Live At Newport (CD)
Details
Live at Newport is an addition to the already huge pile of archival John Lee Hooker releases. What differentiates this release from many of the others is that it focuses on a pair of acoustic performances from the bluesman, a rarity in the Hooker catalog. In the early '60s, at the height of the "folk scare," Hooker stepped in front of crowds -- at clubs, coffeehouses, and festivals -- with his acoustic guitar. Live at Newport is split between two performances at the Newport Folk Festival -- a solo set from 1960 and a set with upright bassist Bill Lee from 1963.
The former is stunning for its clarity, reveling in a warmth that can only be attained from placing a microphone in the vicinity of a man with an acoustic guitar, turning the levels way up, and absorbing everything: the scratch of the pick on the strings, the echo of the performer's foot as it taps on the platform, the bristle of buttons as they graze the back of the guitar, the intake of breath. The first cuts on the disc are exquisitely rendered, with a great sense of dynamics inherent in Hooker's patented free blues style.
Tracklist
1.Introduction by George Wein2.Hobo Blues
3.Maudie
4.Introduction by John Lee Hooker
5.I Can't Quit You Baby
6.Stop Now Baby
7.Tupelo
8.Sometimes You Make Me Feel So Bad
9.Bus Station Blues
10.Introduction by John Lee Hooker
11.Let's Make It
12.Great Fire of Natchez
13.Boom Boom
14.You're Gonna Need Another Favor - (previously unreleased)
15.Introduction by John Lee Hooker
16.Hobo Blues - (previously unreleased, alternate version)
17.Boom Boom - (previously unreleased, alternate version)