Clifton Chenier, Mance Lipscomb, Lightning Hopkins - Live at 1966 Berkeley Blues Festival

Lightning underrated

For me Lightning Hopkins, along with Clifton Chenier, is one of the greatest bluesmen ever. I don't think he gets the respect due to his greatness. Few except Skip James have ever sung with his intensity and dark passion. Truly one of the greatest along with Robert Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt and Son House. April 26, 2006

Legend & Legacy Live On 34 Years Later!

Mance Lipscomb, Clifton Chenier and (Sam) Lightnin' Hopkins have all passed on, but (thank god) their legend and legacy live on through recordings such as these. This 23-track collection was originally recorded around the time the "San Francisco" music scene began exploding all over the planet. The landmark Monterey Pop Festival was still a year away, Woodstock three years, yet the influence of this Berkeley, California Blues series cannot be underestimated. Blues and "roots" history literally resonate in every track, beginning with Mance solo on stage, guitar-strumming and talk-growling the blues. Staples like "I Ain't Got Nobody", "Sinking Of The Titanic" (how relevant even then), and "Take Your Arms From Around My Neck, Sugar Babe" mesmerize the crowd with pure blues form. Clifton Chenier and Lightnin' Hopkins each follow with equally genuine solo sets of their own. Accompanied by drummer Francis Clay (on loan from Muddy Waters' band), Clifton rocks the audience introducing his bluesy zydeco "boogie" on such numbers as "French Zydeco", "Clifton's After Hours" and a couple of then-current cover numbers, "What'd I Say" and Slim Harpo's "Scratch My Back". Lightnin' Hopkins closes the CD offering up plenty of his trademark dexterous acoustic finger-picking along with "menacing" vocals. He takes the crowd to school on such stand-outs as "Goin' To Louisiana" "Short Haired Woman" and "Lightning's Boogie." Clay's drumming is again a special treat, always perfectly underscoring these bluesmasters at work.

Fortunately, the producers of this CD had the foresight to leave in the between-song dialog of the performers and the ever-present instrument tuning that preserves the original atmosphere of this 34-year-old event. You can almost "see" the faces in the crowd, maybe among them some of the then future superstars now playing today. There's more than a passing influence in later bands like Hot Tuna, Led Zeppelin, and scores of other blues-influenced bands who owe a debt to this basic bare-bones "roots" music. "Live! At the 1966 Berkeley Blues Festival" is nothing short of a delightful collection (thanks to the folks at Arhoolie) and one essential to any serious music collection. January 27, 2000

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