Very Best Of Lightnin' Hopkins, The (Blues Masters) - Lightnin' Hopkins

Advantages: Value of money, something different!
Disadvantages: Not for everyone!

..., and mercifully no crowd cheering. The song does lose pace a little, and this doesn’t quite work for me, but never mind, the next track... 5. Mental Beat Another “Eng-land” style drum riff with beautifully out-of-tune guitars herald the beginning of this twisted up little gem. Not very rock, more like a pop track with those excellent Monroe vocals over the top. Like a lot of pop songs from the 80’s all rolled into one. Women screaming in the background. Very occasionally smacks of ‘must try harder’ until the backwards-sounding guitar solo comes in and I concede to the powers of the 6-string again. Dammit! “It’s an endless song” sings Monroe – at just over 5 minutes I’m tempted to agree. 6. Self Destruction Blues Typical blues song time, but a welcome relief! It’s good to keep switching the pace in ‘best-ofs’ I find, a few quickies... Read review

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Advantages: Restores your faith in honest songwriting
Disadvantages: May not suit all tastes

...’s voce falters a little in places, which gets me every time. TRACK 14 – Touch, Feel and Lose A jazzed-up, brassed-up Blues Brothers echoing grand tune, with the standard Ryan intro of soft melody and crooning until the music builds steadily to a climax in the chorus, which then drops softly off with some gospel backing into the guitar-plucking, quiet verse. The lyrics are simple and just as high-standard as all the others - “You know your kisses they like lightnin’ and thunder/And your smile is sweet and come down like the rain.” Cool. The huge outro of this song is also masterful, and gets you in the right mood for… TRACK 15 – Tina Toledo’s Street Walkin’ Blues Oh yeah! Coming on like a Lenny Kravitz number, this groove along at a steady, cool pace with some excellent story-telling lyrics. “Send it home!” cries Ryan at the end... Read review

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Advantages: Aerosmith's newest album
Disadvantages: A lot of covers - but not a major problem.

.... It's a great opening track for a great album. Track 2: Shame, shame shame. Written by R.Fisher, K. Hopkins. This is a really fast paced song and again the bass from Tom adds some real 'bounce' to the track. The song also includes harmonica and piano playing from Chuck Berry. A great track. It's kind of short, but the pace of it and quality make it a song you will probably listen to again over and over. The climax to the song is great as Tyler reaches a slighly higher note as he sings "shame on what you done!". Track 3. Eyesight to the blind: Written by S.B Williamson. This track slows the album down a bit and makes a nice contrast to the previous 2 tracks. It is very bluesy, and it starts off with a slide of the piano keys and from them on follows a steady slow beat. One of the best lines from this track is the chorus... Read review

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