BURNIN’ [LTD.ED. LP]

This essential LP release includes Hooker’s sensational album, Burnin’, originally issued by Vee-Jay Records in 1962. His association with that label (from the 1950s to the early 1960s) marked a creative peak for Hooker. The album features the chart hit “Boom Boom,” one of Hooker’s most identifiable and enduring tunes. About the tightest musical structure of any Hooker composition, the song’s verses sedulously adhere to the twelve-bar format over which Hooker generally rides so roughshod. On the other hand, Hooker lays down a rollicking “Let’s Make It”, and covers Leroy Carr’s mournful “Blues Before Sunrise.” “Thelma” rides along on a funky horn riff and some more fine piano playing by Motown’s leading pianist Joe Hunter (not to be confused with “Ivory” Joe Hunter from Kirbyville, Texas). In addition to the original masterpiece, this vinyl collector’s LP contains 4 bonus tracks from the same period: “Send Me Your Pillow,” “Dusty Road,” “Onions,” and “Run On.”