Lightnin' Hopkins - The Best Of Lightnin' Hopkins '2004

Tracks list

       During his long career, Lightnin' Hopkins did more than his share of
label hopping; Aladdin, Folkways, Mercury, Arhoolie, Decca, Ivory, Vee-Jay,
Modern, World Pacific, Verve, Fire, Jewel, Gold Star/Jax and Herald are among
the countless labels that the Texas bluesman recorded for over the years.
Hopkins also recorded for Prestige, where he provided around 11 or 12 LPs from
1960-64 -- some on Prestige/Bluesville, some on Prestige/Folklore and some on
simply Prestige -- and in 1991 (nine years after his death), all of those
recordings were united on Fantasy's seven-CD box set The Complete
Prestige/Bluesville Recordings. Among hardcore blues collectors, that set is
held in high regard. But for those who have a more casual interest in Hopkins'
legacy, The Best of Lightnin' Hopkins would be a more appropriate starting
point. This 66-minute, 16-track CD underscores Prestige's willingness to record
Hopkins in a variety of settings -- some electric and some acoustic, some
unaccompanied and some with other musicians. These 1960-64 recordings came at a
time when people in the folk market were paying a lot of attention to acoustic
country blues, and even though Hopkins wasn't a folk artist per se, his earthy,
down-home simplicity appealed to folk audiences -- a simplicity that serves him
well whether he is unaccompanied on "You Is One Black Rat" and "Blues in the
Bottle" or joined by other musicians on "Katie Mae," "Pneumonia Blues" and Big
Joe Williams' "Baby Please Don't Go" (which received the heavy metal/hard rock
treatment from Motor City Madman Ted Nugent in the late '70s). The Best of
Lightnin' Hopkins doesn't pretend to tell the entire story of Hopkins' Prestige
output, but for novices, it can be a rewarding introduction to his four-year
association with that label.

Tracklist:
1 01. Sam Lightnin' Hopkins - Back To New Orleans (03:20)
1 02. Sam Lightnin' Hopkins - Automobile Blues (04:31)
1 03. Lightnin' Hopkins - Pneumonia Blues (03:29)
1 04. Lightnin' Hopkins - Mojo Hand (03:20)
1 05. Lightnin' Hopkins - Black Cadillac (03:38)
1 06. Sam Lightnin' Hopkins - You Is One Black Rat (With Interview) (03:09)
1 07. Sam Lightnin' Hopkins - Last Night Blues (Album Version) (05:16)
1 08. Sam Lightnin' Hopkins - Blues In The Bottle (Album Version) (03:13)
1 09. Lightnin' Hopkins - Walkin' This Road By Myself (04:50)
1 10. Sam Lightnin' Hopkins - Got To Move Your Baby (Album Version) (04:02)
1 11. Sam Lightnin' Hopkins - Goin' Away (Album Version) (05:45)
1 12. Lightnin' Hopkins - Happy Blues For John Glenn (05:21)
1 13. Sam Lightnin' Hopkins - Mean Old Frisco (Album Version) (03:41)
1 14. Sam Lightnin' Hopkins - Katie Mae (Album Version) (04:02)
1 15. Lightnin' Hopkins - I'm A Crawling Black Snake (Album Version) (04:49)
1 16. Lightnin' Hopkins - Good Morning Little School Girl (03:06) 

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