Album Reviews

Drop John Lee Hooker off in the parched environs of Paris, Texas and tell him to do his mournful thing and that it’ll be okay because Miles Davis will be right behind him with his mute trumpet following his every musical move the way Ali Akbar Khan followed Ravi Shankar's.

That's the vibe of this soundtrack to the 1990 film "The Hot Spot" starring Dennis Hopper.

Add Taj Mahal on a few tracks, some slide guitar from Roy Rogers here, rhythm from bassist Tim Drummond and the late, great Earl Palmer, who drummed for everyone from Little Richard to Ricky Nelson to the Beach Boys there, and you have the late Jack Nitszche’s deliciously langourous musical game plan for the soundtrack.

There was no American vinyl issue of this back in 1990. In fact, there wasn’t much vinyl of anything back then and whether or not the original UK vinyl was sourced from analog is in doubt, yet original copies of it go for upwards of $100.00.

I’ve got a copy and take my word for it, that this double 45rpm reissue destroys the original. If you dig the Paris, Texas soundtrack album for its moody, desolate vibe and superb sonics, you’ll love this reissue. It’s outta the ballpark great!