Search - Lightnin' Hopkins :: The Revue Collection

Po' Lightin' : The Usual Suspects

Robert | Worcester, England (home of the Delta Blues) | 02/25/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There are few surprises for the Lightin' aficionado on this - or any - cd. Unless you've never heard him play piano, of course. Curiously, he plays the same notes on it as he does on the guitar, through in E minor, rather than straight 'E'.But Lightin' people don't want surprises. They want the old fellow doing the same ol' thang, and this cd is packed with all the usual favourites : a touch of testifying ('Glory Be'); dolorous, heart-rending dirges (''Last Night', 'Awful Dreams') ; masses of lovely walkin' boogie ('Mojo Hand', 'Shake That Thing') ; and meditative. Lightnin' always did give great meditative, and 'Sittin'Down Thinkin' and 'Last Night' are right up there with the best of his more reflective pieces.But for the real harrowing, spine-tingling down home sto' po'chin' Hellhound on my trail, just listen to track one, 'Lonesome Dog Blues', where he hits that second string on tenth fret and bends it all the way up to Galveston, making it it howl like a houn' dawg.If ever the blues gets better than this, this old blues-man doesn't have the heart to stand it. Gorgeous stuff!"