A mid-60’s John Lee Hooker album gets a welcome re-master on 180-gram vinyl.
John Lee Hooker – It Serve You Right To Suffer – Impulse Records A-9103 (1966)/Universal Music Group/Verve 602475207733 Acoustic Sounds Series (2025) 180-gram stereo vinyl, 33:10 ****1/2:
(John Lee Hooker – guitar, vocals; Barry Galbraith – guitar; Milt Hinton – bass; Panama Francis – drums; William Wells – trombone )
Among John Lee Hooker’s accomplishments was popularizing the electric guitar adaptation of Delta blues. Songs like “Crawling King Snake”, “Boom Boom”, “Boogie Chillen” and “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer” became permanent touchstones of modern blues. This led to rock and roll adopting this and expanding the audience for this genre. While record companies for blues artists were limited to specialty labels, prominent rockers like Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, John Mayall and The Animals covered this material and toured with artists like Hooker. In 1966, Hooker released an album, It Serve You Right To Suffer on a jazz label, Impulse Records. This would be his sole project for this record company.
Universal Music Group/Verve has released a re-mastered 180-gram vinyl (part of the Acoustic Sounds Series) of this album. Joining Hooker are three veteran jazz musicians, Barry Galbraith (guitar), Milt Hinton (bass) and Panama Francis (drums). This band seems to be a complementary fit to the gritty dynamics of this blues legend. Side 1 opens with up tempo electric blues, anchored by tight guitar grooves and in-the-pocket rhythm section. Hooker’s growling vocals distill the raw passion innate to this music. The dual-guitar approach is muscular and the pleading “coda” (“…and one more time, baby…”) is magnetic. The weariness of life (a perennial blues narrative) inhabits “Country Boy”. The laconic tempo, Hooker’s forlorn pleading (“…Sometimes I lay on the highway and try to get my rest…”) and high-register notation makes this track flow with a late night, head-nodding resonance. Humor infuses “Bottle Up And Go” as the singer moans and implores women to assert their independence. The electric Delta vibe permeates the steady tempo on “You’re Wrong”, and the minimalist accompaniment frames the urgent vocals (“…You wrong, little girl, you wrong…”). There is a nice fade ending.
Taking on classic Delta, “Sugar Mama” details the blues singer disillusionment in one mate, replacing her for another. Again, the simple arrangement and quasi-menacing atmosphere capture the dire emotions intrinsic to this story. These stories draw the listener into the gut-wrenching vignettes. A deliberate, hypnotic pace envelops the ultimate tale of loss (…”I go out and decorate my baby’s grave with an armful of flowers…”) on “Decoration Day”. Picking up the pace, Berry Gordy’s oddly danceable “Money” seems optimistic and includes trombone accents. The title cut is nothing short of a blues testimonial. Hooker is resigned to his fated angst (“…Your life will never be the same…”). Achingly reflective vocals and sparse guitar lines (with slowed-down tempo) fit seamlessly.
Even with disappointing sales, It Serve You Right To Suffer was a cohesive treatment of the blues. The re-mastered sound (from the original analog tapes) is cut on 180-gram vinyl (Matthew Lutthans/Mastering Lab at QRP) and is crisp with excellent stereo separation. The hi-gloss gatefold packaging and protective record sleeve are top-notch.
Highly recommended!
—Robbie Gerson
John Lee Hooker – It Serve You Right To Suffer
TrackList:
Side 1: Shake It Baby; Country Boy; Bottle Up And Go; You’re Wrong
Side 2: Sugar Mama; Decoration Day; Money; It Serve You Right To Suffer
