Pruning 16 tracks from Hopkins' extensive catalog for a best-of meant that some hard choices had to be made. The ones Rhino came up with won't satisfy everyone, but the label did take the correct road by sticking exclusively to the earliest part of his career, 1947-61. Perhaps the decision will offend some fans who feel that his 1960s and '70s work should be represented, but two things should be acknowledged. First, Hopkins, as is the case with most artists, did his most interesting recordings in t   [ read more ]

CD $9.48

This compilation is a good one-disc introduction to Lightnin' Hopkins' work. For one, it's still in print and relatively easy to find. After being rediscovered during the '60s folk revival, Legacy issued this best-of collection in the late '60s, and the emphasis is on acoustic country blues. It's well nigh impossible to encompass a career as wide as that of Lightnin' Hopkins in a single-disc compilation, but Hopkins' engaging personality, strong vocals, idiosyncratic rhythmic sense, and hu   [ read more ]

CD $7.58

Lightnin' Hopkins' plaintive, soft-rolling blues style is exemplified on "Let's Go Sit on the Lawn," "Just a Wristwatch on My Arm," "I'm a Crawling Black Snake," Willie Dixon's "My Babe," and others. Accompanied only by himself on guitar (and oh what a guitar he plays), Leonard Gaskin (bass), and Herb Lovelle (drums), Hopkins' seductive, intricate guitar picks and strums will dance around in your head long after this CD has played. His voice, which sounds like it's aged in Came   [ read more ]

CD $11.38

More wonderfully sparse ruminations by the Texas blues troubadour for Quinn's Gold Star label. Hopkins was amazingly prolific during his first few years of recording, and nearly everything he did back then has great artistic merit. ~ Bill Dahl, All Music Guide

CD $16.13

CD $12.33

Hopkins left a ton of tapes behind at New York-based Herald Records -- enough to support this second volume of 1954 gems. ~ Bill Dahl, All Music Guide

CD $14.23

Sam Charters produced this session, featuring Lightnin' and a three-piece band following him as best they can. Lightnin' is playing an acoustic with an electric pickup on it through an amplifier, and even throws in a bit of slide guitar on the chaotic opener, "Please Help Poor Me" and "The Hearse Is Backed Up to the Door." But ultimately the rhythm section isn't all that great a fit, and Lightnin' sounds distracted at times. Not essential, but it does have its moments. ~ Cub Koda, All Musi   [ read more ]

CD $17.08

Clocking in at just over 23 minutes, this CD is on the short side, containing seven songs recorded on this particular day in an informal studio session. At his best here for about half of the the disc, Hopkins is in great form, coaxing several voices out of his single electric guitar while holding a beat very nicely. "Gonna Move Off This Street" is the best track here, but "Help Yourself (Christmastime)" is a close second -- the solo guitar is captured close and crunchy. It's all very solid, despite t   [ read more ]

CD $12.33

The material here is among the best of Hopkins' later recording career, a good rival to his return to blues on Jewel after years of catering to acoustic folk audiences -- recorded before a live audience, he plays his electric guitar down and dirty, getting it to "talk" in some surprisingly crisp and articulate tones. Most of the material ("I Heard My Baby Crying," "My Baby Laid Out All Night," "Rock Me Late At Night" etc.) is extended to four or five minutes or more, and it's all in duophonic stereo, wit   [ read more ]

CD $12.33

CD $12.33

Billed as "Lightnin' Hopkins & Friends," and this is the least engaging of this series of five volumes, partly because of its brevity (26 minutes), and because Hopkins, according to producer Aubrey Mayhew, was drinking on the night that the live material here was recorded, and spent long stretches staring at the floor. But when he played "Back In My Mother's Arms," the sound was as hot as ever. He only does two solo live numbers, and the rest is studio stuff, supported by singer Curley Lee, who    [ read more ]

CD $12.33

On these recordings cut between 1961 and 1969, Lightnin' Hopkins exhibits the full scope of his music, picking up his electric guitar for a raw rendition of "Ice Storm Blues," sitting at the piano for a compelling version of "Jesus Will You Come by Here," and moving to the organ for an ethereal "My Baby's Gone." ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

CD $16.13