John Lee Hooker: The Best Of Friends - Album Of The Week Club review

John Lee Hooker's 1998 album The Best Of Friends lives up to its name, collecting together more than a dozen of the bluesman's superstar duets, all recorded during his resurgence in the 1980s and 90s. 

Among the songs to make the album were several from 1989's huge-selling The Healer, the album that provided the collaborative template that would serve Hooker so well in his final years.  

The album is an obvious testament to Hooker's ability to attract a who's who of music royalty, with a lineup of stellar guests including Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Bonnie Raitt, Carlos Santana, Ike Turner, Ry Cooder, Ben Harper, Jimmie Vaughan, Los Lobos and more appearing across The Best Of Friends' 14 songs. 

Two tracks on the album won Grammy Awards for Hooker. In 1990, I'm In The Mood (featuring Bonnie Raitt) won the Best Traditional Blues Award, while in 1998 Don't Look Back (a duet with Van Morrison) received the prizes for Best Traditional Blues Recording and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

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Other albums released in October 1998

• Nu-Clear Sounds - Ash
• Against - Sepultura
• Hello Rockview - Less Than Jake
• John Mellencamp - John Mellencamp
• Queens of the Stone Age  - Queens of the Stone Age
• Without You I'm Nothing - Placebo
• Goddamnit - Alkaline Trio
• Tape Head - King's X
• Why Do They Rock So Hard? - Reel Big Fish
• Under the Running Board - The Dillinger Escape Plan
• Up - R.E.M.
• 1965 - The Afghan Whigs
• On a Day Like Today - Bryan Adams
• Once in a LIVEtime - Dream Theater
• Radiation - Marillion
• The Shape of Punk to Come - Refused
• The Story of the Ghost - Phish

What they said...

"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." (AllMusic)

"The guests, all instrumental except for Raitt and his old fan Van Morrison, open it up. Special kudos to Hispanic interpreters Los Lobos, who rock into his boogie, and Carlos Santana, who with two different bands bends The Healer and Chill Out into polyrhythmic workouts. And hey, give the drummers some – eight all told, every one of a single mind and a single beat, a beat that only gathers detail when it's stated outright." (Robert Christgau)

"The only real stinkers are Chill Out and The Healer, which are practically embalmed by shiny 80s production and widdly guitars...If anything, these recordings reveal how Hooker’s solo material didn’t need these superfluous flourishes to be engaging. To prove it, the finest moment here is Tupelo, where Hooker is accompanied by nothing more complicated than his guitar and his tapping foot. It’s a reminder that, even in his 70s, he still possessed that trademark brooding magnetism." (Record Collector)

What you said...

Mike Canoe: For me, what differentiates the blues (a musical form) from "the blues" (a marketing concept) is the emphasis on the human voice over someone's prowess with the electric guitar. So I was a little worried about this week's pick. Would John Lee Hooker's gruff growl be overwhelmed by the likes of Eric Clapton and Carlos Santana?

Fortunately, this still feels like John Lee Hooker's album - and, even though it's a compilation, it feels like an album because of the unifying theme of special guests on most tracks.

I tend to gravitate to the songs where the guests treat themselves like supporting cast instead of co-stars. Los Lobos supplies the fun Dimples with plenty of muscle but also seems content to not show off too much. Same with the two numbers featuring Ry Cooder, This Is Hip and Big Legs Tight Skirt, and Burnin' Hell with Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite. Even guitar maestros Eric Clapton and Jimmie Vaughan show relative restraint on their respective tracks.

My least favourite tracks, ironically, are the two with Carlos Santana - who I usually like a lot. It turns out that I like Santana messing with a John Lee Hooker song as much as I like someone messing with a Santana track. I Cover the Waterfront features Van Morrison at his sublime best while Don't Look Back has him at his warbling worst. I'm in the Mood makes me feel like I'm listening to my parents flirt but that's on me, not Hooker and Bonnie Raitt.

Ultimately, a much better pick than I originally expected. John Lee Hooker is the star here - as he should be. The Best of Friends shows how much music is interconnected and hopefully opens the doors of the club's "broad church" to more funk, soul, country, world etc.

Evan Sanders: As far as blues duets albums go, this is a good one. All of the songs are enjoyable, and it sounds more genuine than others, including BB King's Deuces Wild. This one makes me want to go back to his earlier work, which until later in my life was limited to The Doors' cover of Crawling King Snake.

Uli Hassinger: My collection of John Lee Hooker consist mainly of his classic songs on blues samplers. Besides, there are a lot of rock artists covering his songs over the decades. Of cause I'm aware of his big influence especially on the 60s British rhythm and blues bands. The only album I've heard was Chill Out, because of the great title song which is included on this record.

I understand that this collection does not suit the real blues lovers, who prefer his more raw and rude stuff of the 50s and 60s. In my mind, his later music, with lots of collaborations with famous rock musicians, opens up his musical horizons and makes his music more varied and enjoyable.

Therefore this album is my cup of tea. I especially like the classic Boogie Chillin' with Clapton. The song gains from the powerful guitar playing of Eric. The songs with Santana are a brilliant mix of the raw blues with smooth latin rhythms. Love it. Bonnie Raitt's guitar playing and singing also benefits the classic I'm In The Mood and gives it another twist. Booker T. Jones turns I Cover The Waterfront into some kind of Stax music. His stone-cold blues classics Boom Boom and Dimples also gain momentum in these remakes. Over all I like this record very much. Good Choice. 8/10.

