Ace Records is celebrating the late blues legend John Lee Hooker (1912 or 1917 - 2001) with a historic new box set. Due on May 29, Documenting the Sensation Recordings 1949-1952 accomplishes just that feat. When Ace purchased Sensation Records from Bernard Besman, a number of Hooker sides were among the acquisition. Besman had previously sold some of Hooker's recordings to United Artists and Greene Bottle. Until now, Ace hadn't completed research into the total contents of the acquisition. Over 3 CDs and 71 songs, the label has now brought together all of the sides purchased from Besman to chronicle this seminal period in Hooker's career.

The son of a sharecropper, Hooker grew up in the church and was reared on spirituals. Running away from home at a young age, he traveled to Memphis before settling in Detroit during World War II. His unusual "one man band" guitar technique and rasped talking-blues style made him stand out. His largely improvised songs didn't sound like anybody else's. Though compositionally simple - he only changed chords when the spirit moved him and lyrics didn't adhere to strict rhyming patterns or traditional scansion - Hooker's songs felt primal, of the earth itself. He came to embody the blues, and also carve the path towards rock and roll.

He earned the attention of record label personnel like Bernie Besman of Sensation Records. In Detroit, Besman had carved out a niche distributing records to a primarily African-American audience. He saw potential in Hooker, and knew how to capture his essence as a producer (before the term was in vogue). Besman put a microphone on Hooker's guitar, created echo by placing a speaker in a toilet bowl (!), and placed a board under the artist's feet on which he could stomp in time to the music he was playing. Their very first session together yielded the seminal "Boogie Chillen'," which sold anywhere from a few hundred thousand to a million copies. Besman's production helped define the eerie, powerful Hooker sound. In addition to the solo sides, Besman sometimes recorded him with other musicians and even experimented with double-tracking as on the 1951 hit "I'm in the Mood."

Ace's collection is the result of years of research. The label helpfully explains in the accompanying booklet, "The audio on these CDs are drawn from a number of different sources. When Ace licensed the Modern catalogue [to whom many of the Besman recordings were licensed] much of the archive was copied to digital and this included many John Lee Hooker sides. When we purchased rights and took delivery of the Modern tapes, we found several of these were missing, so it was just as well we had good digital transfers. However, many tapes had survived and we subsequently made fresh or first-time copies of those." They continue, "On purchasing the John Lee Hooker rights from Bernard Besman, a selection of tapes and acetates were delivered, providing further source material." Each track was derived from the best possible source for mastering, and while some aren't up to Ace's usual high standard, they're all listenable. Taken as a whole, this era of Hooker has never been so well sonically represented. (Of course, all tracks are in mono.)

The 71 tracks here do not include any sides that appeared on the United Artists or Greene Bottle releases; as such, 19 previously unissued versions or alternate takes of those songs premiere here. The detailed sessionography included in the booklet has the recording date, commentary, matrix number, original issue, first reissue, and first Ace reissue of every title.

In addition to the sessionography, the booklet includes an introduction from music historian and author Peter Guralnick and a scholarly appreciation of Hooker and his influential style by Kansas State University's Distinguished Professor of Music, Dr. Wayne Goins. Documenting the Sensation Recordings 1949-1952 is an exhaustive examination of some of the most elemental blues recordings of all time. As such, it's a must-have for fans and collectors of the genre. Look for it on May 29 from Ace Records in the U.K. (and the following week in North America) at the links below!

John Lee Hooker, Documenting the Sensation Recordings 1949-1952 (Ace JLHBOX19, 2020) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

1. Sally Mae (alt take of Modern 627 B 7003)
2. War Is Over (Goodbye California] (extended take of Specialty LP SPS 2127 B6) (*)
3. War Is Over (Goodbye California) (alt take of Specialty LP SPS 2127 B6 - as "Highway 51" on acetate bag) (*)
4. War Is Over (Goodbye California) (extended take of Greene Bottle LP 3130 as "See See Baby" on acetate bag) (*)
5. Boogie Chillen' (Modern 20-627 B)
6. Henry's Swing Club (Specialty LP 2127)
7. Drifting From Door To Door (Modern 20-714 B)
8. Hobo Blues (alt take of UA LA 127-J3 as "Long, Long Way From Home") (Modern 20-663 A)
9. Numbers Blues (a.k.a. "She Ain't Good For Nothin'") (alt take of Greene Bottle LP GBS 3130)
10. Alberta (Specialty LP 2125)
11. Alberta (alt take of Specialty LP SPS 2125 A6) (*)
12. Howlin' Wolf (as "I'm A Howling Wolf" on Crown LP 5353)
13. Crawlin' King Snake (Modern 20-714 A)
14. Hoogie Boogie (Instrumental) (Modern 20-663 B)
15. Hastings Street Boogie (extended take of Specialty LP SPS 2127 B3 - as "Desert Boogie" on acetate bag) (*)
16. Build Myself A Cave (a.k.a. "The World Is in A Tangle") (take #1) (Ace CDCHD 799)
17. Build Myself A Cave (a.k.a. "The World Is in A Tangle") (take #2) (*)
18. Build Myself A Cave (a.k.a. "The World Is in A Tangle") (take #3) (*)
19. Build Myself A Cave (a.k.a. "The World Is in A Tangle") (an intercut of takes 2 & 3 on Specialty LP SPS 2125 A4)
20. Graveyard Blues (Specialty LP 2125)
21. Momma Poppa Boogie (Specialty LP 2125)
22. Burnin' Hell (Sensation 21)
23. Sailing Blues (a.k.a. "Drifting Blues") (Specialty LP 2125)
24. Black Cat Blues (Specialty LP 2125)

