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| John Lee Hooker - The Best Of Friends (rel.1998) |
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| AMG Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine (3): John Lee Hooker's recordings for Virgin/Point Blank may have varied in quality, but never in formula. Once The Healer earned reams of praise and, more importantly, solid sales upon its 1989 release, it was pretty much set in stone that every future Hooker album would be painstakingly constructed and boast a plethora of superstar cameos. The guest stars were designed to bring in a larger audience, who would hopefully be impressed enough to stick around for Hooker's solid stuff, which was usually better than the attention-grabbing, star-studded tracks. Of course, the names are what sold, and Virgin did not overlook that fact, choosing to assemble a collection of highlights titled The Best of Friends in 1998. The title refers to the superstar duets, and while this very well may be the best of those cuts — well, almost all of the duets are here, including both the sublime ("I Cover the Waterfront," with Van Morrison) and the mediocre — this stuff still isn't as good as Hooker's solo recordings from this era. Which means this disc is primarily for listeners who like to think they like Hooker, but they really just want to hear Eric Clapton wail away. Credits Chepito Areas Timbales Eric Barber Sax (Bass) David Bard Mastering Steve Berlin Sax (Baritone) Gil Bernal Sax (Tenor), Vocals Gaylord Birch Drums Victor Bisetti Drums Jerry Boys Engineer, Mixing Charles Brown Keyboards Dean Butterworth Drums Mario Caldato, Jr. Producer, Engineer Danny Caron Guitar Leon "Ndugu" Chancler Drums Eric Clapton Guitar Joachim Cooder Drums Ry Cooder Guitar, Producer Richard Cousins Bass Robert Cray Guitar Maurice Cridlin Bass Ruth Davies Bass (Acoustic) Terry Evans Vocals Arne Frager Engineer Jim Gaines Producer, Engineer William "Bill" Greene Vocals Bernie Grundman Mastering Ben Harper Guitar Kevin Hayes Drums David Hidalgo Guitar John Lee Hooker Guitar, Vocals Johnnie Johnson Piano Booker T. Jones Organ Mike Kappus Producer, Executive Producer, Representation Jim Keltner Drums Bobby King Vocals Rich Kirch Guitar Samuel Lehmer Engineer Herman Leonard Photography Bruce Licher Artwork, Art Direction, Design John "Juke" Logan Harmonica Los Lobos Producer Nick Lowe Bass Conrad Lozano Bass Scott Mathews Drums Reggie McBride Bass Joe McGrath Mixing Van Morrison Guitar, Vocals, Producer Charlie Musselwhite Harmonica Juan Nelson Bass Bill Payne Keyboards Armando Peraza Conga Karl Perazzo Timbales J.P. Plunier Producer John Porter Producer, Mixing Jim Pugh Keyboards Bonnie Raitt Vocals, Slide Guitar Raul Rekow Conga Benny Rietveld Bass Roy Rogers Guitar, Producer Rail Jon Rogut Engineer Cesar Rosas Guitar Carlos Santana Guitar, Producer Johnny Lee Schell Guitar Allen Sides Engineer, Mixing Jim Stern Mixing Samuel Taylor Bass Chester Thompson Synthesizer, Keyboards Ike Turner Piano Jimmie Vaughan Guitar Hank Waring Mastering |