Lightnin' Hopkins - And The Blues Summit

Lightnin' Hopkins - And The Blues Summit VBR

Year 2001

Tracks
1. Ain't Nothin' Like Whiskey
2. Penitentiary Blues
3. If You Steal My Chickens, You Can't Make 'Em Lay
4. First Meeting
5. How Long Have It Been Since You Been Home?
6. Wimmin From Coast To Coast
7. Right On That Shore
8. Early Morning Blues (Chain Gang Blues)
9. Blues For Gambler's
10. I've Been Buked and I've Been Scorned
11. Brand New Car (New Car Blues)

It's surely a sign of blues mastery: you sit down with your guitar, open your mouth, and the blues comes out. That's the impression one gains from this recording, made in 1960 and, incredibly, never issued, except piecemeal on albums by some of the artists involved. Now at last, here's the whole thing, featuring improvisatory riffs--the whole recording is ostensibly off the cuff and unrehearsed, which, given the talent involved, isn't hard to believe--from Lightnin' Hopkins, Big Joe Williams, and dynamic duo Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. Just getting these four in the same room is something of an achievement, given the temperaments and busy careers involved, but any blues fan would admit that the results are worth it. Though they're admittedly pretty rough cuts, they're also heartfelt, enthusiastic, and overwhelmingly genuine, with the kind of musical intimacy that comes from sitting around and playing whatever's on your mind--and you're a good enough musician that what comes out is worth hearing