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Lightnin' Hopkins
Feel So Bad - The Essential Recordings

Compil. 2000 on Indigo Recordings label
Blues

There's certainly no shortage of Lightnin' Hopkins CDs these days, but this album is a most welcome addition to the ranks. For one thing, it includes two rare tracks which have never appeared on CD before. For another, what we have here are Lightnin's very first recordings, from the years 1946 to 1949, the period when he was at the absolute peak of his powers. There is some overlap with a previous Zircon Bleu release, but whereas that was devoted entirely to Lightnin's Aladdin recordings, the present set also covers the best of his Gold Star output. The Zircon Bleu CD was evidently an attempt to make available most of the material on the now deleted EMI double CD set. In fact, so closely was it modelled on its predecessor that it also featured the mistakes of that earlier release. So, 'Big Mama Jump' on Zircon and EMI was not Lightnin's recording of that title, but pianist Wilson 'Thunder' Smith's 'Little Mama Boogie'. That error has been corrected here, and Lightnin's powerful boogie can now be heard on CD for the first time. The other newcomer to the medium is the title track, 'Feel So Bad'. Whereas most reissues, including EMI and Zircon, have featured an alternative take of that number, this Indigo CD sports the original Aladdin 78 version, a longer and livelier rendition with the bonus of an extra verse. Made in the E.E.C. (on disc)

Musicians

Lightnin' Hopkins voc, g, 1912-1982 US guitar, vocals, album by

Producers

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