Hoodoo Blues

One of many mysterious Classic Sound Inc. blues releases, with no indication of whence the material originated. The sound is decent but nothing special, and some of the balances are haywire (some guitars pushed too far into the mix etc.), but the CD is a mess. The songs include "Rooster Blues" (with an awkward brass section somewhere in the background), "G.I. Blues," "Crazy About You Baby," "My Babe," "Things I Used to Do," "That's All Right," and "Lightning's Bad Luck" (which reappears, in what seems to be the very same cut, as "Bad Luck Blues," seven songs later), all licensed from a British outfit called Prestige Records. The material sounds like it was done much later than Lightnin' Slim's classic Excello sides, leading one to believe that it originated during the British phase of his career, when he was playing to audiences overseas -- it could have been a busted "London Sessions"-style collection. For all of its sloppiness, this is a decent budget-priced disc, and a nice appendix to the important part of Slim's career, for all of its mystery -- but it's a pity it isn't a live concert, like the Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf CSI releases. ~ Bruce Eder|

One of many mysterious Classic Sound Inc. blues releases, with no indication of whence the material originated. The sound is decent but nothing special, and some of the balances are haywire (some guitars pushed too far into the mix etc.), but the CD is a mess. The songs include "Rooster Blues" (with an awkward brass section somewhere in the background), "G.I. Blues," "Crazy About You Baby," "My Babe," "Things I Used to Do," "That's All Right," and "Lightning's Bad Luck" (which reappears, in what seems to be the very same cut, as "Bad Luck Blues," seven songs later), all licensed from a British outfit called Prestige Records. The material sounds like it was done much later than Lightnin' Slim's classic Excello sides, leading one to believe that it originated during the British phase of his career, when he was playing to audiences overseas -- it could have been a busted "London Sessions"-style collection. For all of its sloppiness, this is a decent budget-priced disc, and a nice appendix to the important part of Slim's career, for all of its mystery -- but it's a pity it isn't a live concert, like the Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf CSI releases. ~ Bruce Eder