Lightnin' Hopkins - Complete Prestige Bluesville [BoxSet, 7CD] (1991)

Lightnin' Hopkins, the seminal Texas bluesman, was rediscovered in the 1960s when the folk revival made folk and country-blues musicians hot news. This seven-CD set includes much of Hopkins's work during that period, though he recorded for so many different labels that getting everything is well-nigh impossible. This is a good start, though, including as it does some concert recordings in addition to studio reissues and interviews. Hopkins's mastery of mood and technique makes this a chronicle not only of historical interest, but musical as well; while Hopkins's musical style didn't change much over the course of his multidecade career, he was certainly among the best at what he did. –Genevieve Williams

Tracklist

CD1

01 - Rocky Mountain - 5:01
02 - Got To Move Your Baby - 4:05
03 - So Sorry To Leave You - 4:23
04 - Take A Trip With Me - 5:07
05 - Last Night Blues - 5:19
06 - Lightnin's Stroke - 4:58
07 - Hard To Love A Woman - 4:04
08 - Conversation Blues - 3:54
09 - Automobile Blues - 4:34
10 - You Better Watch Yourself - 5:01
11 - Mean Old Frisco - 3:43
12 - Shinin' Moon - 4:09
13 - Come Back Baby - 3:30
14 - Thinkin' 'Bout An Old Friend - 5:08
15 - The Walkin' Blues - 3:26
16 - Back To New Orleans - 3:22
17 - Katie Mae - 4:05
18 - Down There Baby - 4:07

CD2

01 - Black Gal - 4:12
02 - Baby Don't You Tear My Clothes - 3:48
03 - Good Morning Little School Girl - 3:10
04 - Coffee Blues - 3:42
05 - Buddy Brown's Blues (98 Degree Blues) - 4:07
06 - Wine Spodee-O-Dee - 3:05
07 - Sail on, Little Girl, Sail on - 4:20
08 - DC-7 - 4:33
09 - Death Bells - 3:54
10 - Goin' To Dallas To See My Pony Run - 3:51
11 - Jailhouse Blues - 3:20
12 - Blues In The Bottle - 3:17
13 - Beans, Beans, Beans - 2:28
14 - Catfish Blues - 4:19
15 - My Grandpa Is Old Too! - 3:04
16 - T Model Blues - 2:52
17 - Jackstropper Blues - 3:28
18 - You Cook All Right - 4:20
19 - You Never Miss Your Water - 2:42
20 - Let's Do The Suzie Q - 3:44
21 - Smokes Like Lightning - 5:14

CD3

01 - How Many More Years I Got To Let You Dog Me Around - 3:02
02 - Black Cadillac - 3:41
03 - Walkin' This Road By Myself - 4:54
04 - The Devil Jumped The Black Man - 4:14
05 - My Baby Don't Stand No Cheating - 2:09
06 - You Is One Black Rat - 2:31
07 - The Fox Chase - 3:20
08 - Mojo Hand - 3:23
09 - Mama Blues - 5:18
10 - My Black Name - 4:01
11 - Ida Mae - 5:30
12 - Prison Farm Blues - 4:35
13 - Worried Life Blues - 2:58
14 - Happy Blues For John Glenn - 5:24
15 - Sinner's Prayer - 3:48
16 - Angel Child - 3:36
17 - I Got A Leak In This Old Building - 5:23
18 - Pneumonia Blues - 3:32
19 - Have You Ever Been Mistreated - 4:04

CD4

01 - Blues Is A Feeling - 8:03
02 - Me And Ray Charles - 3:37
03 - In The Evening - 3:22
04 - Ain't It Crazy - 2:27
05 - Last Night I Lost The Best Friend I Ever Had - 4:37
06 - Everything - 3:00
07 - I Work Down On The Chain Gang - 5:13
08 - Meet Me In The Bottom - 2:31
09 - Business You're Doin' - 3:21
10 - Wake Up Old Lady - 4:27
11 - Stranger Here - 5:53
12 - Don't Embarrass Me, Baby - 3:24
13 - Little Sister's Boogie - 3:34
14 - Goin' Away - 5:49
15 - You Better Stop Her - 4:42
16 - I'm Wit' It - 4:03
17 - Let's Go Sit On The Lawn - 4:16
18 - I Woke Up This Morning - 5:53

CD5

01 - Baby, Please Don't Go [#] - 4:25
02 - My Black Cadillac [#] - 5:49
03 - It's Crazy [#] - 4:34
04 - Mojo Hand [#] - 3:40
05 - My Babe [#] - 3:41
06 - Short Haired Woman [#] - 5:04
07 - Mean Old Frisco [#] - 2:29
08 - Trouble In Mind [#] - 3:24
09 - The Twister [#] - 3:45
10 - Green Onion [#] - 3:02
11 - Sun Goin' Down [#] - 3:39
12 - Come Go Home With Me [#] - 3:40
13 - I'm A Stranger [#] - 4:22
14 - I Got Tired - 4:40
15 - I Like To Boogie - 3:54
16 - I Asked The Bossman - 6:47
17 - I'm Taking A Devil Of A Chance - 3:57
18 - Just A Wristwatch On My Arm - 3:35

CD6

01 - I Was Standing On 75 Highway - 5:11
02 - Get It Straight - 1:31
03 - I'm Going To Build Me A Heaven Of My Own - 5:59
04 - My Babe - 3:24
05 - Too Many Drivers - 3:32
06 - I'm A Crawling Black Snake - 4:52
07 - Rocky Mountain Blues - 3:54
08 - I Mean Goodbye - 3:03
09 - The Howling Wolf - 3:56
10 - Black Ghost Blues - 3:33
11 - Darling, Do You Remember Me? - 3:41
12 - Lonesome Graveyard - 5:32
13 - I Don't Want To Do Nothing To You - 2:35
14 - You Is One Black Rat - 3:12
15 - Got Nowhere To Lay My Head - 6:29
16 - Just Boogyin' - 2:25
17 - Take Me Back - 2:12
18 - I Was Down On Dowling Street - 5:11

CD7

01 - I Growed Up With The Blues - 5:07
02 - My Family - 4:29
03 - I Learn About The Blues - 6:21
04 - I First Come Into Houston - 3:23
05 - I Meet Texas Alexander - 5:17
06 - They Was Hard Times - 6:10
07 - I Do My First Record And Get My Name - 5:24
08 - My Thoughts On The Blues - 5:24