LIGHTNIN’ HOPKINS
“Vol. 1: Clarity Music Sessions —
April 1969”
A
straight dose of Lightnin’ Hopkins,
sounding like you are there in the
studio with him, sipping from
the same bottle. Lightnin’
recorded many songs for the Clarity
Music Company at the ACA Recording
Studio in Houston in April of
1969. These ranged from new
originals to earlier classic hits
such as the monumental ‘Mojo
Hand.’ Some of these tracks have
been released over the years in
doctored form, with bass
and drums mixed high, guitar
leads mixed low, and reverb added.
Here for the first time are the
original four-track masters
transferred and mixed without any
tampering.
While an abundance of information is
available on the vast multitude of
Light- nin’ Hopkins’
recordings, the dates for
the Clarity Music sessions have
never in the past been
correctly identified. Based on the
log sheet and contract
included as part of this
LP reissue story, the songs recorded
for this particular 1969 session
occurred on 11 April 1969. A
special treat on this album is the
smoking take of ‘Mojo Hand’ that
Lightnin’ — an electrifying version
of of one of Lightnin’s most
revered compositions, the title
track from his oft-reissued LP from
1962. Lightnin’s guitar
is indeed “shootin’ fire!” On a
more serious note are the themes of
impoverishment and
degradation: ‘My Baby Ain’t Got
No Shoes’ followed by ‘My Baby
Was Crying For
Bread.’ Lightnin’ also digs
deep into a mother’s pain for his
song about the horrors
of the massacre at Pearl
Harbor, in his ‘December 7, 1941.’
What might be called the
romantic side of Lightnin’ is
present in ‘My Little Darling’.
A masterclass of intimate electric
blues — every bit as immediate and
gripping as the much-revered
Muddy Waters “Real Folk Blues”
LP.
Limited edition of 300x
hand-numbered copies
(150x for sale via Lion Productions
outside of Canada; 150x
for sale via Return to Analog
Records in Montreal)
Track List:
Side A:
1. Born In The Bottom 6:22
2. Rainy Day In Houston 5:04
3. A Man Like Me Is Hard To Find
4:46
4. Got A Letter This Morning 2:49
5. My Little Darling 4:03
Side B:
1. I’m Shootin’ Fire 0:43
2. My Baby Ain’t Got No Shoes 3:38
3. My Baby Was Crying For Bread 6:24
4. December 7, 1941 4:21
5. Free Of Charge 1:33
6. Lightnin’ Bolt 1:38
7. Mojo Hand 4:41
Catalogue number: LION-230
/ RTAI-030
UPC: 061297805754
Format: LP (black
vinyl)