Robert Johnson - King of Delta Blues Singers
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Artist: Robert JohnsonBrand: Johnson
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1998-09-15
Music Label: Sony
Soundtracks:
- Cross Road Blues
- Terraplane Blues
- Come on in My Kitchen
- Walking Blues
- Last Fair Deal Gone Down
- 32-20 Blues
- Kindhearted Woman Blues
- If I Had Possession over Judgement Day
- Preaching Blues (Up Jumped the Devil)
- When You Got a Good Friend
- Rambling on My Mind
- Stones in My Passway
- Traveling Riverside Blues
- Milkcow's Calf Blues
- Me and the Devil Blues
- Hellhound on My Trail
- Traveling Riverside Blues [Alternate Take][#]
Music reviews of King of Delta Blues Singers
Music Review: Prepare to have the hairs stand up on your neck!
Rating: 5 Stars
Oh, my gosh!
I long ago listened to a friend's copy of the Sony "The Complete Robert Johnson," but I was not quite prepared for this experience.
Having listened to quite a lot of Charlie Patton, Son House, Kid Bailey, and Willy Brown, the difference in sound quality is downright striking.
American Record Company did it right in that hotel room in San Antonio in 1936 and that warehouse in Dallas in 1937, when they captured these historic recordings of a TRUE blues master at work.
The SQ, while certainly not up to modern, or even mid-1960s standards, is still a revelation, with the ambience of the hotel room and warehouse wonderfully recorded.
I can't even begin to give a rundown of the entire disk, but I will quickly mention the songs that I consider superior on this disk.
1) The opening of "Crossroad Blues" absolutely made me tingle, with that stunning bottleneck and Johnson's incredible wailing of despair. Anyone who has seen the movie "Crossroads" will immediately recognize this as the song used at the very beginning showing Johnson playing with his back to the recording engineers. Could ANYTHING possibly better convey a man's sorrow?
2) Fans of the great Son House will immediately recognize his "Walkin' Blues," with Johnson's subtle embellishments and high singing contrasting with House's basso vocals. Just as with House's original, this is one that will grab you right off. Johnson's guitar literally walks along, just as the title suggests. Son House himself must have cracked a rare smile the first time he ever heard this one!
3) "Preachin Blues" is fantastic, another rework of Son House, featuring the forever classic opening line "I woke up this morning, with the blues walking like a man." Johnson goes into intricate and aggressive bottleneck played at breakneck speed, bellowing his vocals. Stunning work, full of fire and crackle, without doubt.
4) "Terraplane Blues" was Johnson's sole hit, and one can see why, with its up strange, halting time signature and sexual innuendo put to lyrics about a car.
5) "Come On In My Kitchen" is simply magnificent, and Elijah Wald's opinion of it as one of Johnson's true masterpieces is well deserved. Johnson, plays a mournful guitar intro with his humming, then finally opens with the words, practically cried out: "You better come on...in my kitchen...well, it's going to be raining outdoors." Johnson's voice and playing are simply sublime, with his singing simultaneously conveying sorrow and seduction, with his guitar perfectly mirroring his voice, then mimicking the sound of wind, as he whispers "Aaah, don't you hear that wind howling?" One can easily understand how, as told by Johnson's longtime playing companion, Johnny Shines, when Johnson once very slowly played this piece for a crowd, Shines looked up, only to be startled to see that the entire audience, men and women alike, had been reduced to tears. No other way to say it...pure magic!
6) "32-20 Blues" features Johnson covering the Skip James song about another handgun caliber, "22-20 Blues," which was originally played with piano. Johnson does a clever remake of the piano part using his guitar, with some rather shockingly violent lyrics directed at a cheating woman. Not the stuff of gentleness in "Kitchen," most definitely.
7) "If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day" features a very familiar tune, for those of you who have heard the song more commonly attributed to Muddy Waters titled "Rollin' and Tumblin'." Johnson bellows his words in an almost hysterical Elmore James manner, but, with that infectious guitar propelling him along. The creaking of his guitar is even clear as he plays with such energy as to flex the neck.
8) "Traveling Riverside Blues" features the same tune as "Judgement Day," but played more softly and slowly, with commensurate singing, loaded with such lecherous spoken asides as "Squeeze my lemon, baby" and "Yeah, you know what I'm talkin' about!" This song should be well known to even the casual RJ listener.
9) "Me And The Devil Blues" features the eerie opening lyric "I woke up this morning/You knocked upon my door. I said "Hello, Satan"/"I believe it's time to go." Johnson's voice slides back and forth between sorrowful and desperate. Brilliant!
10) "Hellhound On My Trail" is unquestionably another masterpiece, featuring chilling lyrics describing the frenetic pace of being pursued by dark forces, be they simple bad luck or something far more sinister. Johnson's voice perfectly conveys his dread, sorrow, and desperation at his plight, as he wields his guitar into producing a minor chord dread all its own. This one will definitely spike your hackles. Magnificently frightening.
All the tracks featured on this are true works of art, and anyone unfamiliar with what blues really COULD be, would be well advised to make this his first stop.
You will be absolutely spellbound.
Trust me.
Description of King of Delta Blues Singers
One of the most important and influential blues albums of all time has been digitally remastered and includes a newly-discoverd, previously unreleased alternate version of "Traveling Riverside Blues." version ofNo Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: JOHNSON,ROBERT
Title: KING OF DELTA BLUES SINGERS
Street Release Date: 09/15/1998
Genre: BLUES TRADITIONAL
If there is a recording that is required listening for every blues fan, it's this one. Robert Johnson wasn't just King of the Delta blues; he was one of its founding fathers, and these re-mastered tunes are as timeless and important today as they were all those years ago. The songs that passed into the blues canon, to be covered by countless guitarists over the years, are here: "Crossroad Blues," "Preaching Blues," "Come On In My Kitchen," "Walking Blues," and more. And on this particular version of this often-reissued recording, there's an additional treat: a previously unreleased version of "Traveling Riverside Blues." Absolutely essential. --Genevieve Williams
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