Steppin' Stone Records artist John Lee Hooker Jr. - All Hooked Up - New Release Review

Just received a copy of All Hooked Up, the new cd/dvd release by John Lee Hooker Jr. which will be available on September 18, 2012. This is a pretty trick recording with a styling sound. It has a lot of roots in a lot of places. Track one Tired Of being A Housewife, has many of the attributes of JG Watson and Albert King with horns, a little bit of a rap rhythm and a great guitar solo from Alvon Johnson. Jr. has great skills as a vocalist and this recording is quite different from anything that Sr. ever did... but that's good. There's nothing like the early Sr. work and Jr. is cutting his own path. You Be My Hero is another blues funk track and it is as smooth as silk... think about JG Watson with no disco influence. Listen To The Music has a strong New Orleans twist and really moves along well. John Burr lays down some real nice piano work on this track. I Surrender comes on strong with horns... Jr. and Betty Wright working an R&B fashioned track and the Curtis Mayfield sound. Hard Times, a soul oriented blues track along the lines of Johnny Jenkins, starts off with some real nice guitar work from John Garcia and nice harp punctuation from Dave Barrette. This track has a great guitar solo digging deeper into the blues. Very nice! Let Me Be another swinging blues track has a lot of horns which really punch up the impact. Jeffrey Horan rips a pretty slick solo on guitar on this track. It Must Be The Meds gets back into the Johnny Guitar Groove with the funky talking guitar but the track has a personality of all it's own. I really like this. Michael Rogers (drums) and Frank Thibeaux (bass) have a lot to do with setting the tempo for this track. The title track, All Hooked Up, brings Walter Wolfman Washington to mind in delivery and James Brown to mind in composition. Eddie Minnfield honks out a cool sax solo on this track. I Know That's Right is a pretty straight R&B track with solid horns and vocals. Pay The Rent takes a hard turn down jazz alley with sparkling key work from Will "Roc" Griffin and horns on punctuation. It's a swingin' blues track that could easily capture airplay due to it's universal timeless appeal. The recording is completed by Tears In My Eyes, another track down the jazz highway but this time more heavily influenced by the blues. Part way through the track the tempo changes and it's in full swing. Jr. demonstrates over and over that he's a great singer with vast potential. John Garcia rips a pretty strong guitar solo on this track as well. This recording falls outside of what I typically hear... and that's good. I think it's a powerful recording from a new master not following in his fathers footsteps.
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Couldn't find a track from the new cd but this is a good representation of JLH Jr. at work.

John Lee Hooker, Jr. Is "All Hooked Up" on New CD Coming September 18 from Steppin' Stone Records

John Lee Hooker, Jr. Is All Hooked Up on New CD Coming September 18 from Steppin’ Stone Records, with Special Guests Lucky Peterson and Betty Wright; CD Produced by Renowned
Writer/Producer Larry Batiste

Package Includes Bonus DVD with Animated Video for His Song, “Dear John”

ROSEVILLE, CA – Multiple Grammy and Blues Music Award nominee John Lee Hooker, Jr. announces a September 18 release date for his exciting new CD, All Hooked Up, on his own Steppin’ Stone Records, with national distribution by INgrooves Fontana. The new CD was produced by renowned writer/producer Larry Batiste, recorded at Pajama Recording Studios in Oakland, California, and features special guests Lucky Peterson on guitar and “The Cleanup Woman” herself, Betty Wright, who duets with John Lee on the sizzling and soulful track, “I Surrender.”

The All Hooked Up album package also features a special bonus DVD, rated PG, of an animated film noir video for John Lee’s song, “Dear John.” The video was created by French production studio Callicore, under the dynamic creative team of Laurent Mercier and Xavier Semen.

All Hooked Up is John Lee’s fifth album and showcases the amazing versatility of the singer on an even-dozen original songs that demonstrate his roots in the blues, as well as soul, gospel, funk, rock and even a touch of jazz. On the new CD, he’s backed by a tight, in-the-pocket band that kicks with a solid groove and includes a host of Bay Area all-star musicians who totally bring the funk to all the proceedings. And while he is his father’s son, John Lee Hooker, Jr. is definitely his own man with his own sound.

Highlights on the new CD are many, starting with the lead-off track, “Tired of Being a Housewife,” a gritty, urban blues about a neglected wife breaking the bonds of her not-so-holy-matrimony and sowing some wild oats of her own; “You Be My Hero, “ John Lee’s salute to all the men and women in the U.S. military featuring some electrifying guitar by the great Lucky Peterson; the funky “Listen to the Music,” complete with a New Orleans second-line beat; the duet with Betty Wright on “I Surrender,” which sounds like something from a Curtis Mayfield session during the classic days of soul; and the title track, an autobiographical song of Hooker’s trials and tribulations growing up the son of an iconic bluesman, presented with an uplifting spirit and based in a solid funky dance groove that goes through the ceiling. On “Hard Times” and “Let Me Be,” he’s in classic blues form, accented by some blistering guitar and harmonica on the former, and shouting horns on the latter; and on “Pay the Rent,” Hooker shows his versatility with a jazzy vocal that recalls Lou Rawls in style and timbre.

Born in Detroit, John Lee Hooker, Jr. was weaned on the blues at an early age by his illustrious father: by the time he was eight years old, the youngster was already performing on local radio station WJBK and when in his teens, he was already touring with the boogie master. Exposed to blues great such as Jimmy Reed, and local heroes Washboard Willie, and Boogie Woogie Red, the young Hooker became a regular at such prestigious venues as Detroit’s Fox Theatre and other upscale Motown clubs. At 18, he was recording with his father, most notably on senior’s landmark Live at Soledad Prison album for ABC Records.

The young John Lee eventually fell victim to the temptations that his father’s celebrity and financial status afforded him, and what followed were several years of dark and desperate times mired in the street culture which brought with it the drugs and alcohol that soon became his crutch. Following the life-altering event of his father’s death, and with his strong religious beliefs and the help of family and friends, John Lee Hooker, Jr. emerged out of the shadows triumphantly with the release of his debut CD, Blues with a Vengeance, released in 2004 on Kent Records.

The newly-awakened artist received the 2004 “Comeback Artist of the Year Award” from the San Francisco Bay Area Blues Society, “Outstanding Blues Album of the Year” from The California Music Awards, a “Best New Artist Debut” nomination from the Blues Foundation and topped it off with a “Best Traditional Blues” Grammy nomination.

Cold as Ice came next on Telarc Records in 2006 and in 2007 the first CD on his own label, All Odds Against Me, which garnered another Grammy nomination. In 2010 came the release of his Live in Istanbul, Turkey CD. During that time, he toured all over the world with artists such as Lenny Kravitz, Taj Mahal and ZZ Top and also became the musical “face” of America’s prestigious U.S. Open in CBS-TV. His personal story of physical rejuvenation and spiritual rebirth even landed him an interview on the “700 Club” TV show and on the cover of Healthy Living magazine.

John Lee Hooker, Jr. is currently touring extensively in the U.S., Europe and other parts of the world, performing and promoting his music.