Gold Star Sessions 1

First, this CD some of Lightning earliest recordings made for Gold Star records in Houston. The music is superb and the sound is very good given it was taken entirely from either vinyl 78s or acetates.I, however, want to ask a question about Lightning's guitar style, which I hope someone can answer for me.I'm sure some of Lightning's biggest fans also play guitar. I do and I've been learning Lightning's style for over 40 years. I think I can fairly say that I can play all of his licks, though I'd rather say I can play in his style.Here's what intrigues me.Lightning supposedly plays "Texas style", i.e., he thumps the appropriate bass string and picks out the melody line primarily on the treble strings with his index finger. Ernie Hawkins has two instructional DVDs in which he emphasizes this aspect of Lightning's playing as well as demonstrates how to play several of his blues, though I don't think that if you want to learn Lightning's style you need these videos: you just need to listen to his recordings, especially the early ones which feature only his singing and his guitar.Here's my question and I'd really appreciate any responses, even educated guesses:There are numerous blues singers and guitarists who recorded after Lightning who play the way he does, though I've never really heard one who plays as well as Lightning does.When you hear a blues guitarist, you can usually find players who recorded before him from whom he derived his style. For example, B.B. King created the essential modern blues single-string solo style, but he was preceded by Charlie Christian and T-Bone Walker. Elmore James, who influenced slide guitarists galore, was preceded by Robert Johnson and other Delta players.But who preceded Lightning? I've been listening to blues recordings from the 1920s on down and I have yet to hear anybody before Lightning who played the way he did, not among Texas players or players from other areas. So far in my listening history, Lightning has the most unique blues guitar style I've ever heard. (Running a close second is, of course, John Lee Hooker, who used open G tuning without a slide, a style he said he'd learned from his step-father.)I realize Lightning's style is not terrifically complicated. It's been called "skeletal" by at least one critic, but it's tremendously evocative. But where did he learn to play as he did? Some say he gained a lot from Blind Lemon Jefferson, but except for ending every song with the four notes that make up "good evening, friends", there's no similarity between Lemon and Lightning. Lemon plays doesn't thump the bass, he plays runs all over the neck, bass and treble. He also finger-picks, which Lightning doesn't, and he's technically more skilled than Lightning/So this is my question: who before Lightning played in a style like his? I'd be very appreciative if anybody could answer this.

This and these:  Gold Star Sessions 2  ------  The Complete Aladdin Recordings  are the real thing. We LOVE them. You might too.

A+

A previous reviewer found fault with the sound quality of this disc, which features some of the earliest recordings of Texas blues legend Lightnin' Hopkins. Well, no real argument there. Sound quality does vary, sometimes widely, and recordings made directly from old 78s (as most of these were) more than 50 years ago just are not going to be perfect. But marvelous music does not have to be pristine; anyone who rejects songs this great because of sound quality is going to miss out on incalculable treasures. Anyone who truly loves blues can look past the hisses (and the CD is not unlistenable). There is strong music here. Only a couple up-tempo boogies. It's mostly just Lightnin' and his guitar and the beautiful sound they make, although there is a cool track of Lightnin' playing his impression of zydeco on a sort of roller-rink sounding organ and one fun cut with a small combo. This would easily get 5 stars on basis of the music. It deserves 4 1/2 but I have to give it 4 in this ratings system, solely because of the sound. It might be fun if somebody tried to clean these up using the latest noise reduction equipment. Anyway, Volume 2 in this series is just as good, and for true perfection buy the better-sounding "The Complete Aladdin Recordings", cut at about the same time and featuring the same kind of stellar Texas country blues.

Lightnin' Hopkins was one of the most prolific blues artists of all time, recording hundreds of songs for scores of labels. These early Gold Star recordings were made in Houston during the late 1940s and contain some of his greatest sides. Hopkins was always at his best on slow, down-home tunes where the verses just poured out of him like water from a faucet. (Hopkins composed blues verses at the drop of a hat; I bet he dreamed in the 12-bar form.) SHORT HAIRED WOMAN (a theme he sang about on numerous occasions), AUTOMOBILE BLUES, TRAVELER'S BLUES, and GOODBYE BLUES are just a small selection of the excellent examples of Hopkins's repertoire included here.From the first chords he plays on his amplified guitar we know it's Lightnin', his style is distinct. Styles changed in blues while Hopkins was on the scene, but his never did - and that was totally fine by me. Anybody interested in the blues needs to check out Lightnin' Hopkins if they haven't done so already. And this is the best of his early stuff. Go for it! [There's a Volume 2 on Arhoolie of additional Gold Star sides that is just as good as this CD; in fact, the two CDs are a tandem. Get both.]

I have been a Lightnin' fan for almost 10 years and I have probably 20 of his discs. This, along with Autobiography in Blues is one of my favorites. Lightnin' has always been one of my favorite blues musicians because he sings and plays from the heart. Isn't that what the blues is really about? This album showcases Lightnin's guitar playing skills at his best and his singing at its most emotional. True, the sound quality is not great by today's standards, but Lightnin's mastery of the blues idiom comes across in every track. Personally I think the scratchiness of the tracks adds something to them. Nobody plays the blues like Lightnin'. This is truly an essential album for any blues fan.

Mostly accompanied by himself on the electric guitar, this album has some nice songs in it, such as "Going Home Blues", "Seems Funny Baby", "Fast Life Woman", etc. The drawback, however, is the backgroud noise. You may feel bored after you finish playing the whole CD.

Great, beautiful fluid blues guitar. Essential.