John Lee Hooker Boogies In 1974 Cable Broadcast

MVD Visual has made available a 1974 Cable TV broadcast of an afternoon performance by John Lee Hooker and the Coast to Coast Blues Band, Cook With The Hook: Live in 1974. from a city landfill in Gardner, Massachusetts as the King of the Boogie was appearing in the area. He was part of a concert with several other bands. In fact at the close of this performance, it is mentioned that he has to leave because he is appearing in Boston that night. Fortuitously, this performance was filmed and broadcast on local cable systems at a time when cable television was primarily to help with television reception and public access would be a decade away.

The performance is a typical Hooker performance of the era. The first performances are pretty solid including the brooding opening It Serves Me Right” to Suffer, and the uptempo Sweet Sweet Thing where he sings about having to find his woman. A spirited Boom Boom kicks up the boogie tempo and followed by churning groove of Whiskey Woman, where he sings about how they have just about wrecked his life. On these performances, the Coast to Coast Blues Band does a solid job with Hooker adding some bursts of guitar. 

Then asking the crowd if they want to boogie and ‘cook with the hook,” he launches into a lengthy boogie, soon leaving his guitar down and standing while he chants about feeling good, urging everyone to boogie with him and rock, rock. Its an extended 17 odd minutes of boogie, followed by an encore in a similar mode that incorporates lyrics from Night Time Is the Right Time and other songs. This performance is typical of the period of Hooker’s career from after his collaboration with Canned Heat until the revival of his music after The Healer. 

I am not sure what efforts were made to restore the original source film. The sound is fine while the video is of mixed quality. One of the cameras actually has pretty good quality, while the video from the other two cameras have a washed out quality perhaps reflecting the bright sun, so that the clarity of the performances and audience shots vary. The film does provide a balance of performance shots with the audience with the film centered on John Lee Hooker, and even those not enamored with the lengthy boogies at the end of his set here, still can appreciate his presence as a performer. I am not aware of videos of a full Hooker performance form this time period, so this release will be welcome on that basis, although it is hardly indispensable.

I received a review copy from MVD Visual.