Label: Riverside Records
Release Date: January, 1960
Recording Time: 43 minutes
Recording Date: April, 1959
Releases: November 5, 1991 (Original Blues Classics / Concord / Riverside Records / Universal); January 2, 1993 (Ace / Fantasy); August 22, 2006 (Specialty Records / Universal); August 25, 2014 (Fantasy); November 13, 2015 (Soul Jam)
Styles: Country Blues, Delta Blues, Juke Joint Blues, Regional Blues, Acoustic Blues
Solo performer: John Lee Hooker (vocals, acoustic guitar).
Recorded in Detroit, Michigan in April 1959. Originally released on Riverside (838). Includes original release liner notes by Orrin Keepnews.
John Lee Hooker was still churning out R&B-influenced electric blues with a rhythm section for Vee Jay when he recorded The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker, his first album packaged for the folk/traditional blues market. He plays nothing but acoustic guitar, and seems to have selected a repertoire with old-school country-blues in mind. It's unimpressive only within the context of Hooker's body of work; in comparison with other solo outings, the guitar sounds thin, and the approach restrained.
John Lee Hooker was still churning out R&B-influenced electric blues with a rhythm section for Vee Jay when he recorded The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker, his first album packaged for the folk/traditional blues market. He plays nothing but acoustic guitar, and seems to have selected a repertoire with old-school country-blues in mind. It's unimpressive only within the context of Hooker's body of work; in comparison with other solo outings, the guitar sounds thin, and the approach restrained.
by Richie Unterberger
This 1959 recording is just John Lee Hooker, his acoustic guitar and his voice. What's deceptively complex in his enormous body of work is the way he conjures dark moods and hypnotic rhythms from the simplest of components--sometimes only one or two chords. Hooker has roots in the Mississippi Delta blues, specifically Charlie Patton, and he's the only latter day bluesman with direct ties to that era (he was born in 1920). Whether abetted by a rhythm section or stripped down to basics, Hooker uses modal chords and endlessly snaking grooves. The rhythm of his guitar chugs along hypnotically under his supple voice, which can turn from a plaint to a growl in a flash. This set is both the map to a hidden treasure and the treasure itself.
* Down Beat - 1960
4 Stars - Very Good - "...it is delightful to be able to hear a full-voiced blues singer, backing himself on country-style guitar....There's heartache, sadness, joy, and hope in these songs..."
Credits: Paul Bacon - cover production, photography; Bernard Besman - composer; James C. Bracken - composer; Ken Braren - cover production; Phil DeLancie - remastering; Ramblin' Jack Elliott - composer; Bill Grauer, Jr. - producer; Howard Grubstein - photography; Bill Hevron - engineer; John Lee Hooker - composer, guitar, primary artist, vocals; Orrin Keepnews - liner notes; Harris Lewine - cover production; Brownie McGhee - composer; Jim Rockwell - photography; Sonny Boy Williamson I - composer.
Credits: Paul Bacon - cover production, photography; Bernard Besman - composer; James C. Bracken - composer; Ken Braren - cover production; Phil DeLancie - remastering; Ramblin' Jack Elliott - composer; Bill Grauer, Jr. - producer; Howard Grubstein - photography; Bill Hevron - engineer; John Lee Hooker - composer, guitar, primary artist, vocals; Orrin Keepnews - liner notes; Harris Lewine - cover production; Brownie McGhee - composer; Jim Rockwell - photography; Sonny Boy Williamson I - composer.
Tracks: 1) Black Snake; 2) How Long Blues; 3) Wobblin' Baby; 4) She's Long, She's Tall, She Weeps Like A Willow Tree; 5) Pea Vine Special; 6) Tupelo Blues; 7) I'm Prison Bound; 8) I Rowed A Little Boat; 9) Water Boy; 10) Church Bell Tone; 11) Bundle Up And Go; 12) Good Mornin', Lil' School Girl; 13) Behind The Plow.