John Lee Hooker - 'Alone: Live at Hunter College'

Let's take a musical trip down memory lane, back to 1976.  ABBA had two of their biggest singles that year, “Dancing Queen” and “Fernando” and Queen was king with “Bohemian Rhapsody”.  Chicago’s “If You Leave Me Now” was a monster hit, as was Elton John and Kiki Dee’s, “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”.  If there is one commonality between those five songs, it’s the slick and glossy production values. For better - or worse (mostly worse) - the five songs listed above, the five biggest-selling global singles of 1976, still stand as some of the most “produced” songs of the 20th century.

In an alternate universe, in New York City, a concert took place that couldn't be further removed from the flash of the day's most popular music.  A blues singer from Tutwiler (or Clarksdale), Mississippi, who was in his early 60s, took the stage at Hunter College to perform a set of songs accompanied by nothing but his electric guitar: that man was John Lee Hooker, or as his fans call him, "Hook"

'Alone: Live at Hunter College', has been previously released as "Alone" on the Tomato label in 1989, and has turned up on a few of the European "public domain" labels under many different titles, some with incorrect dates and locations.  In 2022, BMG acquired the rights to John Lee Hooker’s music interests and this is the first release since that acquisition; other releases from that catalog are said to be following soon.  This is the best the Hunter College recordings have ever sounded.

 

“I Miss You So” begins the album and captures a peak moment of excitement for Hook and the audience.  Still, it also prepares the audience - and you, the freeloader, for the meditative quality of Hook’s performance to come.  While many of these songs feature Hook’s trademark blues-boogie, much of the album has a plaintive, hypnotic, engaging quality; the set list features the best of both approaches.  It’s not easy for one man with a guitar - featuring no effects other than a guitar amp on the clean setting with a touch of reverb to captivate an auditorium, but Hook does it with ease. 

The crowd calls out for “Boom Boom” and Hook responds, “Okay, give me a little time to change my keys, and I’ll get ‘Boom Boom’ for you.  Thank you for being so kind and so patient in waiting.”  He launches into the unmistakable riff and the sound of the lyrics flows from his larynx with a comforting familiarity but is also accompanied by plenty of energy.  In introducing, “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer” Hook admits, “I could use one by now...you sure ain’t got it in here” which comes at the end of the first set.  Hooker doesn’t rush through this version, and settles on a sturdy tempo to close out the set. 

There are moments when listening to this album where it’s easy to forget that a live audience is present.  No one was on their phone in 1976, and the audience is fully absorbed in Hook’s nuanced and meandering performance, happy to follow him wherever the path may lead.  You might think that the audience will join in with Hook to add some accompaniment to his solo performance, which they do during “Mama Killed a Chicken”, but they soon find out that Hooker is playing to his internal metronome, and they struggle to follow the master. 

In fact, on “Tired of Being Your Doggie” someone in the audience plays a harmonica along with Hook who doesn’t bat an eyelash. The reverb and distance of the harp add an otherworldly and perfectly spooky element to the performance, and to the recording.  Hook even seems at some points during this number to engage in some interplay with the masquerading harp player.  He goes with the flow, which can serve as a suitable thesis for the whole album.  Hook finally encourages the audience to clap for the “young man” who played on a few numbers.

Hooker’s conversational approach to the audience is polite, affectionate, and sincere. “Thank you for lending me the sound of your hands,” he says after several songs.  It must have been a phrase he used many times during his career, but he puts forth the sentiment with warmth.  He also explains to the audience how he enjoys playing on his own, “I enjoy sometimes just sitting down, you know, and just playing by myself, alone without the band...it’s nice to relax, to just sit by yourself and just play, you can do what you want to do.” He continues, “with the band you can’t do that, you got to lay back and everybody plays their part. But this way, all parts are mine and (with an infectious chuckle, he says) I can do what I want to do, and I enjoy that sometimes,” to which the audience responds with supportive applause, of course.

Look no further than “Feel Good” to get an idea of the freedom and joy that Hooker felt playing unencumbered with a band.  He can fool around with his tempo and take chances on his solos to his heart’s desire.  The only people he’s interested in pleasing are himself and his audience.

“Crawling King Snake” best known by many as the stomping blues number attacked by the Doors on 'LA Woman' was popularized by Hooker in the 1940s and serves as the album’s closer.  His version on this album couldn't be more removed from the Doors’ take.  It’s not better, and it's not worse: it’s just a different planet, and it’s also six years after that version.

'Alone: Live at Hunter College' is an essential album for two reasons: the first is that it is an important archival artifact of one night in the history of John Lee Hooker, who was a towering figure in blues and popular music.  The other lesson to be learned from this album is the important reminder that sometimes less is more.  If music, a feeling, art, or otherwise, can be conveyed in its most simplistic, stripped-down terms, something is very right with the performer and their material. 

Blues rock featuring Hook’s influence became a popular commodity in the 1970s and 80s, and “Boogie Chillun” (Hook's first big “hit” which was initially released in 1948) demonstrates where this sound originated.  Only three years before this live performance, ZZ Top’s “La Grange” had popularized a version of the song’s riff - and a pale imitation of Hooker’s inimitable voice.  Six years later, George Thorogood and the Destroyers released “New Boogie Chillun” (did it need an update? No, it did not) on their incredibly successful, super-hit 1982 album, 'Bad to the Bone'.  But Hook’s 1948 original, and the version on this live set, refuse to be bested. Though late 70s radio was pumping out songs with massive production containing all the sonic bells and whistles that were all the rage, a presentation as simple as Hooker’s concert at Hunter College contains just as much power, confidence, and presence as those big budget and overproduced hit songs.

For the freeload, tell us what your favorite album from 1976 is.