Album Review: Lightnin’ Hopkins – Live from the Ash Grove… Plus!

One of the missions of boutique label Liberation Hall is to rescue from obscurity critically-acclaimed and/or otherwise important recordings. That means that the label is always on the hunt for previously-unreleased tapes by legendary figures in music. Along those lines, a release of a live performance featuring Lightnin’ Hopkins live onstage at Los Angeles’ famed Ash Grove makes perfect sense. The first fourteen tracks on this collection document a November 1970 set; accompanied only by his guitar and a microphone, Hopkins runs through a delightful selection of tunes from his deep repertoire.

As fine as the high-fidelity recordings are, what makes them truly special is the intimate character of the set. Hopkins is captured performing in front of a small and respectful audience; they’re quiet during the songs, and enthusiastic in their applause at the conclusion of each. And in addition to playing the songs with passion and authenticity, between songs the master regales the crowd with spoken introductions to many of the tunes. His warm and genuine demeanor shines through the entire time. Hopkins’ humor makes tunes like “Ain’t it Crazy” even better than they’d already be.

Hopkins pulls out a few tunes that the audience might not have expected. “I don’t know if it’s gonna sound right to y’all,” he warns before launching into a solo reading of Ray Charles’ classic “What’d I Say.” He tears through the melody at high speed, pauses to observe that he’s been playing it too fast, and then launches into a more measured voice-and-guitar reading. He truly makes the song his own; Hopkins’ playing often sounds like two acoustic guitars – lead and rhythm – going at once.

Lightnin’ Hopkins’ skills as an engaging storyteller are as impressive as his musical abilities, and Live from the Ash Grove… Plus! is proof positive of that fact. The primary recording that takes up most of the disc has an unmistakable you-are-there quality, and that only adds to its enjoyment.

The “plus” part of the album title refers to a clutch of bonus tracks, six in all. Those are an assortment of recordings featuring Hopkins onstage at the Ash Grove and another Los Angeles venue, dating from 1965 and 1971. And making this collection even more special, the four tunes from In Your Ear in ‘71 feature Hopkins on electric guitar, backed by a band. Said band is (to put it mildly) quite loose – they lose their place in the songs more than once – but the aplomb with which Hopkins approaches the material more than makes up for any instrumental shortcomings on their part. It’s clear Hopkins is having fun, and when you listen, you will too.