Musicologist Robert McCormick on Lightnin' Hopkins: [Hopkins is] "the embodiment of the jazz-and-poetry spirit, representing its ancient form in the single creator whose words and music are one act." Originally released on Smithsonian Folkways in 1959, Destination Moon has reissued the Centerville, Texas country blues singer-songwriter's self-titled album for the first time on clear vinyl. Recorded with a borrowed acoustic guitar, the 10-tracker was put on to tape in a small apartment in Houston, Texas by musicologist Sam Charters, who also writes liner notes for the release. Considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time, Hopkins's distinctive style is defined by a fingerstyle that simultaneously handles bass, rhythm, lead and percussion, and his talking-style singing, full of humor and double entendres.

• clear colored vinyl
• individually numbered
• limited edition of 500
• original release year: 1959
• music label: Destination Moon 2022

reviewed by rei kwondo 08/2018