Lee Hooker John - Young and Wild (CD)

This two-disc set contains some of the earliest material by John Lee Hooker just previous to and upon his arrival in Detroit. The early sides are still pretty raw in terms of the sound quality and have been cleaned up better elsewhere -- in fact, some of this stuff sounds like it was mastered from 78s -- but the music is still untouchable. Disc two includes better-sounding material, recorded in 1969 in a better studio with finer microphones. There are versions of "Sittin' Here Thinkin'," "Boogie Chillen'," "I Wanna Ramble," "Get Back Home in the U.S.A.," and many, many others. But it's the earlier stuff from the 1940s that's truly wild and amazing to encounter again, despite the sound problems. ~ Thom Jurek