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Rating: Uh-oh! We note that this review also appears (in whole or in part) on musicclub.it
If we want to find something positive among all the flaws of a compilation, it is certainly the ability to be an excellent means of bringing the distant and the curious closer together.
There are no themes, no guiding threads, there is no real meaning between one track and another except to summarize an artistic career in the best possible way.
In this case, we are not simply talking about any artistic career but rather a founding father, one of those geniuses who have forever changed the world of music.
The bass lines, held with the thumb, the emphatic pauses at the end of the phrases, and a series of effects, slurs, quick staccatos, and vibratos have generated his personal style. The peculiarity of his invention lies in the composition that revolves, in the main theme, around a single chord played in an obstinate and hypnotic manner. The warm and husky voice but not for this reason tired, monotonous, and repetitive, will forever mark the way of interpreting a text on any melody of millions of singing birds. If iconographically speaking, Elvis is considered the king of rock, following the same guideline, we can affirm without any doubt that John Lee Hooker is the monarch of the blues, simple and mysterious music, relaxing and energetic, cool and rooted in the earth, elusive and mechanical, inexplicably sexy and transgressive.
I recommend this collection to the curious simply because it is the last one published before our bluesman's passing in 2001 and therefore approved by the author himself. Among the 20 tracks offered in "The Essential Collection," the following stand out: "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer", "Down At The Landing", "Ground Hog Blues", "Bang Bang Bang Bang", "Walkin' The Boogie", and the extraordinary "I Can't Quit You Baby".
John Lee Hooker's genius will contaminate millions of musicians worldwide, and it will be difficult for other authors to faithfully replicate the style of the trailblazer, but they will still inevitably be struck by the magic of the blues.
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer (03:02)
One bourbon, one scotch, and one beer
One bourbon, one scotch, and one beer
Hey mister bartender come here
I want another drink and I want it now
My baby she gone, she been gone two night
I ain't seen my baby since night before last
One bourbon, one scotch, and one beer
(Spoken)
And then I sit there, gettin' high, mellow
Knocked out, feeling good and by the time
I looked on the wall at the old clock on the wall
By that time, it was ten thirty daddy
I looked down the bar, at the bartender
He said, "Now what do you want Johnny?"
One bourbon, one scotch, and one beer
Well my baby she gone, she been gone two night
I ain't seen my baby since night before last
I wanna get drunk till I'm off of my mind
One bourbon, one scotch, and one beer
(Spoken)
And I sat there, gettin' high, stoned
Knocked out, and by the time
I looked on the wall, at the old clock again
And by that time, it was a quarter to two
Last call for alcohol, I said
Hey mister bartender, what do you want?"
One bourbon, one scotch, and one beer
One bourbon, one scotch, and one beer
One bourbon, one scotch, and one beer
04 Bluebird (05:25)
Bluebird, please take this letter down south for me
Oh, bluebird take this letter down south for me
Don't you two start flyin', 'til you find little Liza Belle for me
Lord, she way down, she's way down in
Jackson, Tennessee
Bluebird, she's way down south in Jackson, Tennessee
She may not be home but please knock upon her door
Bluebird, bluebird, please do this for me
Ooh, bluebird, please do this for me
If you see my baby, tell her I want her to come back home to me
10 Sugar Mama (03:14)
Sugar mama, sugar mama, sugar mama please come back to me
Sugar mama, sugar mama, sugar mama please come back to me
Bring me my granulated sugar1, sugar mama, and try to ease my misery
You've got this new grade of sugar, sugar mama, an you done made me love it too
You've got this new grade of sugar, sugar mama, an you done made me love it too
You've got this granulated sugar, sugar mama, ain't nobody else got, but you
They been braggin' 'bout your sugar, sugar mama, been braggin' all over town
They been braggin' 'bout your sugar, sugar mama, braggin' all over town
Now, the bootleggers2 want you to sell 'em enough to make whiskey,
but you won't sell 'em about four or five pounds
I like my coffee sweet in the mornin', you know, an I'm crazy 'bout my tea at night
I like my coffee sweet in the mornin', you know, an I'm crazy 'bout my tea at night
Don't get my sugar three times a day, oh, Lord, then I don't feel right
13 I'm In The Mood (02:44)
I'm In The Mood (Version 1)
by John Lee Hooker Bernard Bessman
recording of 1959
from The Vee Jay Years 1955-1964 (Charly 82333-1754-2) & Vee Jay No. 1069,
I'm in the mood baby, I'm in the mood for love
I'm in the mood baby, I'm in the mood for love
I'm in the mood, I'm in the mood, baby, I'm in the mood for love
I said night time is the right time, to be with the one you love
You know when night come baby, God know, you're so far away
I'm in the mood, I'm in the mood baby, I'm in the mood for love
I'm in the mood, in the mood, baby, in the mood for love
I said yes, my mama told me, to leave that girl alone
But my mama didn't know, God know, girl was puttin' down
I'm in the mood, I'm in the mood baby, in the mood for love
I'm in the mood, I'm in the mood, baby, in the mood for love
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