This artist's name alone should garner your attention to this interesting release from “the legendary blues label”, Kent Records.
To follow in the footsteps of your near mythical father might seem questionable for any sibling, but to do it at the ripe old age age of fifty takes some serious balls.
JOHN LEE HOOKER JR. first appeared on stage with his father at the tender age of fourteen, but by his late teens found he was losing himself to the “life of a bluesman”. Unfortunately, that lasted for the next twenty-five years.
Drink; drugs; divorce; prison; you name it, over the last quarter of a century, it's happened to Hooker Jr. Having lived the life he has, it gives him the credibility of being a genuine singer of the blues.
Hooker Jr. does the natural thing and avoids straying into the stark acoustic Delta blues associated with his father, instead he swings triumphantly into the big band urban blues sound usually populated by the likes of B.B. King and Big Joe Turner. With a mix of eight originals and four cover versions, “Blues With A Vengeance” is a belter of a debut.
Some would say, for marketing reasons if nothing else, it was inevitable that Hooker Jr. would resort to covering some of his father's classics. That he chose 'Dimples', 'Boom Boom', and 'One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer', along with T. Bone Walker's ubiquitious 'Stormy Monday', is testament to the style of music he wants to play. Upbeat, good time music that you can dance to. And as Hooker Jr. himself testifies: “If I tried to fill my father's shoes, I'd get cramps just trying to take one step”.
Of his own material, the standouts are the hilarious role reversal of 'Suspicious' (not so much backdoor man, more backdoor woman!), 'Blues Ain't Nothin' But A Pimp', and the ultra-topical 'Goin' Down To Baghdad', which contains the growled line of: “I'm going down looking for Saddam Hussein/Gonna buy me a weapon of mass destruction/I gotta find that man”. 'Groove Thang' also impresses highly, mainly due to the fact it sounds a lot like James Brown singing the blues. Funky.
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Vocally, Hooker Jr. has more than a passing resemblance to Bobby 'Blue' Bland. The playing is exemplary throughout, with special mention going to Hooker Jr.'s “blues son”, 19 year-old guitarist Jeff Horan. Playing like a veteran, this protege's enthusiastic picking brings a real warmth to the proceedings. Make a note of the name; I'm sure you'll be hearing a lot more of this young man.
With a clutch of awards to his name (WC Handy Award for Best New Artist 2004; Californian Music Awards, Outstanding Blues Album of the Year 2004; Grammy nomination in Traditional Blues Category) John Lee Hooker Jr. has done the impossible. Casting off the burden of his being his legendary father's son, Hooker Jr. has moved into the blues genre and has, incredibly, managed to pull it off. He deserves our respect for that.
www.onthehookblues.com
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