Mr. Lucky, my review from Barcelona
Jose Maria Domenech Fedi | 07/28/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"If you are going to give an opinion about a John Lee Hooker's record, you must have present that your talking about one of the most important bluesmen of all times and this is not easy. Hooker has a very extensive discography. In my opinion he has records on several levels, but most of them are on a high level. This 'Mr. Lucky' is really good and even more if you take into account the contributions of his companions (Johnnie Johnson, Robert Cray, Albert Collins, Van Morrison, John Hammond, Carlos Santana, Johnny Winter, Keith Richards). All the songs are good, although I am partial to "I want to hug you" with Johnnie Johnson playing piano, "Mr. Lucky", "Backstabbers", "Stripped me naked", with Robert Cray, the impressive Albert Collins and Carlos Santana starting a row with their guitars (and in the case of Cray also with his extraordinary voice), "Susie" with an electrifying Johnny Winter's guitar solo, and closing this good LP "Father was a jockey" with the magnificent Jonh Hammond on guitar and harmonica. As a whole, a great disk. I recommend and I give it 4 stars.
"
John Lee at the top
S J Buck | Kent, UK | 09/22/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This great 1991 recording captures JLH with a galaxy stars in the Winter of his career. You might think this would be a recipe for an awful album -you'd be wrong.
From the first notes you know this is going to great. Johnnie Johnson's Piano (Chuck Berry's long time Piano Player) introduces us to "I Want To Hug You" and then that voice comes in. This is no messin' straightahead boogie. The title track follows with the Robery Cray band supporting JLH. This is my favourite track. Great guitar playing from Robert Cray with JLH refusing to be quiet in the background!
There are no duff tracks on this album, and if you like the blues there will be something for you. Oh this bliss...."
This is hip, pretty baby...messed around and fell in love
Mike | San Jose, CA | 12/25/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"First, I'm grateful that John Lee spent the final years of his life sharing his music with the world. I'm not even going to get into an argument about whether this is "pure" JLH in light of the guest musicians. I challenge anyone to listen to "This Is Hip," featuring Ry Cooder, and find fault. The same holds true for "Crawlin' Kingsnake," with Keith Richards and Canned Heat's Larry Taylor. When this album came out in 1991 it was a very welcome blast of John Lee, who STILL didn't care what they allowed...he boogied anyhow. He was still full of attitude and rocked harder than most musicians half his age."