John Lee Hooker - If You Miss 'Im . . . I Got 'Im (1970)

This album is marked by the interaction between John Lee Hooker and his guitar-playing cousin Earl. Earl, who succumbed to illness in 1970, was a fine bluesman in his own right, possessing a formidable slide technique. Many are unaware that the two often performed together, and the band that accompanies John Lee here also backed Earl frequently. The opening cut, then, a slow 12-bar number called "The Hookers" is not about ladies of the evening, but rather about the gentlemen in question. Heard here less than a year before his death, Earl still sounds frisky and versatile, often utilizing a funky wah-wah style without ever descending into the psychedelic excesses that plagued so many late-'60s electric blues albums. One of the most effective cuts is "Lonesome Mood," a low-key, one-chord stomper in the classic John Lee mold, where Earl's wah-wah guitar meshes with Johnny Walker's organ and Jefferey Carp's harmonica to create a subtly shifting, sensuously undulating web of sound over which John Lee works his hoodoo. On IF YOU MISS 'IM, John Lee definitely benefits from keeping it in the family.


Tracklist:
1 01. John Lee Hooker - The Hookers (If You Miss 'Im...I Got 'Im) (04:44)
1 02. John Lee Hooker - Baby, I Love You (04:11)
1 03. John Lee Hooker - Lonesome Mood (05:15)
1 04. John Lee Hooker - Bang Bang Bang Bang (04:47)
1 05. John Lee Hooker - If You Take Care Of Me, I'll Take Care Of You (03:38)
1 06. John Lee Hooker - Baby Be Strong (05:07)
1 07. John Lee Hooker - I Wanna Be Your Puppy Baby (08:14)
1 08. John Lee Hooker - I Don't Care When You Go (02:39)
1 09. John Lee Hooker - Have Mercy On My Soul! (07:55)