- Mr. Lucky (John Lee Hooker album)
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Mr. Lucky 
Studio album by John Lee Hooker Released 1991 Recorded Ocean Way Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; Plant Recording Studios, Sausalito, CA; Russian Hill Recording, San Francisco, CA Genre Blues Length 46:04 Label Classic Producer Ry Cooder, Mike Kappus, Roy Rogers, Carlos Santana John Lee Hooker chronology Lonesome Road
(1990)Mr. Lucky
(1991)More Real Folk Blues: The Missing Album
(1991)Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic 
[1]Entertainment Weekly (B-)[2] Robert Christgau (A-)[3] Rolling Stone [4]Mr. Lucky is a 1991 album by American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist John Lee Hooker. Produced by Ry Cooder, Roy Rogers and Carlos Santana under the executive production of Mike Kappus, the album assembled a diverse range of notable guest and session musicians, including Keith Richards, Blues Hall of Fame inductee Johnny Winter;[5] and three inductees of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Van Morrison, Booker T. Jones and Johnnie Johnson.[6][7] [8] Released on Virgin Records "Classic" label, it peaked at #101 on the "Billboard 200".
Contents
History
In 1989, John Lee Hooker achieved commercial and critical success with The Healer, an album which paired him with a number of notable guests, including Keith Richards and Bonnie Raitt, with whom Hooker shared a Grammy Award for "Best Traditional Blues Recording" for the track "In the Mood".[9] With Mr. Lucky, producers Cooder, Rogers and Santana follow the same successful formula, to mixed critical reviews; Rolling Stone praised the album as a refinement over its predecessor with an "all around...sharper fit", its notable guests serving as "superb sidemen for a great bluesman".[10] Entertainment Weekly, by contrast, described the album as essentially "a tribute album" where "most of the tunes...don't sound like Hooker at all".[11] In spite of mixed reception, the album charted well, reaching #101 on the "Billboard 200" chart in 1991 and also enjoying international sales success.[12][13] It was nominated for, but did not win, a Grammy.[14]
Track listing
Except where otherwise noted, all songs composed by John Lee Hooker.
- "I Want to Hug You" (Hooker, Al Smith) – 2:52
- "Mr. Lucky" (Hooker, Al Smith) – 4:38
- "Back Stabbers" (Hooker, Smith) – 5:01
- "This Is Hip" – 3:23
- "I Cover the Waterfront" – 6:39
- "Highway 13" – 6:32
- "Stripped Me Naked" (Hooker, Benny Rietveld, Carlos Santana, Chester Thompson) – 4:18
- "Susie" – 4:23
- "Crawlin' King Snake" (Tony Hollins, Bernard Besman, Hooker) – 3:20
- "Father Was a Jockey" – 4:58
Personnel
Performance
- Kenny Baker – saxophone
- Gaylord Birch – drums
- Bowen Brown – drums
- Albert Collins – guitar
- Tom Compton – drums
- Ry Cooder – guitar
- Richard Cousins – bass
- Robert Cray – guitar, vocals
- Maurice Cridlin – bass
- Steve Ehrmann – bass
- Terry Evans – vocals
- Jeff Ganz – bass
- William "Bill" Greene – vocals
- Jim Guyet – bass
- John Hammond, Jr. – harmonica, slide guitar
- Kevin Hayes – drums
- John Lee Hooker – guitar, vocals
- Johnnie Johnson – piano
- Booker T. Jones – organ
- Deacon Jones – organ
- Tim Kaihatsu – guitar
- Jim Keltner – drums
- Bobby King – vocals
- Nick Lowe – bass
- Scott Mathews – drums
- Van Morrison – guitar, vocals
- Michael Osborn – guitar
- Karl Perazzo – timbales
- Jimmy Pugh – organ
- Raul Rekow – conga
- Keith Richards – guitar
- Benny Rietveld – bass
- Carlos Santana – guitar
- Larry Taylor – bass
- Chester Thompson – keyboards
- Johnny Winter – guitar
Production
- Carol Bobolts – design
- Ry Cooder – producer
- Arne Frager – engineer, mixing
- Mike Kappus – executive producer, concept, talent coordinator
- Samuel Lehmer – engineer, mixing
- Roy Rogers – producer
- Steve Samiof – art direction
- Carlos Santana – producer
- Allen Sides – engineer
References
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Entertainment Weekly review
- ^ Robert Christgau review
- ^ Rolling Stone review
- ^ Blues Hall of Fame. Johnny Winter. blueshalloffame.com. Accessed December 17, 2007.
- ^ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. Van Morrison rockhall.com Accessed December 17, 2007.
- ^ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. Booker T. and the M.G.'s rockhall.com Accessed December 17, 2007.
- ^ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. Johnnie Johnson rockhall.com Accessed December 17, 2007.
- ^ Mr. Lucky (John Lee Hooker album) at Allmusic
- ^ Milward, John. (October 3, 2001) John Lee Hooker, Mr. Lucky Rolling Stone. Accessed December 17, 2007.
- ^ Givens, Ron. (November 15, 1991). Music Capsule Review "Mr. Lucky" Entertainment Weekly. Accessed December 17, 2007.
- ^ Mr. Lucky Billboard at Allmusic
- ^ John Lee Hooker, Mr. Lucky dutchcharts.nl Accessed December 17, 2007.
- ^ Rolling Stone. John Lee Hooker. rollingstone.com. Reproduced from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001). Accessed December 17, 2007.
Categories:- John Lee Hooker albums
- 1991 albums
- Blues albums
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