Lightnin' Hopkins - Lightnin'
Lightnin' Hopkins, vocals and guitar [click here to see more vinyl featuring Lightnin' Hopkins]
Leonard Gaskin, bass
Belton Evans, drums
Written by Lightnin' Hopkins
1 LP, standard sleeve
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180gr
Record color : black
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Quality Record Pressings
Label : Analogue Productions
Original Label : Prestige Bluesville
Recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on November 9, 1960 by Rudy Van Gelder
Remastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio
Tracks :
Side A :
- Automobile Blues
- You Better Watch Yourself
- Mean Old Frisco
- Shinin' Moon
- Come Back Baby
- Thinkin' 'Bout an Old Friend
- The Walkin' Blues
- Back To New Orleans
- Katie Mae
- Down There Baby
Reviews :
"For music once treated so cavalierly by the major labels, the blues yielded numerous magnificent recordings, light years away from the primitive sonic quality of, say, Robert Johnson's pre-WWII sessions. In a similar vein to Muddy Waters' oft-reissued Folk Singer is this superlative acoustic session from rural blues legend Lightnin' Hopkins, from late 1960. Playing guitar and backed by just bass and drums, he delivered ten tracks of which at least half are staples of the genre, timed just as the folk revival was giving the blues a much-needed boost. 'Automobile Blues,' 'Mean Old Frisco,' 'The Walkin' Blues,' — for those who crave unvarnished authenticity, but with in-the-room presence, this is a tonic." Ken Kessler, Album Choice Hi Fi News, July 2018
« Recorded for Prestige's Bluesville subsidiary in 1960 and reissued on CD for Fantasy's Original Blues Classics (OBC) series in 1990, Lightnin' is among the rewarding acoustic dates Lightnin' Hopkins delivered in the early '60s. The session has an informal, relaxed quality, and this approach serves a 48-year-old Hopkins impressively well on both originals like "Thinkin' 'Bout an Old Friend" and the familiar "Katie Mae" and enjoyable interpretations of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee's "Back to New Orleans" and Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's "Mean Old Frisco." Hopkins' only accompaniment consists of bassist Leonard Gaskin and drummer Belton Evans, both of whom play in an understated fashion and do their part to make this intimate setting successful. From the remorseful "Come Back Baby" to more lighthearted, fun numbers like "You Better Watch Yourself" and "Automobile Blues," Lightnin' is a lot like being in a small club with Hopkins as he shares his experiences, insights and humor with you. » AllMusic Review by Alex Henderson
Rolling Stone magazine included Hopkins at number 71 on their list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time: "Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins learned the blues form Blind Lemon Jefferson in the Twenties. He was a ferocious electric stylist in the Fifties, though he's perhaps best known for his nimble acoustic fingerpicking during the Sixties folk-blues revival. As unpredictable as John Lee Hooker, he seemed to be making it up as he went along, and often was." (71/100 Greatest Guitarists: David Fricke's Picks)
Ratings :