Sam "Lightnin’" Hopkins, a true poet who invented most of his lyrics on the spot and never seemed to run out of new ideas, was a blues giant of post-war blues whose style was rooted in pre-war Texas traditions. While he cranked up his amp to fierce proportions when performing for his friends at Houston juke joints, producers who recorded him for the so-called folk-blues market usually insisted that he use an acoustic guitar for more “authentic” results. Either way, Lightnin’ seldom made a bad record, and this June 4, 1963, session on which he played acoustic was among his finest, thanks much to the sensitive support of bassist Leonard Gaskin and drummer Herbie Lovelle, who did a remarkable job of following his irregular bar patterns and abrupt song endings.

"St. Germain" is the eponymous fourth studio by French house producer Ludovic Navarre, under his main pseudonym St Germain. This is jis first album in 15 years. One official single has been released from the album, "Real Blues", a beautiful track filled with spiraling production and the fiery vocals of Lightnin' Hopkins.

Sam “Lightnin'” Hopkins was a Texas country bluesman of the highest caliber whose career began in the 1920s and stretched all the way into the 1980s. Along the way, Hopkins watched the genre change remarkably, but he never appreciably altered his mournful Lone Star sound, which translated onto both acoustic and electric guitar. Hopkins' nimble dexterity made intricate boogie riffs seem easy, and his fascinating penchant for improvising lyrics to fit whatever situation might arise made him a beloved blues troubadour.

Recorded for Prestige's Bluesville subsidiary in 1960, Lightnin' is among the rewarding acoustic dates Lightnin' Hopkins delivered in the early '60s. The session has an informal, relaxed quality, and this approach serves a 48-year-old Hopkins impressively well on both originals like ‘Thinkin' 'Bout an Old Friend’ and the familiar ‘Katie Mae’ and enjoyable interpretations of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee's ‘Back to New Orleans’ and Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup's ‘Mean Old Frisco’. This SACD is a part of the ultimate audiophile Prestige stereo reissues from Analogue Productions - 25 of the most collectible, rarest, most audiophile-sounding Rudy Van Gelder recordings ever made.

This disc features the classic bluesman Lightnin' Hopkins on eight unaccompanied solos, singing, playing guitar and delivering a few rare solos on piano (including on "Lightnin's Piano Boogie"). Hopkins recorded many albums during the 1960s and all are quite listenable but most are not essential – he tended to ramble at times! This Candid release is one of his better sets from the period. Other track highlights include, "Take It Easy," "Mighty Crazy," and "Mister Charlie."

On June 23, 1977, Sam ‘Lightnin’ Hopkins walked onto a small stage in a smoke & whisky filled club in Montreal and proceeded to lay down arguably his last great performance before his death 5 years later. “Lightnin’s Boogie – Live at The Rising Sun Celebrity Jazz Club” - remastered and available on vinyl for the first time – reveals a master blues man still in full control of his many talents and working the crowd to “Get Up Off O’ Yo’”.

These 22 sides offer a very telling portrait of Texas blues giant Lightnin' Hopkins between 1965 and 1969 when he was recording for Jewel. Almost all of these sides are electric, many of them up-tempo idiosyncratic takes on Texas jump blues or far Western versions of Delta music. West Side has done a fine if not exemplary job of cleaning up sound and getting dates correct, as well as the sidemen.

The famous bluesman's stellar recordings for Tradition epitomized Lightnin's spare "country blues" which was in contrast to the brash and bold Chicago blues so commercially appealing at the time. Lightnin' started his career singing on Houston's street corners for change and drink and his best performances are those intimate concerts. Lightnin's first two albums for Tradition (AUTOBIGRAPHY IN BLUES and COUNTRY BLUES) were just that-down and dirty, out and out blues, honest and true-perfect documents of Lightnin's style, songs and performance.