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Description: The journey began in Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1917. When it finally ended in 2001, a 6 decade long boogie tornado had left a path of one of the most influential marks on the music world. The deep voice, the distorted guitar, and that foot that tapped away like an out of control metronome brought him out of Mississippi to the far reaches of this country. Included among the vintage footage are performances of Hooker jamming with the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Ry Cooder, and Bonnie Raitt. Also included are archive performances throughout his storied career from many of the various television appearances he made as well as vintage interview clips with Hooker. Bonus features include a discography, a bonus interview clip with John Lee, an interview with Zakiya Hooker (his daughter), and a bonus clip of John Lee Hooker and Roy Rogers performing "Boogie Chillin'". This film is presented by the John Lee Hooker Estate.Amazon.com: The back cover promises "complete archival performances of [John Lee Hooker's] most popular songs," all courtesy of the Hooker estate. That's good news for anyone used to music programs containing only frustratingly brief clips of their subjects at work, and it's exactly what Come and See About Me delivers--in spades--in this superb, two-hour compilation featuring the late bluesman in live performance by himself, with various bands, and in collaborations with a host of famous partners. Hooker's blues was a dark, menacing, sexy sound, and some of the best moments here come when he is playing solo, with only his guitar, his stomping foot, and what guitarist Ry Cooder (who joins him for "Hobo Blues") calls his "deep, well-like" voice accompanying songs like "It Serves Me Right to Suffer" (from 1969) and "Bad Like Jesse James" (1986). But the collaborations are swell too, including those with Van Morrison, Cooder, Bonnie Raitt, John Hammond, and the Rolling Stones ("Boogie Chillen'" comes from the Stones' Steel Wheels tour, with Eric Clapton on hand as well); there's even an appearance with Brit blues rockers Foghat from 1978, with the great Paul Butterfield adding harmonica. The bonus features (a couple of interviews, discography, another "Boogie Chillen'" take) aren't much, but little matter--for blues fans, this is the motherlode. --Sam Graham
Customer Reviews:
- This is not the foot-stompin' John Lee Hooker I love :-(: Boring, poor performances that drag on and on, not the (solo) foot-stompin' tasteful guitar playing and singing I love from this man. Perhaps there is little video of his good stuff. These videos did not interest me in the least.
- Bluesman John Lee Hooker: The 'Real Deal': If you love the blues, you will love this DVD: plain and simple. It features one of the all-time greats and a lot of his music, all done by him.
This has more of a concert feel to it than a documentary. It does span three decades of John Lee Hooker's singing career, so you get both Hooker seen in many concerts and you also get many famous singers talking about him. You see some black-and-white footage of him way back in 1960 at the Newport Jazz Festival, through other TV and concert performances, all the way to the 1990s. Mostly, you hear him sing, and that's why I got this DVD.
"The Boogie Man," as John Lee refers to himself here, had a unique sound of his own and he knew it. He isn't that modest about where he stands among blues greats, but who can argue? Not me, because I enjoyed every song in here. The nine-minute "Boogie" number he does with Foghat and Paul Butterfield ALONE is worth the price of this DVD. It had me tears just watching and listening to it. It's just an unbelievable number.
As Bonnie Raitt comments here, whether Hooker performed alone with just his guitar, or with a band and an electric guitar, "he was the real deal." On this disc, you can watch Hooker and a dozen other big-named musicians, all of them good and all of them big fans of this blues legend. Even some not-so-big names help out with some nice instrumentation. I don't know who the piano player was on "Boom, Boom, Boom," since he isn't listed, but he was fantastic.
As mentioned, this DVD is a lot more music than documentary and that's fine with me. I just want to hear this guy sing and play. It's blues at its best. - Johnny Lee: John Lee Hooker is a national treasure and anyone who grew up loving the blues, as I did, will have to have this DVD in their collection. Don't even consder passing on this one.
- Mr. Hooker ... One of Americas all time best.: This DVD got 5 stars due to some great footage and interviews that I have never come across. The only down side is the fact that due to limited live recordings available, not only for Mr. Hooker, but all the blues greats, there is a fair share of footage that is also from other sources. It is a reminder of what a crime it is that these great musicians cannot be replaced, and we failed to record their work as we should have for future generations.
I hope we are not allowing current greats slip by the wayside. - Excellent!: I've watched this 4 times now. It's amazing how JLH could give you so much with and E chord and that steady driving foot stomp. The high points of this DVD for me were the interviews with JLH and the duet of "In the Mood" with Bonnie Raitt. This is a first class performance. I would highly recommend that anyone reading this review---who loves blues and blues history---buy this DVD.
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