LISTEN TO ONE:I Learn about the Blues
Lightnin' Hopkins is, by most counts. the most widely recorded of all blues singers, under his own name and a variety of others. and they're all worth listening to, but most people, indlucing most blues lovers, will not have amassed a complete collection of Lightnin's discography. You'd have to pretty committed just to own a complete set of Hopkins on Prestige--there are 11 albums, on the main label, Bluesville and Prestige Folklore.
This is the last Prestige session, produced once again by Samuel Charters, and distinguished by alternating tracks of Lightnin' singing and Lightnin' talking, creating a mini-memoir. The songs are great, in the Lightnin' style, and the interviews are fascinatng. If
you were only going to buy one Lightnin' Hopkins album, you'd probably not choose this one. You'd go for the music, and you might well choose one of the Prestige albums, because they have higher standards for recording than a lot of the other labels he turned up on. But if you're a folklorist, or just someone who wants to get to know the musicians he listens to better, this is an excellent choice. Called, appropriately, My Life in the Blues.
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