John Lee Hooker - The Big Soul of John Lee Hooker [Spain Import]

The Big Soul of John Lee Hooker shows the boogie king stepping into a fuller soul and R&B sound, here as a limited 180-gram Spanish import with bonus tracks.

Hooker built his legend on hypnotic, one-chord grooves and a voice like gravel, often with little more than his guitar and a stomping foot. For this Vee-Jay album he was surrounded by horns, keyboards, a tight rhythm section and backing singers, a move that brought his blues closer to the soul music taking over the airwaves in the early 1960s.

The approach works because Hooker never bends to the arrangements; they bend to him. "San Francisco" sets the tone, with backing singers answering his lines over a rolling groove, and "Take a Look at Yourself" keeps that call and response going.

This edition adds bonus tracks, among them the stomping "Boom Boom", one of the most recognisable songs he ever cut and a riff that countless bands have borrowed since.

It is a fascinating side of an artist usually heard in starker settings, and a rewarding pick for blues fans who want to hear how Hooker's deep-rooted style held its ground in a changing decade. The heavy pressing gives that warm, crowded studio sound plenty of body.