Ace acquired a lot of John Lee Hooker sides when we bought the Sensation label from Bernard Besman. Bernie had also sold some sides to United Artists and to Greene Bottle before then. However, no one had carried out a forensic investigation into exactly what we had bought, up until now.These three CDs contain all of the Besman John Lee Hooker sides gathered in one place for the first time. Also included is the Little Eddie Kirkland RPM single with John Lee Hooker on second guitar and vocal.19 different, previously unreleased versions of songs appeared in the research for the project, including extended takes and alternative versions.It also comes with a sessionography covering all the tracks on the CDs.These early Hooker recordings are akin to jazz as much as the blues, with an improvisatory feel, harking back to the pre-war era, but with a very distinct approach and a unique sound presaging the blues that was to come, into the 50s and 60s.Comes in a 3CD digipak box set.
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1. Sally Mae
2. War is Over (Goodbye California) (Extended Version)
3. War is Over (Goodbye California) (Alt Take)
4. War is Over (Goodbye California) (Extended Version of Gb Lp
5. Boogie Chillen'
6. Henry's Swing Club
7. Drifting From Door To Door
8. Hobo Blues
9. Numbers Blues (Aka She Ain't Good For Nothin')
10. Alberta
11. Alberta (Alt Take)
12. Howlin' Wolf
13. Crawlin' King Snake
14. Hoogie Boogie (Instrumental)
15. Hastings Street Boogie (Extended Version)
16. Build Myself a Cave (Aka the World is In a Tangle) (Take #1)