John Lee Hooker - Live At Soledad Prison flac mp3 download

I purchased a copy of this record, but my specific release doesn't appear to be listed here. It appears to be the US version from 1972, but the cover is blue background and the labels are slightly different. Anyone know this release?

Yep mine is the same. There's another in there with a blue cover that probably matches yours.

I have to agree with dougeroo1. I own about 50 John Lee Hooker records and this one has always been a favorite of mine. Although I wouldn't necessarily recommend this as the place to start for beginners, the band and especially the backing guitarists Luther Tucker and Charlie Grimes just burn throughout. It's a raw heavy groove for sure, but a great one.

I must disagree with the initial commenter, this is one of my favorite blues albums, as it really captures the experience as it happened, rough and ready. Yes, the sound is a bit unbalanced, particularly on the first couple of songs; I doubt if the prison staff allowed much of a soundcheck. The band is just smokin’; if there was a roof they would have torn it off. You can clearly hear the appreciative audience comments throughout, as well as John Lee Junior yelling “That’s my old man” as if he still can’t believe he has such a cool daddy. Yes, daddy lets sonny warm up the band on the first two numbers as the sound guy makes adjustments, but the kid is good, a chip of the blues block. The song selection is excellent from the first tune to the last, when it ended exactly 45 minutes after it began, with the amps shut off mid song. The album ends with a tinny loudspeaker announcing “yard recall, yard recall”; you can hear a collective groan as the inmates realize the fun is over. If you like John Lee electric and tore down, level with the ground, you won’t do better than this.

Not a good John Lee Hooker album. The majority of the first side features his son on vocals and the live recording is not a good sounding one.