JOHN LEE HOOKER
Blues King Pins
EMI/Virgin (2003) 82741
18 tracks, 52 minutes. John Lee Hooker has been no stranger to the CD reissue market, literally having a few hundred (domestic and import) titles devoted to him and his highly rhythmic blues style, but there are a number of nice surprises here. While Hooker was never recognized as a guitarist of advanced abilities, his stark, Delta-rooted approach coupled with off-kilter timing took him around the world, starting with his first recording success, Boogie Chillen in the late 1940s. He continued by contributing Sally Mae/Hobo Blues/Crawling Kingsnake Blues/ Weepin' Willow Boogie/Howlin' Wolf to an already stellar catalog, and these are alongside harder to find cuts like Love Money Can't Buy/Hug And Squeeze/The Syndicator, a crunching I'm Ready and more. For someone who recorded so frequently, Hooker's early material was almost always of a very high standard and there's plenty on this set.

ELMORE JAMES
Blues King Pins
EMI/Virgin (2003) 82738
18 tracks, 50 minutes. Sometimes mistakenly regarded as a one-lick-wonder with a slide in his hand, Elmore James was a far more accomplished guitarist than that unfair description, and the proof resides in this budget-priced collection. Elmore took Robert Johnson's bottleneck style, amplified it to crunching levels, and took Dust My Broom and bottleneck guitar to lofty new heights between his first recording session in 1951 and his untimely death in 1963. Rock My Baby Right/Baby What's Wrong/Sinful Woman/Dark And Dreary all show Elmore's skills playing standard guitar, and these are smartly interspersed with plenty of slide showcases like Lost Woman Blues/Hawaiian Boogie/Standing At The Crossroads and more. While all of this has seen stateside issue previously, it makes a superb primer for those just being introduced to Elmore's scorching guitar and impassioned vocals.

IKE TURNER
Blues King Pins
EMI/Virgin (2003) 82714
18 tracks, 52 minutes.
Ike Turner has played a remarkable role in the development of modern music from his days of scouting talent like Howlin' Wolf and Jackie Brenston to teaming up with Anna Mae Bullock for the dynamic Ike & Tina Turner. This collection gathers together a great cross-section of styles with piano, guitar, and booting sax thundering behind a wide cast of vocalists. Turner's first wife, Bonnie, duets with Ike on Looking For My Baby and My Heart Belongs To You, Billy Gayles tackles Night Howler, and Dennis Binder steps up for Early Times and Nobody Wants Me. Johnny Wright's The World Is Yours is exceptional and there's Johnny 'Big Moose' Walker's previously unissued Can't See You Baby with Ike's careening whammy bar guitar. The set closes with Prancing, a crippling guitar instrumental. Considering the cut-rate pricetags, the new Blues King Pins discs from EMI/Virgin offer great value for the buck. There are enough surprises to keep things interesting for collectors, and for beginners, they rate as excellent introductory sets.

LIGHTNIN' HOPKINS
Blues King Pins
EMI/Virgin (2003) 82740
18 tracks, 48 minutes. Lightnin' Hopkins, like John Lee Hooker, was another prolific recording artist who recorded for an amazing larray of labels. The eighteen tracks selected here cover just a few of Lightnin's earlier years when he was working for the Aladdin, Gold Star, and RPM imprints. Some fine acoustic material with Thunder Smith (Hopkins' nickname stemmed from his teaming up with Smith for the Thunder and Lightnin' duo) including Katie Mae/Feel So Bad/Rocky Mountain Blues stands with searing electric workouts like Lightnin's Boogie, and a storming Jake Head Boogie, loaded with blisterling and distorted guitar licks. For those unfamiliar with Hopkins' style and how important an influence he was, this is a necessary primer course in Texas blues guitar vocabulary.

FATS DOMINO
Blues King Pins
EMI/Virgin (2003) 82742
18 tracks, 43 minutes. With the vast amount of material owned by EMI, their Virgin offshoot helps celebrate 2003's "The Year of the Blues" status with this Fats Domino disc, as well as five others in the new Blues King Pins series. Part of the attraction for collectors will be the tracks that haven't been reissued in the U.S. before now. The Domino set contains great New Orleans grooves with the Fat Man in front of Dave Bartholomew's thumping band as they roll through Rockin' Chair/Trust In Me/Domino Stomp and others. Mastering is exceptional while the entire series has solid liner notes from Bill Dahl. Fats' beginnings are shown to good example, especially on the wonderful leadoff track, Hide Away Blues, and while he became a major star during the 1950s rock 'n' roll craze, he's never strayed far from his roots.

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