''Early Recordings Vol. 2'' is an album by blues musician Lightnin' Hopkins featuring tracks recorded at

Gold Star Recording Studios Gold Star Studios was an independent recording studio located in Los Angeles, California, United States. For more than thirty years, from 1950 to 1984, Gold Star was one of the most successful commercial recording studios in the world. Founded ...

between 1946 and 1950, thirteen of which were originally released as 10-inch 78rpm records on the Gold Star and Dart labels, along with three others that were previously unissued. Arhoolie reissued ''The Gold Star Sessions'' on two CDs through

Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fou ...

in 1990.Smithsonian Folkways: Lightnin' Hopkins catalog
accessed November 23, 2018

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

reviewer Eugene Chadbourne stated: "The Arhoolie collection of recordings done for the Texas Gold Star label continued with a particularly well-assembled collection in which a few interesting variations in recording and backup musicians contribute to a sense of variety often missing from albums by this artist. There are also some vocal performances here that are among Hopkins' best committed to vinyl ... These recordings are all very typical of the Hopkins approach in that many songs were probably improvised on the spot, or at least whipped up around a framework or some kind of skeletal idea. Hopkins has quite a strange attention span, sometimes approaching a song with strong concentration until he is halfway through, then becoming casual and letting things drift off completely. Aspects like this, and his way of improvising instrumental breaks in which the chord structure or tempo can be transformed at whim, make this a kind of blues that is challenging not only for the listener but for the performer as well.".

Track listing

All compositions by Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins # "Short Haired Woman" – 2:22 # "Old Woman Blues" – 3:04 # "Untrue Blues" – 3:03 # "T-Model Blues" – 2:39 # "Jailhouse Blues" – 3:03 # "Trying to Find a Friend" – 3:07 # "Can't Be Successful" aka "Unsuccessful Blues" – 2:23 # "Tom Moore Blues" – 2:41 # "Fast Life Woman" – 2:25 # "Grosebeck Blues"

ake 2 Ake (or Aké in Spanish orthography) is an archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It's located in the municipality of Tixkokob, in the Mexican state of Yucatán; 40 km (25 mi) east of Mérida, Yucatán. The name ...

– 2:25 previously unreleased # "Grosebeck Blues" ake 3– 2:37 previously unreleased # "Rollin' Woman Blues" – 2:49 # "Ain't It a Shame" – 2:56 # "Somebody's Got to Go" – 2:48 # "

Automobile Blues "Too Many Drivers"is a blues song recorded by Big Bill Broonzy in 1939. It is performed in an acoustic ensemble-style of early Chicago blues and the lyrics use double entendre often found in hokum-style blues songs. The song has been identified a ...

" – 2:50 # "All I Got Is Gone" – 3:06 previously unreleased

Personnel

* Lightnin' Hopkins – guitar, vocals,

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

*Joel Hopkins – guitar (track 1) *

Frankie Lee Sims Frankie Lee Sims (April 30, 1917, New Orleans, Louisiana – May 10, 1970, Dallas, Texas) was an American singer-songwriter and electric blues guitarist. He released nine singles during his career, one of which, "Lucy Mae Blues" (1953), was a re ...

–

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

(tracks 5 & 6)

References

{{Authority control 1971 albums Lightnin' Hopkins albums Arhoolie Records albums