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John Lee Hooker - Early Studio Recordings - Disc 1 (1995)

Track listing:
  1. Come Back Baby 2:56
  2. Forgive Me 3:13
  3. Streets Is Filled With Women 3:13
  4. Moon Is Rising 2:49
  5. Whistle Done Blown 3:10
  6. Turnin' Gray Blues 2:48
  7. She Was In Chicago 2:57
  8. Lord Taketh My Baby Away 3:02
  9. Just Like A Woman 2:59
  10. Throw This Old Dog A Bone 3:05
  11. Johnny Lee's Mood 3:04
  12. Miss Eloise, Miss Eloise 2:41
  13. Crying All Night 2:43
  14. Welfare Blues 2:57
  15. She Left Me By Myself 2:49
  16. Out The Door I Went 3:01
  17. My Baby She's Long And Tal 3:03

Notes

A whopping three CDs, and 56 songs, from Hooker's early sessions that were unreleased at the time, although they were available for a while in the early 1970s on some United Artists LPs. Like his more widely known material of the period, it mostly features Hooker unaccompanied, though he's aided by piano and second guitarists on a few tracks. Some of these are alternates of songs that were released in different versions, or embryonic renditions of compositions that evolved into somewhat different shapes. Especially interesting are early versions of his big hit "I'm in the Mood for Love." It's too much at once, though, and too unvarying in approach, for anyone but Hooker specialists. General fans are advised to stick with The Legendary Modern Recordings, which has 24 more renowned, and somewhat more accomplished, tracks from the same era. It's certainly a well-done package, though, containing a 38-page insert with detailed liner notes and session information.