John Lee Hooker – Face To Face

Thanks to the star guests on albums such as The Healer and Mr Lucky, John Lee Hooker sold more records in the final decade of his life than he had in the previous 40 years. Face To Face was in the making when he died in 2001, and includes collaborations with Johnny Winter, Robert Cray, Canned Heat, George Thorogood and Van Morrison. The delay in its release suggests a certain posthumous touching-up was required, and his voice was clearly in decline. But the spirit is still there on new versions of Hooker classics such as “Dimples” (featuring Morrison) and a dirty-sounding “Boogie Chillen”.