I saw Brooks twice in the late ‘70s. He was a solid performer—he could play, sing, and entertain. His band did a first-rate combination of Chicago blues, Louisiana blues, rhythm and blues, and swamp music. He was born Lee Baker, Jr., and performed as Guitar Junior for a while in Lake Charles, Louisiana. When he moved to Chicago, he found a Guitar Junior there, so he switched to Lonnie Brooks. Wikipedia says Brooks made friends with Roy Clark at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1980, getting an appearance on Hee Haw out of it. Johnny Winter was a big fan.
My favorite song on this record is Mother Nature. The lyrics reminded me a bit of Sonny Boy Williamson—if a man comes to you right/you can turn a winter night into spring. Later: he’ll smell flowers over everything. On the other hand, you can be so cold baby/I’d swear you were soul on ice. That’s the first Eldridge Cleaver reference in this play-through; we’ll get to Country Joe McDonald doing Air Algiers.
converselyspeaking 