A 1959 recording that was inexplicably not issued in the United States until 1992,
Burning Hell
ranks among
John Lee Hooker
's most edgy and focused performances. A companion piece to
The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker
, it finds
Hooker
singing country-blues, accompanied only by his own acoustic guitar -- something he rarely did after traveling north from the Mississippi Delta. Tackling several originals as well as tunes associated with
Howlin' Wolf
,
Muddy Waters
Lightnin' Hopkins
, and
Big Bill Broonzy
shows himself to be an excellent interpreter who could have held his own with Delta bluesmen of any era. Although his guitar playing is pretty raw even by blues standards,
more than compensates with his powerful, resonant voice. Several tracks, including "Burnin' Hell" and "You Live Your Life and I'll Live Mine," are downright frightening in their intensity. Although
Robert Jr. Lockwood
is often identified as
Robert Johnson
's successor, this album would seem to indicate that
is the most likely candidate to have a hellhound on his trail.