I am really enjoying these blues and jazz reissues from Craft and Concord, and here is another fine example with this remastered reissue of his third album, 1960’s ‘That’s My Story’. Hooker was renowned for changing tempo during his songs, doing what he felt was right for the mood, which meant he was notoriously difficult to accompany but here bassist Sam Jones and drummer Louis Hayes manage to keep it together on a few numbers while the rest are Hooker solo. Hooker may have been illiterate, but he was a string songwriter, and of the 12 songs here only opener “I Need Some Money” is not an original. There is no doubt his version is far superior to the one much later recorded by The Flying Lizards, even though that gained far more chart success.
The album was recorded in just one session on February 9th, 1960, but while the style is definitely of the time the remastering on this is superb as it sounds as if we are in the studio with him, sat at his feet while he mixes together the different styles which made him such a huge influence on others. He does sound somewhat constrained when being accompanied and it is the tracks where he is solo where he really shines and while this is a wonderful album, I have no doubt that if it had been just Hooker then we would have been treated to something very special indeed. However, this remaster is still a delight that fans of the genre would do well to seek out.
Rating: 8/10
Links:
https://johnleehooker.com/
https://craftrecordings.com/