Hooker is everything one would want from a box set. It encapsulates a vast swath of musical history, showing both the personal evolution of a legendary musician and the gradual transformations that occurred in the genre.  Full text...

Hooker, a four-disc box set, shows that the man had some flexibility in his sound. And that all he really needed was one riff to turn his tales around.   Full text...

This box is pure gold.  Full text...

If you know a blues fan, this is their ideal Christmas present.   Full text...

Definitive statement  Full text...

Much like Hooker’s music, this collection leaves all other "greatest hits" or "blues compilations" in the dust. In every note, Hooker’s genius shines, and there is not a disappointing moment on any of the four disc.  Full text...

Few bluesmen have proved as versatile or as enduring as John Lee Hooker, and while this set might not include every scrap of the evidence to bear this out, it comes close. Hooker opens with "Boogie Chillen" and 84 songs, 5 hours, 4 discs later, closes with it. Nothing could be more fitting.  Full text...