Hooker Mines His Blues Roots

*** John Lee Hooker, “Don’t Look Back,” Pointblank/Virgin. The title suggests otherwise, but the veteran bluesman’s latest collection mines his roots, offering classic tunes as well as new compositions. Hooker is backed and produced by Los Lobos on his old hit “Dimples,” but Van Morrison produced the rest of these 11 songs. Mustering more enthusiasm than on his own new album, the legendary Irish rocker also joins the 79-year-old guitarist-singer on several tracks, including “Travellin’ Blues” and Morrison’s “The Healing Game.”

The groove is pretty relaxed, alternating between kicked-back blues and up-tempo boogie. The album is shot through with Hooker’s trademark menacing guitar work and singing, creating subtle, unsettling moods. The eeriness of “Don’t Look Back” becomes positively Lynchian, while Hooker’s take on Jimi Hendrix’s “Red House” is spookily dreamlike.

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