I've been listening to John Lee Hooker's 1989 album The Healer a lot this week.
It was astonishing at the time because the blues legend was 72 when it was released and it was more than a little unusual to find anyone from that era (pre-rock n roll, pre TOTP, let alone pre-MTV) in the studio.
He enlisted the help of a few more contemporary stars to help with the recording - including Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt and Robert Cray - and to lend some credibility to its release, in much the same way Santana himself would do with his own "reboot LP" a decade later, the excellent Supernatural.
The result is stunning.
I hadn't heard it for well over ten years but something happened this week to remind me of it when I was asked if I'd ever been to the Hammersmith Odeon and I replied that I had but it was ages ago when I saw John Lee Hooker ... in fact, he was 76 when I saw him and he had me on my feet and dancing for well over an hour. The band was tight, the crowd was up for it and it was one of those nights you know you'll never experience again : a bona fide living legend in the room, playing for you.
I had an American girlfriend several years ago who saw Elvis live when she was about 6 years old.
My own comparison was that at the same age, my parents took me to see Dick Emery on stage.
Not quite the same is it ?
Has anyone else got any gems they've rediscovered recently ??
).
