This first installment in the complete chronological recordings of
Lightnin' Hopkins opens with 14 sides he cut for the Aladdin label in Los Angeles on November 9, 1946, and August 15, 1947. Unlike most of
Hopkins' austere solo recordings, the first four tracks feature pianist
Thunder Smith, who sings a bit like
Washboard Sam or
Tampa Red. Indeed, both "Can't Do Like You Used To" and "Little Mama Boogie" could easily pass for something out of the Bluebird Chicago jump blues catalog. The other ten titles are the earliest recorded examples of the distinctive
Lightnin' Hopkins style, whereby he sounds like a dry Southwestern cousin to
Furry Lewis,
Mississippi John Hurt, or
Fred McDowell. Eventually the piano completely disappears, as the guitarist creates his own private, slow, and reflective space. The other extreme is reached in the form of smoking duets with a nameless drummer, the rocking "Big Mama Jump" (a sequel to "Little Mama Boogie"), and a brisk cover of
Tampa Red's cheerfully bawdy "Let Me Play with Your Poodle." Back in Houston a few months later,
Hopkins cut his first two sides for the Gold Star label, close covers of his own "Short Haired Woman" and "Big Mama Jump" (now sporting licks that would later resurface in
Willie Dixon's "Mellow Down Easy" and
Elmore James' "Shake Your Money Maker").
Hopkins finished off 1947 and forged ahead into the following year by recording eight more sides for Aladdin. Though credited to
Hopkins in the discography, "Someday Baby," also redone here as "You Are Not Going to Worry My Life Anymore," actually came from
Big Maceo Merriweather. Incredibly, "Nightmare Blues" was issued "as is" with periodic microphone feedback interrupting the vocal. Why nobody thought to record a second take remains a mystery.