Blues for Big Town (1995)

About this title: This John Lee Hooker set is volume 38 in the Charly Blues Masterworks series, which shows no sign of slowing down. There are 16 tracks recorded between the late 1940s and the early '60s; these sides make up some of the less obvious choices in a best-of -- and that's a good thing. How many more comps do we need with the same versions of "Boogie Chillun'" and "Crawling King Snake"? Hooker is featured both solo and in various combinations here. The raw, murderous guitar stomp of "Mad Man Blues," recorded live, juxtaposes nicely against the combo sessions with a horn section on cuts like ... read more

Tracks:

1. Mad Man Blues [Hooker]
2. Hey Boogie [Hooker]
3. Just Me and My Telephone [Hooker]
4. Dreamin' Blues [Hooker]
5. Walkin' the Boogie [Alternate Take] [Hooker]
6. I Don't Want Your Money [Hooker]
7. Hey Baby, You Look Good to Me [Hooker]
8. The Journey [Hooker]
9. Bluebird [Hooker]
10. Apologize [Hooker]
11. Lonely Boy Boogie [Hooker]
12. Please Don't Go [Morganfield]
13. Worried Life Blues [Hooker/Merriweather]
14. Blues for Big Town [Hooker]
15. Big Fine Woman [Hooker]
16. Blues for Christmas [Hooker]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.