- This outstanding pressing boasts solid Double Plus (A++) sound from start to finish – fairly quiet vinyl too
- This early ’50s material has shockingly natural sound, no doubt the result of having been recorded, like most of John Lee Hooker’s albums, live in the studio
- A masterful collection of songs recorded between 1951 and 1954, this album showcases the “King of the Boogie” in top form
- 4 stars: “Some important titles here: an ominous ‘Leave My Wife Alone,’ and the stark ‘Sugar Mama’ and ‘Ramblin’ by Myself,’ and with Eddie Kirkland on second guitar, ‘Louise’ and ‘High Priced Woman.'”
*NOTE: On side two, a mark makes 4 moderate pops at the beginning of in Track 1, Sugar Mama.
My notes for the sound of the third track read “very real.” You get the feeling that whatever John Lee Hooker played and sang on that day in 1959 ended up on this record sounding just the way he performed it, live to one-track. (more…)