Gary Claydon: To be honest, I'm struggling with this one. Not the listening to it part, as a long time fan of both Hooker and the blues in general, that's certainly no hardship. No, the problem is deciding how to rate it.

The Best of Friends is essentially a compilation album. That in itself isn't a problem: The majority of John Lee Hooker's recorded work is in the form of compilations of one sort or another and this is not uncommon among older blues artists.

Most of the collaborations here were cherry picked from his '80s and '90s 'comeback' period and include versions of some of his best known songs. Like others of his ilk, this was a period where John Lee Hooker crossed over into the mainstream and scored some long overdue and thoroughly well deserved commercial success - as well as the financial rewards that go with that. 

If this kind of 'crossover' blues is what appeals to you then The Best of Friends is the perfect album. For me, though, the slicker, more modern production doesn't always work on these songs. Ry Cooder once described listening to Hooker as being "like listening to two cats in a cage, quietly growling at each other". There was something dark and dangerous there, while Bonnie Raitt said that his music was some of the saddest things she'd ever heard. Any hint of that is decidedly muted here. 

So where does that leave The Best of Friends? Well, it's an enjoyable album and certainly not the worst John Lee Hooker compilation out there. But, then, it's nowhere near being the best either. There are far better versions of most of these songs easily available elsewhere. However, the trademark groove & boogie are there and I'd say this is a perfect album for the more 'casual' blues fan. Where it works best, though, is as an introduction to the great man. That 'crossover' period introduced a whole new generation of fans to his work and delving into his back catalogue is where the fun really begins.

Richard Cardenas: I happen to have owned this album since it came out and, while it’s really good, I feel some of the songs lose their soul. 7/10.

Mark Herrington: Legend. The roots of boogie rock etc, etc. Others may explain the musical technicalities and the historic specifics with greater knowledge than me.

1948's Boogie Chillin' began driving-rhythm boogie with its repetition, which eventually led to the likes of AC/DC. Hooker’s stylings inspired scores of artists such as the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, ZZ Top, Canned Heat and George Thorogood.

A lot of his ‘friends’ cite his influence on them and he played with many - again a huge list. So Friends is a good illustration of that influence as his career went into its later years. It’s hard to pick an album from an artist that produced over 100 albums and was still working into the Millennium. Maybe not for the purists, but an enjoyable album and one that entertains.

Adam Ranger: A solid compilation, some later reworkings of earlier songs and some original stuff with other musicians. An album like The Healer Is a better album to hear the newer stuff with other artists, but to those new to the magic of John Lee Hooker, this album is a good place to start the journey.

It has the classic walking / thumping boogie of Boogie Chillen', Dimples, Boom Boom etc, plus the soulful side of Hooker in the beautiful I Cover the Waterfront. It has Ry Coooder, Bonnie Raitt, Clapton and Santana. Difficult not to like. Play loud and I defy you not to move and smile. This is, for the most part, happy blues. 

If you are new to John Lee Hooker, soak up this album and then dive into the rawer earlier delights from his very long recording career. 

"Legend" is a very overused term for artists these days, but John Lee Hooker has earned that title. One of the most influential blues musicians ever.

Greg Schwepe: My first real encounter with John Lee Hooker’s music unfortunately didn’t happen until after he died back in 2001. Reading countless interviews with many artists on Best of Friends that listed him as an influence, I felt it was my duty to check out his music and purchase some compact discs.

So, Best of Friends is basically what I call a “Reverse Santana” album. With a lot of Santana albums, you get Santana’s guitar on every track; and different vocalists (and some guitar depending on the artist) across the album. On this John Lee Hooker record you get his vocals on every track; with different guitarists (and some vocalists depending on the artist) across the album. And ironically, Carlos Santana guests on two different songs. Here we get new versions of John Lee Hooker songs with some versions more in the vibe of the guest artist.

In reading explanations of John Lee Hooker’s music over the years, the most memorable ones were one-word descriptions. Raw. Primal. Hypnotic. Rhythmic. Grooving. Sparse. And yes, all those descriptions are displayed over the 14 tracks here.

Without doing a blow-by-blow account of all the tracks, I will say my favourites were the Bonnie Raitt-assisted I’m In The Mood, and the two Santana-guested tracks, The Healer and Chill Out. Oh, and the harmonica-infused Burnin’ Hell. There really wasn’t one song where the guest artist “ruined” the song. All added nice touches.

But I will say the best track of the entire album is Tupelo with John Lee Hooker, an acoustic guitar, and no guests. That is one powerful track. His deep vocals and just that ringing acoustic. Wow. I call that track a “palate cleanser.” 

Except for slight detours into each week’s review album, I’ve been on a hardcore diet of The Police for about a week, then all things Rush. Obviously great bands with a lot of rich, detailed, complex songs. Listening to Tupelo after Xanadu or Message In A Bottle was almost startling. Here you have this very simplistic song that showed that it doesn’t take much for the blues to take you somewhere.

Overall, a nice venture into the “artist with guests” concept. 8 out of 10.

Final score: 7.85 (21 votes cast, total score 165)

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