Earl Hooker ?– Theres A Fungus Amung Us (LP 1972. UK. Mint vinyl. Chicago Blues
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Description
I do not sell copies. For multiple items I send by Tracked Delivery. I am willing to send multiple CD purchases without cases if the buyer prefers to reduce the cost of recorded postage. You simply have to recase the art-work and discs.
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Earl Hooker ?– Theres A Fungus Amung Us
Label: Red Lightnin' ?– R.L.009 Format: Vinyl, LP, AlbumCountry: UK Released: 1972 Genre: Blues Style: Chicago Blues
Tracklist
A1 Two Bugs In A Rug A2 Hold On A3 Off The Hook A4 Dust My Broom A5 Hot And Heavy A6 The Screwdriver B1 Bertha B2 The Foxtrot B3 End Of The Blues B4 Walkin' Rag B5 Hooker Special B6 Something You AteCredits
- Artwork – Robert Crumb
- Design [Sleeve], Layout – Wynne Dowling
- Lead Guitar, Slide Guitar – Earl Hooker
- Liner Notes – Peter Shertser
- Mastered By – Denis Blackham
- Producer – Ian Sippen, Peter Shertser
Notes
Red Lightnin' labels without the Stereo tag and the MCPS Rights Society (images)Tracks A4, A5, A6 and B6 are mono only.
The liner notes state that the musicians contributing bass, drums, organ and tenor sax are unknown, but that rhythm guitar was probably played by Jimmy Dawkins.
Title on front, rear cover and labels appears without apostrophe and misspelled: Theres a Fungus amung us
Barcode and Other Identifiers
- Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, hand-etched): S3 (ALI) RL 009 A2
- Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, hand-etched): S1 (ALI) RL 009 B2
The reasons behind Earl Hooker's late blooming status as a leader had nothing to do with his acumen on guitar- he was easily one of the finest fret players in the business. They were more a product of unlucky circumstance and the reality that his singing voice was not up to par with many of his peers. Still his impressive guitar skills eventually garnered him enough clout to cut his own dates and this recent reissue revives one of his rarest.
The twelve tracks are all instrumental frameworks for his variegated guitar. Heavy boogaloo grooves, organ slathered riffs, fatback bass and backbeat drums all lock together to form an undercurrent for Hooker’s spotlight guitar. On the tenacious funk of the title track he unrolls an ethereal web of tremolo-soaked slide patterns as the enigmatic drummer knocks out a syncopated rhythm on a cowbell and the bass bubbles along with a hip shaking ostinato. Dipping into the Stax songbook the band raises up a rousing rendition of “Hold On” again hinging on Hooker’s greasy slide work. Elmore James’ seminal slide classic “Dust My Broom” receives an organ friendly reworking replete with honking sax that is surprisingly sparse on bottleneck. Chitlin’ circuit funk opens side two in the guise of “Bertha” with vamping Junior Parker style sax and chicken-scratch guitar laying a thick coat of soul on the slippery theme. With “The Foxtrot” the band veers weirdly into teenage ballad territory winding through a syrupy series of changes drenched in heavy amplification. The effect on “End of the Blues” conjures what the Ventures might sound like if they could craft a convincing blues record, while “Hooker Special” finds the guitarist showing off his affection for Country roots by crafting some convincing lap steel style slide.
Two mystery tracks append the disc, presumably cut from the same session, the second and final meshing wah-wah and reverb-laden guitar in a rocking amalgam with over-amplified harp. R. Crumb’s anomie-evoking cover of various cartoon caricatures crammed together in front of a distant cityscape seems an odd match for the music, but adds to the album’s off-kilter charm and works well with its title. Hooker’s full-length records may be few in number, but this one rates highly in their ranks.
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