Lightning Hopkins* – Sings The Blues

Sounds like they literally ran this off an old vinyl copy. Still sounds pretty good. Good lp but definitely sounds like a boot.

Track B4 ..........Sitting and Thinking ..........is a nice bonus . It is not by Lightning Hopkins at all .It`s Big Bill Dotson. Crown like other budget LPs were no exception to the inclusion of random hidden gems.

In the sleeve notes,Mike Raven wrote "I feel convinced that the track Sittin' and Thinkin' is not by Lightin' at all, though I am afraid that I cannot offer any suggestion as to who the singer may be". Aural evidence seems to indicate that the singer is actually Big Bill Dotson who was also recording for the Biharis.

I really do like this approach to recording Lightnin' Hopkins. Sure, it sounds like primitive engineer tricks to create that sort of bassy echo, but it doesn't sound hokey. Given how many Hopkins recordings there are, it's absolutely fine to have different approaches on how to convey his sound, even if the method is a little crude. On top of that, these are earlier singles released through a United/Superior subsidiary, so the package feels pretty budget. But out of all the different covers and labels these recordings got released under, I like the one with the mopey dog cover the most. :)

The record covers show two different marketing ideas, use the title of a song “Lonesome Dog Blues” as the cover theme, of just call it Sings the Blues and put a beautiful woman on the cover. These are sides that Modern Records purchased from Gold Star. Modern originally released them on 78s their RPM label. United Superior was a cheapie label owned by Modern. They would often sell LPs for 99 cents or $1.99. Kent and Crown labels were also imprints of Modern Records. All good stuff on here, especially “Jake Head” or “Jake Head Boogie” as it’s called on Sings the Blues.

in collection with different artwork us 7713 stereo is noted