CD 2

1. Weeping Willow Boogie (Modern 20-688 B/as "Weeping Willow" on Crown 5157)
2. Miss Sadie Mae (Sensation 21)
3. Sail On Little Girl (Specialty LP 2127)
4. Alberta Part 2 (Specialty LP 2127)
5. Wednesday Evening (Modern 20-746 B/as "She Left Me On Bended Knee" on Crown 5232)
6. Canal Street Blues (Sensation 26)
7. Huckle Up Baby (Sensation 26)
8. Let Your Daddy Ride (Modern 20-746 B)
9. Goin' On Highway #51 (Sensation 30/as "Goin' Down Highway 51" on Specialty LP SPS 2127)
10. My Baby's Got Somethin' (Sensation 33)
11. Boogie Chillen' #2 (take 1 alt take of Sensation 34) (*)
12. Boogie Chillen' #2 (take 2) (*/issued simultaneously with Sensation 40)
13. Boogie Chillen' #2 (take 4 alt take of Sensation 34 - extended take of Greene Bottle LP 3130 as Jump Chillun) (*)
14. Boogie Chillen' #2 (extended take of UA-LA 127-J3 as I Gotta Be Comin' Back) (Sensation 34)
15. Boogie Chillen' #2 (a.k.a. "21 Boogie") (alt take of Sensation 34 B 8037, extended take of Specialty LP SPS 2127 as "21 Boogie") (*)
16. Roll 'n' Roll (alt take of Modern 767 B 8040) (*)
17. Rollin' Blues (Specialty LP 2125)
18. Three Long Years Today (Specialty LP 2125)
19. Strike Blues (extended take of Specialty LP SPS 2127 B5) (*)
20. Do My Baby Think Of Me? (Specialty LP 2125)
21. Give Me Your Phone Number (alt take of Modern 767 B 8047) (*)
22. The Story Of A Married Woman (alt take of UA-LA 127-J3 D1) (*)
23. Moon Is Rising (alt take of UA-LA 127-J3 A4) (*)

CD 3

1. John L's House Rent Boogie (alt take of Modern 814 B 9001 as "House Rent Boogie" on CDCHD 799) (Specialty LP 2125)
2. John L's House Rent Boogie (Fragment) (alt incomplete take of Modern 814 B 9001) (*)
3. Queen Bee (Modern 20-814)
4. Grinder Man (Specialty LP 2127)
5. Walkin' This Highway (Specialty LP 2125)
6. Women In My Life (a.k.a. "Goin' Away Baby") (Modern 829)
7. Tease Me Baby (a.k.a. "Tease Me Over Baby") (Modern 829/as Tease Your Daddy on Crown LP 5353)
8. I Need Lovin' a.k.a. "Tease Me Over Baby" (Specialty LP 2125/alt take of Modern 829 MM 1561)
9. How Can You Do It (Modern 835)
10. I'm In The Mood (Three Voice) (Modern 835)
11. I'm In The Mood (humming overdub of UA-LA 127-J3 C5) (*)
12. I'm In The Mood (harmonica overdub of UA-LA 127-J3 C6) (CDCHD 799)
13. I'm In The Mood (a.k.a. original one voice] (alt take of UAS 5512 B4) (DCC LP 042)
14. Turn Over A New Leaf (Modern 847)
15. It Hurts Me So (Modern 876)
16. It Hurts Me So (alt take of Modern 876) (*)
17. I Got Eyes For You (Modern 876)
18. I Got Eyes For You (alt take of Modern 876 take 2 or 5) (CDCHD 799)
19. Key To The Highway (Modern 886)
20. I Got The Key (a.k.a. "Key To The Highway") (alt take of Modern 886) (DCC LP 042)
21. Bluebird Blues (Modern 886)
22. That's All Right (RPM 367)
23. It's Time For Lovin' To Be Done (RPM 367)
24. That's All Right Boogie (underdub of RPM 367) (*)

(*) denotes previously unreleased track