The Best Of Lightnin' Hopkins

We Say...

Review by John Morthland

From his debut session in 1946 until his death in 1982, this legendary Houston bluesman recorded whenever he could for whoever would pay him cash. His 1960-64 tenure with Prestige is (along with his Arhoolie relationship) perhaps the closest thing to a commitment he ever made with one label (even if he also recorded for others during this period). The result was an even dozen albums. Those are cherry-picked for these 16 sides, three of which are solo; he's joined by an unobtrusive rhythm section on the rest.

A bridge between country and city blues who could make his trademark licks work in virtually any setting — known primarily for his acoustic work, he made some of the most hopping, bopping electric blues of the pre-rock era — Hopkins is rightly celebrated for his head-spinning improvisational talents. With his fascinating blues stream of consciousness, he literally made songs up as he went along, singing in a rough, emotional voice that could be surprisingly understated. His distinct guitar style remained nimble and finessed even when he was breaking all known rules of time and structure.

Perhaps because he was with Prestige at the height of the folk boom, his work there put more emphasis on songs, and well-known songs at that, from "Blues in the Bottle" to "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl." But there's still room for winning versions of such original folk-poetry as "Mojo Hand" and "Katy Mae," both of which he recorded more than once, as well as the head-hung-low realizations behind "You is One Black Rat" and the jaunty, off-the-wall tribute "Happy Blues for John Glenn." They make for a fine introduction to the one of America's last bona fide blues eccentrics and raconteurs.