JOHN LEE HOOKER
The Best of Friends
Pointblank

Rock and rollers cotton to Hooker because, like Elmore James and for that matter Chuck Berry, he has a hook: the boogie beat, a vamping drone that's propulsive at any speed. But reduced to slow one-chord guitar and ageless Delta vocal, as on this album's solo showpiece, "Tupelo," his groove can be pretty foreboding even though its darkness is full of subtle color. The guests, all instrumental except for Raitt and his old fan Van Morrison, open it up. Special kudos to Hispanic interpreters Los Lobos, who rock into his boogie, and Carlos Santana, who with two different bands bends "The Healer" and "Chill Out" into polyrhythmic workouts. And hey, give the drummers some--eight all told, every one of a single mind and a single beat, a beat that only gathers detail when it's stated outright.

Rolling Stone, Dec. 10, 1998