''The Cream'' is a live album by blues musician

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

recorded in California in 1977 and released by the

Tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

label in 1978.

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 Alex Henderson stated: "Joined by a full band that includes two other guitarists, John Lee Hooker is passionately rockin' on this live date recorded at the Keystone in Palo Alto, California in 1977. Hooker has always been known for taking quite a few liberties with his material, something that could easily throw some musicians off. Without a doubt, he keeps sidemen on their toesand he presents even more of a challenge on-stage because there are no second and third takes. But this is a band that, although not in a class with Canned Heat, obviously understands (and even thrives on) his sense of spontaneity, and rises to the occasion... Hooker doesn't do as much improvising as he did when playing unaccompanied at New York's Hunter College the previous year, but he never ceases to be confidently soulful. Although not quite essential, ''The Cream'' is an engaging LP that definitely has a lot going for it".

Track listing

All compositions credited to John Lee Hooker # "Hey, Hey" – 5:48 # "Rock Steady" – 6:53 # "Tupelo" – 6:27 # "You Know It Ain't Right" – 4:22 # "She's Gone" – 5:47 # "T.B. Sheets" – 7:57 # "Sugar Mama" – 5:05 # "One Room Country Shack" – 4:51 # "Drug Store Woman" – 5:23 # "I Want You to Roll with Me" – 3:34 # "Bar Room Drinking" – 7:53 # "Little Girl" – 5:29 # "Louise" – 4:59 # "When My First Wife Left Me" – 7:33 # "Boogie On" – 13:45

Personnel

– lead guitar, vocals *Pete Karnes – harmonica *John Garcia – lead guitar * Ron Thompson – second guitar *Mike Milwood – bass *Larry Martin – drums

Guest musicians

Charlie Musselwhite Charles Douglas Musselwhite (born January 31, 1944) is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the white bluesmen who came to prominence, along with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop, as a pivotal f ...

– harmonica *Ken Swank – drums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cream, The John Lee Hooker live albums 1978 live albums Tomato Records live albums