John Lee Hooker will always be remembered as the man who told the world to "Boogie Chillun", and boy was he ever right! A bluesman of the highest order, John Lee keeps time with his soul as well as his feet. His style is immediately recognizable and unique. So many artists have taken his advise and started to boogie, yet he still stands out with his menacing vocals and distorted guitar. John Lee is always mentioned as a major influence by all of the best blues players today as well. He sure remains to be one of my favorites of all time.

Only about a third of the songs John Lee recorded during this era ever got to be released! The 55 songs on these three discs were recorded by Bernie Bessman,who recorded hundreds of Hooker's songs which he then licensed to a number of labels. United Artists originally released some of these songs in the`70s due to Bob "Bear" Hite of Canned Heat. Most of the material here is original and even when he covers other people's songs, he turns them into his own.

On these discs, he only accompanies himself by stamping his foot and the only help given to John Lee is by Eddie Kirkland on guitar on some songs and Eddie Burns on harp. Except for six tracks attributed to 1948-52 which were really recorded on the Galaxy label in the early sixties, the booklet is a great source of information about the man and his music. Save up and buy this and don't forget to Boogie!