Universal Music Group/Acoustic Sound Series releases a re-mastered classic by Lightnin’ Hopkins.
Lightnin’ Hopkins – Lightnin’ Strikes – Verve Folkways (1966)/Universal Music Group 602458538359 (2025) Acoustic Sound Series 180-gram stereo vinyl, 38:42 ****1/2:
(Lightnin’ Hopkins – guitar, vocals; Jimmy Bond – bass; Earl Palmer – drums; Don Crawford – harmonica)
Texas native Lightnin’ Hopkins was another blues legend that influenced modern rock and roll. His distinctive finger-style picking included chromatic turnarounds, single-note leads and alternating bass lines. Additionally, Hopkins would hit the body of the guitar for rhythm accents. His relaxed vocal delivery, humor and suggestive language created a unique interpretation of 12-bar blues. Hopkins recorded the most blues album and was one of the first inductees into the Blues Hall Of Fame. He is known for the Gibson J-160e hollowbox.
Universal Music Group has released a re-mastered 180-gram vinyl of the 1966 Verve Folkways album, Lightnin’ Strikes. Accompanying the blues icon are Jimmy Bond (bass), Earl Palmer (drums) and Don Crawford (harmonica). While this is not one of Hopkins most renowned albums, it is quintessential blues. Side One opens with the hard-charging groove-infused “Mojo Hand”. Hopkins’ talking blues delivery, gravelly voice and low-keyed note-bending guitar runs are raw and pure, as he offers advice to handle women. These arrangements benefit from the jazz background of the group. “Little Wail” is an instrumental (with a couple of vocal exhortations) up tempo arrangement that showcases Hopkins’ formidable guitar lines. You can feel the connection to r & b. Reaching back into purer Delta blues, “Cotton’ has a slow-burning intensity as the singer ruminates about the travails of field work (“…100 pound is too much load for me to pull…”). His colorful, precise guitar is unadulterated acoustic blues. Picking up the pace, “Take Me Back” distills a country vibe with a twangy guitar and straightforward reflection on getting right with his woman (“…Take me back, I’ll be good…”). Hopkins distills the overwhelming emotional gravity of this Americana genre on “Really Nothin’ But The Blues”. His nimble, laid-back guitar is compelling.
Side Two continues the forlorn country narrative (this time on extreme weather) in the slower flow of “Hurricane Betsy”. There is personal agony in the cautionary tale of woe. Hopkins’ solo is evocative with a prominent harmonica counterpoint. With a gliding shuffle, ‘Guitar Lightnin’” is authentic with a rhythm section in lockstep with muscular guitar chords and notation. For Hopkins, blues is both an artistic expression and lifestyle. “Woke Up This Morning” represents the singer’s faithless girlfriend in a guitar solo. His storytelling is magnetic. The quartet cuts loose on the finale, “Shake Yourself” with a lively celebration that Hopkins shades with deft articulation and a rockabilly feel.
Kudos to UMG for re-issuing this nearly fifty-year-old blues album. The mix (Val Valentin) is balanced with excellent stereo separation, maintaining Hopkins’ distinctive voice in the center. This pressing (Matthew Lutthans/QRP) has negligible surface noise, with no hisses for pops. The gatefold packaging and sleeves are top-notch.
Highly recommended!
—Robbie Gerson
Lightnin’ Hopkins – Lightnin’ Strikes
TrackList:
Side One:
Mojo Hand; Little Wail; Cotton; Take Me Back, Baby; Really Nothin’ But The Blues
Side Two:
Hurricane Betsy; Guitar Lightnin’ Woke Up This Morning; Shake Yourself.
