Herald Recordings - 1954;

When Lightnin' Hopkins tore it up, he tore it up good, as this collection of sessions from 1954 attests. "Hopkins' Sky Hop" alone is worth the price of admission, a delightful uptempo instrumental piece that walks the line between blues and rock & roll. At the other end of the tempo spectrum, there's "Sick Feelin' Blues," not to mention "Lightnin' Don't Feel Well," which has the pace of a slowly flowing river and the mood to match. Mood is one of the blues' greatest strengths, and it's something that Hopkins understood very well; there's real bitterness in "Don't Think 'Cause You're Pretty" and a reflective feeling to "Sittin' Down Thinkin'." These recordings were made between the two main peaks in Hopkins's popularity and so were relatively unknown at the time, but they're beyond a doubt worth hearing. --Genevieve Williams