[1] Buddy Brown's Blues (Alger "Texas" Alexander) - 4:07
[2] Wine Spodee-O-Dee (Stick McGhee, J. Mayo Williams) - 3:40
[3] Sail On, Little Girl, Sail On (Traditional) - 4:19
[4] DC-7 (Hopkins) - 4:32
[5] Death Bells (Hopkins) - 3:54
[6] Goin' to Dallas to See My Pony Run (Traditional) - 3:51
[7] Jailhouse Blues (Traditional) - 3:19
[8] Blues in My Bottle (Traditional) - 3:13
[9] Beans, Beans, Beans (Traditional, Hopkins) - 2:23
[10] Catfish Blues (Traditional) - 4:19
[11] My Grandpa Is Old Too! (Hopkins) - 3:00
Recorded at ACA Studios, Houston, Texas on July 26, 1961.
Blues in My Bottle is an album by Lightnin' Hopkins. It was originally
released in 1961 and now available on the label Original Blues Classics.
Includes original release liner notes by Mack McCormick. Originally
released on Prestige/Bluesville (1045). All tracks have been digitally
remastered. Recorded in 1961 for Prestige, a label best known for jazz,
BLUES IN MY BOTTLE presents Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins in a strictly solo
setting. Armed with only his plaintive vocals and an acoustic guitar,
Hopkins gets to the very heart of the blues, his unadorned style placing
nuance and emotion above volume and precision. Every song on this
11-track album--particularly the lonely "Sail On, Little Girl, Sail On,"
the bleak "Death Bells," and the resigned "Jailhouse Blues"--is a
testament to the strength of Hopkins's playing in such a minimal and
informal environment. Although the Texas bluesman was just shy of 50
during these sessions, his world-weary voice makes him seem much older,
lending an added gravity to these tales of life, love, travel, and
isolation. Those looking for a direct link between Hopkins and his
legendary predecessors Blind Lemon Jefferson and Robert Johnson will
find it on this potent outing of top-notch country blues.
The late great Lightnin' Hopkins was one of the most natural of
bluesmen, a poet who would often make up lyrics as he recorded. He was
at his best when unaccompanied, as on this 1961 Prestige date. Though he
usually played electric guitar, the Texas blues titan performed on this
release with an acoustic, and the result is most rewarding. Tunes
include "Goin' to Dallas to See My Pony Run" and "Buddy Brown's Blues.
