John Lee Hooker - King Of The Boogie (2017)

John Lee Hooker was one of the greatest figures to rise from post-war blues, but he always stood out from other artists in the genre. The minimalism of his style drew a clear line from the pioneering figures of Delta blues, but the hypnotic insistence of his song structures and the unrelenting stomp of his boogie rhythms took those influences to another time and place. Hooker's music could speak of joy or menace with equal force, and with remarkably few changes. And while 12-bar was the unyielding template for nearly every other blues artist, Hooker followed no rules beyond his own muse, embracing rhythmic structures and chord changes that seemed chaotic on paper but sounded brilliant when executed by Hooker. While clearly a bluesman, he was a subgenre unto himself, a musician with a singular approach that many followed but no one could duplicate with the same gravity. In addition to being unique, Hooker was also prolific, recording literally dozens of albums for many different labels in a career that stretched from 1948 to 1997, and compiling a set that accurately represents the length and breadth of his catalog is no simple task. 2017's King of the Boogie is a five-disc set compiled with the cooperation of Hooker's estate and attempts to skim the cream from his massive body of work. The first three discs comprise a (relatively) concise summary of his studio material, while disc four is devoted to live recordings, and disc five is a sampler of his collaborations with other artists, which dominated many of his latter-day albums. Given the very distinct stages of Hooker's career -- his early acoustic sides, his later electric material, his evolution into working with a full band, and the polished, star-sprinkled late period sides -- it's very much a matter of the taste of individual fans that will determine how much they like the three-disc career summary. That said, the track selection delivers most of the acknowledged classics, offers an accurate balance of the various phases of his career, and throws in a few surprises ("Shake, Holler and Run" takes an obvious "Shake, Rattle and Roll" lift and turns it into something very much its own once Hooker is done with it). The live tracks demonstrate his strength and charisma as a live performer, and if the duets are not for many Hooker purists, the fact artists as gifted as Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, and Los Lobos were eager to work with him speaks volumes about how respected he was. It's probably impossible to assemble a truly definitive John Lee Hooker collection, but King of the Boogie leaves no doubt of his talent, his unique vision, and the lasting importance of his music. Add a well-designed package with plenty of rare photos, fine liner notes from Jas Obrecht, and well-detailed track annotation, and you have a splendid sampler that should please loyal fans and dazzle those who have never been introduced to Hooker's music. ~by Mark Deming