D.R. Hooker : The Truth

It's a miracle any copies of Donald Hooker's 40-year-old privately pressed album survived, considering it only ran to about 99 copies in its original format.

Connecticut-based Hooker – a tall, slim hippy with a history of substance abuse – was much given to wearing the sort of austere robe he sports on the sleeve, a fairly outré move even then. In early 1972 he hired a gang of local scene musicians to flesh out his wonderful songs and after a few brief rehearsals the band began recording. As soon as they were done they split – some never even heard the finished album, and what a treat they missed…