The most heavily recorded of all post-War bluesmen, Lightnin’ Hopkins was one of the most talented pickers of his generation with a unique style that enabled him to play lead, bass, rhythm and percussion at the same time. It’s technique that made Rolling Stone magazine recognize him as one of the top 100 guitarists of all time.
Primarily delivering what’s known as talking blues, he performed in a relaxed, down-to-earth style that wowed audiences for decades, captivating them with his distinctive play and loose and free 12-bar style. After several attempts to make a name for himself, the Texas native finally hit the big time at age 34 in 1946 when he was signed to Aladdin Records, launching a career that influenced Hank Williams Jr., Townes Van Zant, Stevie Ray Vaughan and scores of others.
A welcome addition to his extensive catalog, 14 of the tracks here were captured in 1972 when Lightnin’ was at the top of his game in front of an enthusiastic audience at the Ash Grove, the revered club that was the epicenter of blues and folk music in Los Angeles from the beatnik era almost to the end of the war in Vietnam. Six bonus cuts come from sessions he played at In Your Ear, in Palo Alto in 1965 and 1972. And Hopkins’ comments between the tunes – which comprise six of the cuts — are just as precious as the songs themselves.
“Couldn’t Be Satisfied” opens the action with a memory of going to bed and crying because the singer couldn’t be satisfied…because his woman was in love with another man. The rich tones emitting from Hopkins’ ax mirror his torment. It’s an event that occurred so often in his life, he says in the introduction to the next song, that they don’t bother him anymore – and the reason why will make you chuckle.
The war comes to the fore in the languorous “Questionnaire Blues.” The queries come from the draft board, which wants to tear the singer away from his wife and child. The tempo picks up after a brief intro when Lightnin’ breaks into “Ain’t It Crazy,” a song full of sexual innuendo and lyrics that are now part of the American lexicon.
A two-minute interlude in which Hopkins speaks lovingly about life in the country and a childhood romance before describing an unfortune encounter with the girl’s father sets up “Don’t the Moon Look Pretty,” a tune he penned to honor the love affair and the lady’s memory. The son of a preacher and mother who was sanctified, he describes himself as “Black and Evil” in the song that follows because he doesn’t go to church and doesn’t want to be baptized.
The instrumental “Lightnin’s Boogie,” a picker’s delight with spoken accompaniment, changes the mood from the opening notes before Hopkins pays tribute to Ray Charles with his own take on the ’50s hit, “What’d I Say,” and concludes the set with the recommendation that folks visit their kin regularly before delivering his standard closer at the time, “How Long Have It Been Since You Been Home?”
Despite being captured in other settings, the six bonus cuts that follow — “Black Cadillac,” “Coffee House Blues,” a version of Tommy Tucker’s “Hi-Heel Sneakers,” “Lightnin’ Can Do It,” “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone” and “Hardly Trying” – follow suit.
As someone who saw Lightnin’ Hopkins in person on multiple occasions in my youth, he sounded exactly like this set, which is as crisp as the days of the recordings. Strongly recommended. Despite its age, this music will never grow old.
