Hooker [BOX SET]

John Lee Hooker

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 31, 2006)
• Original Release Date: October 31, 2006
• Number of Discs: 4
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Shout Factory
• ASIN: B000IU3YN2
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #36,525 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Blues > Regional Blues > Detroit Blues

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
There's perfect symmetry in the way this four-disc anthology opens with a raw, solo acoustic 1948 rendition of John Lee Hooker's signature tune, "Boogie Chillen'," and then closes a half-century later with Eric Clapton teaming with Hooker on the same tune. Though the Mississippi bluesman who relocated to Detroit has been justly celebrated for his spellbinding repetitions and primal incantations, this comprehensive set shows just how much more range and depth there was to Hooker's music than basic boogie. Beyond the influential hits--"Dimples," "Boom Boom," and "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" among them--the set shows his music touching on everything from religion ("Moses Smote the Water," "We're All God's Chillen") to sociopolitical commentary ("Democrat Man," "King of the World"). Even so, sensual pleasure remained his prime inspiration, and few bluesmen have made sex and liquor sound as sexy and intoxicating as Hooker did. Included are selections from his career revivals spurred by disciples (1970's teaming with Canned Heat, 1989's Grammy-winning collaborations with Robert Cray, Bonnie Raitt, Van Morrison, and others), but the most powerful Hooker is the earlier stuff that cuts closest to the bone. It may be surprising that it has taken Hooker this long to be memorialized with a comprehensive box set, but when you consider how many labels he recorded for (almost all of which he outlived) and under how many different names (Texas Slim, Johnny Williams, et al.), it’s quite an achievement that this set even exists. --Don McLeese

Product Description
No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: HOOKER,JOHN LEE
Title: HOOKER
Street Release Date: 10/31/2006
Domestic
Genre: BLUES TRADITIONAL

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cream of the Crop, November 25, 2006

By	Freddie Green "Music lover" (Northeastern New Jersey) - See all my reviews

Whether or not one will buy this killer box set may depend on the amount Hooker material you have in your collection. There's no question that this magnificent box set is the dinfinitive collection of John Lee Hooker material. It covers his entire recording career from the late 40's through the 90's. Still, it's a drop in the bucket considering the vast wealth of material he recorded over his 50 year career. One wouldn't be able to carry or afford his entire recording output. For new fans or people who may be a little "thin" with Hooker material, this is, without a doubt the way to go. As for me, I'm OK with John Lee Hooker cd's, but I do see this on my shelf in the near future. I mean what the heck, it's all Hooker and it's all good.
I do think they could of extended the set to another disc of material, along with a DVD of vintage Hooker in concert. They did it with the recently released Buddy Guy box set, "Can't Quit the Blues", with rave reviews. Anyway, no matter which way you slice it, you're getting quality John Lee Hooker material with this set. I consider this box set essential.
One more note for anyone who may be interested in early Hooker material. There's a 10 CD box set out there with vintage, mostly solo, Hooker recordings. I'm talking Johnny Lee with only guitar and a big o'l stomping foot. This isn't recomemmed for wimps, strictly die hard fans who enjoy this type of stuff. The better news is that the set is under $25.00. If you type in John Lee Hooker through Amazon, you'll come up with about 600 Hooker titles. You'll get a headache looking at all of them. But, if you type in John Lee Hooker: Portrait, which is tha name of this killer box set, you'll come to the page of this box set. I got a little pissed because the page didn't include any info on the set. I mean, I like to see what I'm buying. So I bought the set, brand new for around $25.00. I wrote a reveiw on it, and painstakenly inclucded the entire track listing, so anyone who may be interested can see the song titles. Remember, this set is for die hard fans only!!
I hope this reveiw helped all fans of John Lee Hooker. Thanks for reading.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fine survey, January 2, 2007

By	Timothy G. Niland (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This lavish boxed set is the first attempt to provide a comprehensive survey of John Lee Hooker's lengthy career. Hooker was active for more than 50 years, and in the early years recorded under a variety of pseudonyms so this is quite a daunting task. The first couple of CDs cover the early groundbreaking solo recordings he made for labels like Modern where his ominously pounding foot and over-amped guitar propel classics like "Boogie Chillun" and "Let Your Daddy Ride." Slowly expanding his band to include second guitar (usually Eddie Burns) and drums he moved on to Vee-Jay and Chess for the blasting "Mad Man Blues" and deep down in the alley for "Tupelo Blues." After years toiling on the blues circuit, the blues revival found him touring around the world as the "king of the boogie" and disc three shows him recording with the blues-rock band Canned Heat on "Burning Hell" and waxing his immortal ode to alcoholism, "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer." The final disc shows the elder statesman/lion in winter recording with a variety of blues and rock luminaries most successfully a simpatico relationship with Van Morrison that produced two gems, "I Cover the Waterfront" and "Don't Look Back." The liner notes and discographical information is very good with nice essays and photographs. Longtime Hooker collectors will have most of this music already, but those looking for an overview of the great musician's entire career should be pleased.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ESSENTIAL!, November 6, 2006

By	David Mandau (Takoma Park, MD) - See all my reviews

I've got a couple of John Lee albums here and there, including the Rhino set, but this 4-CD set blows everything I own by him away. The first three discs are full of prime earthy blues--just amazing stuff. The fourth disc is MUCH better than I expected it to be. Hooker had it till the end. The packaging is first-rate, too.

This is the ultimate John Lee Hooker collection--all most people will need, and an excellent roadmap for those who want more. Get a copy for yourself and for the blues fan in your life, while you're at it!