Endless Boogie

iTunes Review

1971’s Endless Boogie finds The Hook surrounded by a cadre of Woodstock-era session men. Within the album’s milieu are several of the era’s top players, including drummer Jim Gordon and bassist Carl Radle (from Derek & The Dominos), guitarist Jesse Ed Davis, funk guitarist Mel Brown and drummer Billy Ingram. Despite the abundance of top tier talent, Endless Boogie throws Hooker’s talent into sharp relief. The album contains several unfurled grooves that conjure a hypnotic, opium den-like atmosphere. “A Sheep out on the Foam” and “Sittin’ In My Dark Room” are adorned by subtle flourishes of electric piano by Clifford Coulter, which gives the songs a singularly woozy atmosphere. Ironically, the narcotic atmosphere is best contained by “Kick Hit 4 Hit Kix U,” a memorial to Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, which takes the form of an extended murmured rap from Hooker: “Dope addicts, dope addicts,” Hooker intones, “you better watch yourself… some day you might pass on.” Abetted by Coulter’s mirage-like keyboard, is an unnerving detour into opiated melancholy.