the first place. The title track, is an inspired work between JLH and Santana. It has the latin tinge to it, but you can still hear the blues inside it. "I'm In The Mood", with Bonnie Raitt, and "Think Twice Before You Go", with Los Lobos, are down and out blues at its best. "Sally Mae", with George Thorogood is an accostic gem. The one common denominator is the voice of JLH. His voice is so distinguised and recognizable that it helps trap the listener in its web so to speak. When he passed on, he left a huge void in the music world.

When this album was released I heard that Carlos Santana and Bonnie Raitt rescued a no-longer-sought-after John Lee by making one of the first "collaboration" projects. Hooker was supposedly pretty down-and-out. But, having him collaborate with well-known younger artists (including Carlos and Bonnie) gave him a new twist to his music and a much broader audience. With a new foundation, John Lee went on to make 5 or 6 strong selling albums. He topped the blues charts for nearly a decade after this came out. The music on "The Healer" is great. The title song, "The Healer" is by itself worth the price of admission and earns my 5 stars for this cd, even before listening to another cut. On this song Carlos Santana proves his frequent assertion that all of the best modern music is derived from the blues. Carlos places John Lee into a stone cold Latin context and the two of them come out with, of course, amazing Latin Blues. Simultaneously intense and totally relaxed. It's one of those rare songs I can listen to at any time, love it and never tire of it. The rest of the cd is very, very good. More than worth having. The Hooker-Raitt song smolders - a singnature Raitt performance. The other cuts also stand tall. But, "The Healer" is just a classic song that trancends genres.

Kharma? Well, sometime around the year 2000, Santana's own sales had become pretty meager and rather irrelevant in the record business. He was putting out very good cd's every year which went nowhere on the charts. So, guess what - he used the same collaboration idea that he used to rescue John Lee. That resulted in his "Supernatural" cd, a huge multi-million seller, one of the biggest sellers of the last decade!

If you are a fan of the blues and want a unique CD to add to your collection, this is a good buy. Most of the songs on this CD are a not typical of what you'd expect to hear from John Lee Hooker. (This could be good or bad depending on what you like...) I personally enjoy his traditional blues, but also enjoy hearing this "different side" of Hooker. The CD includes guest artists, such as Robert Cray, Charles Musselwhite, George Thorogood, Roy Rogers, Los Lobos, and Canned Heat. My favorites are the first two songs, "The Healer" with Carlos Santana and "I'm in the Mood" with Bonnie Raitt. I gave the CD four stars, because it includes three songs that are just John Lee Hooker, one of which is a one-chord song, that did not appeal to me in comparison with his similar songs of the past.

Very bluesy, awesome listening. Soulful.
My husband borrowed my original 2 years ago and never returned it. I had to buy another for myself it is so good.

A real keeper for your music collection.

The first two cuts on this cd are spectacular. The duet with Bonnie Raitt won them a Grammy. This was my first, and still one of my most prized blues cd's. And if you dig this, you've got to listen to the soundtrack from The Hot Spot. One of my favorite movies, Don Johnson, Virginia Madsen, Jennifer Connelly, and Charles Martin Smith. Very film noir, and Hooker's soundtrack kills!

It"s been well over ten years since this cd was recorded. It is still is one of my favorites.The first track the Healer with Carlos Santana still sends chills up my spine. The rest is filled with great old Hooker tunes.

Don't get me wrong, I like John Lee Hooker a lot. It's just that this album adds little of interest to his legacy.
The loooong guest list makes "The Healer" a weird, unengaging and not very cohesive listen.

In my opinion, the guest stars detract from most of the songs rather than adding to them...most of these songs are just too slick and professional, lacking the grit and gravel (and the sincerity) of the original recordings. The title cut is a stylistic experiment gone (really, really) wrong, and why anyone would want to bring George Thorogood and Bonnie Raitt in to play guitar on a John Lee Hooker album is truly beyond me.
There are moments where it clicks, sure, but that's usually when the music doesn't greatly expand on the kind of stripped-down boogie that Hooker played for fifty years - like on the lean, mean "Baby Lee" and the harp-driven "That's Alright", and...well, that's pretty much it, actually. "Think Twice Before You Go" used to be such a good song before it was swamped by wailing guitars.

If you prefer band-backed Hooker, go look for "The Early Years" vol. 1 and 2 from Rhino Records. Most of these recordings are bland, run-of-the-mill blues rock, lacking the grit and power which made John Lee Hooker special, and "The Healer" is mostly one for people who would like to like John Lee Hooker but really don't...

Soothing music, this was very difficult to find in store (actually could not find in stores)...this was a gift for my husband and he loved it...very quick delivery, good seller, no issues. THANK YOU