Miles Davis John Lee Hooker: The Hot Spot

"The Hot Spot blends Miles Davis’ lonely blue trumpet, with John Lee Hooker’s moans and machine-gun electric guitar, Taj Mahal’s country guitar picking, and Ry Cooder’s peerless slide guitar. It’s a musical Dream Team of sorts and the potential is staggering. Each of these artists is an icon in his own right. How do they blend together?

To be honest, the results are mixed. There are some absolute standout songs here—a few choice tracks that merit you rushing down to your local record store and buying this album straightaway: Bank Robbery, for instance, is the pitch-perfect blend of jazz and blues—a hard driving, blend…equal parts sophisticated bop and raw blasts of juke joint guitar. There are moments of absolute, jaw-dropping beauty, in which each artist displays their trademark style without smothering anyone else’s sound." By Vernon Felton


1. Coming To Town - John Lee Hooker, Earl Palmer, Tim Drummond, Miles Davis, Roy Rogers
2. Empty Bank - Taj Mahal, Miles Davis, Earl Palmer, Tim Drummond, Roy Rogers
3. Harry’s Philosophy - John Lee Hooker
4. Dolly’s Arrival - Earl Palmer, Tim Drummond, Roy Rogers, Taj Mahal
8. Moanin’ - John Lee Hooker
9. Gloria’s Story - Miles Davis, Bradford Ellis
10. Harry Sets Up Sutton - John Lee Hooker, Tim Drummond, Miles Davis, Roy Rogers, Taj Mahal
11. Murder - John Lee Hooker, Miles Davis, Tim Drummond, Roy Rogers, Bradford Ellis
12. Blackmail - Miles Davis, John Lee Hooker, Earl Palmer, Tim Drummond, Roy Rogers, Taj Mahal
13. End Credits - John Lee Hooker, Earl Palmer, Tim Drummond, Miles Davis, Roy Rogers, Taj Mahal