September 1999

Earl Hooker
Simply the Best
MCA

By Bill Milkowski

Guitar great Earl Hooker stings with nasty authority in a variety of contexts on Simply the Best (MCA 11811; 75:53). Whether he's backing the likes of Muddy Waters ("You Shook Me"), second cousin John Lee Hooker ("Messin' Around With the Blues"), Charles Brown ("Driftin' Blues"), Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry ("When I Was Drinkin'") or is featured as a leader, Hooker's instantly identifiable tone and phrasing cuts like a knife. This one is a must for blues guitar fans.