John Lee Hooker - Burning Hell [Catfish] (CD)

All Music Guide

In April 1959, Hooker recorded a couple of solo acoustic albums for Riverside that were his first efforts geared toward the folk/acoustic blues audience, rather than the commercial RB one. One of these albums (The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker) was issued at the time; the other, Burning Hell, wasn't issued until 1964, and then only in England (in 1992, it finally came out in the U.S. on CD). This is very similar to Country Blues, mixing originals with covers of tunes by Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Big Bill Broonzy. To my ears it has a slight edge -- the singing and performances sound a little more committed. But anyone who likes one LP will like the other, though neither ranks among the best of Hooker's one-man recordings.

- Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide