Customer Reviews

King of Delta Blues Singers

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is some of the best delta blues ever recorded, but enough has been written about that. The reason to get this compilation and its companion "King of the Delta Blues Singers Vol. 2" is for the wonderful remastering. The sound on these two issues is far better than the 1990 "Complete" box set (and better even than the remastered 1997 version of that set). Both volumes of "King of the Delta Blues" employ minimal noise reduction. While this leaves some high end hiss and low end rumble, it makes the recordings clearer, more full bodied and natural sounding than any versions of Johnson's recordings that I have ever heard. His voice and guitar do not sound as thin as they do on previous issues. I also prefer the sequencing on this CD over the "Complete" set, which has back to back alternate takes. The only thing you miss out on with "King of the Delta Blues" volumes 1 and 2 are a handful of alternate takes which appear only on the "Complete" box set. It should be noted, however, that this CD contains a version of "Traveling Riverside Blues" that does NOT appear on the "Complete" box set. Highly recommended!

If you only own a select number of Blues records this should be one of them. It even includeds a newly discovered alternate bersion of Traveling Riverside Blues. This version was unearthed by the Library of Congress. This artist has influenced countless rockers from Keith Richards to Eric Clapton to Jimmy Page. This record is a classic 5 star album.

Please, pardon my unskilled grammar and punctuation (and possibly, spelling).

I bought the Robert Johnson Boxed set years ago, because I felt it was a recording that you were supposed to have, if you considered yourself a true music obsess - o - file, but I later sold it, because I "did not get it." I knew of Johnson's mystique and reputation, but I could not connect with the "genius" thing that surrounded his music. Well, just about a month ago, I thought I would give Robert Johnson another try, so I purchased this album. And this time, "i got it."

I can only describe the multi dimensionality of these songs, which had previously escaped me, as staggering. You feel you are listening to the very architecture of almost every popular music style we hear today. What I find most amazing about his songs, is that you are almost convinced that you are listening to 3 guitar players and 2 or 3 singers, harmonizing with unreal precision. His voice jumps between registers, in such a way as to suggest there is another singer between them, much like one watches "2 frames of a film," but sees the magic of the "1 moving picture."

The relationship between the cords he is playing and the finger picking, again, seem to connect and relate in such a way as to suggest there are more fingers and chords being played than can be played with only 2 hands, and with unbelievable ease. He plays like he doesn't even have to think about it. And it all sounds freakishly "time nonspecific", as if he were playing, in the past, while copying his own sounds, from the present, like they were actually being written and defined today, and he was prophesying. I guess that would be the dictionary definition of "timeless." I find myself stuck between studying his songs from an objective point of view, and listening to them from a music fan point of view.

And his lyrics have a sophistication that belie his level of education. As if you are hearing the equations of very high brow poetry, filled in with the figures and variables of Johnson's substantially more modest and bleak cultural experience. And there is a genuine joy in his voice. THAT, I did not expect. As if he is saying "I CAN PLAY AND I AM BEING RECORDED AND LOWDY, MAMA! I AM A SOMEBODY!"

I naturally have to recommend this recording, but I would advise the newbie to the Johnson sound to, not "force" him or her self to see the brilliance of his work. That was what I was doing the first time around, and I missed it. It was only when I gave it permission to reveal itself, that Johnson's genius came forth.

And in all honesty, I don't really "enjoy" all these songs, as much as I marvel at all these songs. I listen with a distant awe, rather than from the perspective of personal taste. But I hope that over time, I will begin to enjoy this recording as I enjoy many of my favorite modern artists, of today. So, do purchase this album and give Mr. Johnson a go at it, but don't get down on yourself if you don't immediately hear what all the accolades are about. It took me 2 tries and 10 years to "get it."

Which much anticipation and a little trepidation I decided to pick up "King of the Delta Blues Singers". It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it was a nice surprise.

If you're a fan of the modern electric blues, you may be disappointed, as Johnson sang the blues with only his guitar. What he lacks in a backup band, he more than makes up for with a soulful voice, and great guitar playing. You can really hear the emotion pouring out of this man.

If you have an open mind and want to experience where the blues came from, you can't go wrong with this album. The two versions of "Traveling Riverside Blues" are worth the price alone.

On a side note, this could be on my copy only, but on some of the songs there may be a noticeable hissing sound, I guess it's understandable with these classic recordings being so old, and it shouldn't prevent you from enjoying them.

The music and legend of Robert Johnson loom over twentieth century music so vastly that perhaps the only valid analogy would be to the sky. Johnson's legacy is profound to the point of forming the entire field upon which generations of guitarists and singers of rock and roll and blues music have shaped their aspirations, as if the clouds present in Johnson's horizon can be interpreted into any number of shapes that may be re-combined to form countless new dreams and nightmares. Six-and-a-half decades after these recordings were made (and four decades after the original version of this album was released into an unsuspecting world), Johnson continues to resonate in our culture as a figure beyond life, much like Hank Williams, Charlie Parker, Arthur Lee, Brian Wilson, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, or Kurt Cobain.

That Johnson's influence is too often due to his legend rather than his music is unfortunate. Along with Charlie Patton, Skip James, Lemon Jefferson, Will!ie Brown, Son House, Geeshie Wiley, and Willie McTell, Johnson cut some of the most chilling, joyous, direct and dazzling guitar blues of the pre-World War II era. His arrangements for solo guitar provide the matrix that virtually all post-war band-based blues and blues rock builds upon. This excelllent CD presents many of his most famous and influential tunes, in the finest sound quality possible. Sonically, the recordings as presented on this disc are a little warmer and fuller than on The Complete Recordings two-CD set. The alternate take of Travelling Riverside Blues (unavailable on "The Complete Recordings," as this take had not been discovered when that set was originally issued in 1990) is a welcome addition to the Johnson canon. For the casual fan, this may be an excellent starting point, although the excelllent liner notes on The Complete Recordings may provide context and lyrical transcriptions that would assist those uninitiated into Johnson's endlessly rewarding mu!sic, one of the true milestones of twentieth century culture.

This is the official 1998 CD edition of the first-ever Robert Johnson compilation, issued by Columbia in 1961.
It has been remastered off the best-quality original 78s available, and Johnson's guitar takes on a fullness never heard on previous reissues (the equalization on this disc is extreme to a degree where it even sports some minute turntable rumble in the low end).

I still say that there is no really good reason to buy this CD instead of Columbia's 1990 box set "The Complete Recordings", but if you are looking for a single-disc overview, this one has almost all of Johnson's best songs (with the notable exception of "Sweet Home Chicago" and "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom"), and the sound quality is truly amazing. I have the box set, but I also have this CD, actually. The remastering is that good.

I have the box set. Sure it's (almost) complete, but the sequencing sucks and the digital clean-up is kinda sterile sounding. I got this cd awhile back just because of the extra song not available on the box. What I didn't expect was the far warmer sound of this disc in comparison with the box set. Occasionally the surface noise can be a bit a an obstruction, but, for the most part, this is the best way to hear these recordings without having to resort to 78 rpm records. Alas, sound quality should not be the determining factor as to whether or not one should be able to enjoy music, but this cd makes the case that a better sounding recording can enhance great music.

As for the music: if anyone is buying this because he/she is unfamiliar with the recordings of Robert Johnson, go straight to Hellhound on my Trail and play it a few times. If that doesn't make the listener a life-long Robert Johnson fan, he/she should immediately consider a visit to the nearest e.r. so that said heartless, soulless tone-deaf lost cause can be resuscitated.

For those who get the big picture and are hypnotized by the sound of aural perfection, proceed immediately to Skip James' "Devil Got My Woman", Blind Willie Mctell's "Mama 'taint Long Fo' Day", et al.

an intense album of the best songs that were made by the man who "met the devil at the crossroads." Essential documents of their time, these songs are still powerful today, and their influence on rock music is monumental. If you are interested in the roots of rock music, you need this cd or any of the others offered on amazon. I have a different collection than this one, but it has almost all the same songs, and believe me, it doesn't make a difference as long as you get at least a full disc's worth of good old Rob Johnson blues licks. If he only lived longer, he could have reveled in the success and admiration that these songs gave to his legacy.

The previously unreleased early take of "Traveling Riverside Blues" will be a revelation for serious devotees of Johnson, since it shows him in a markedly spontaneous, uncertain and vulnerable state that's winning in its lack of audience-minded effect. This is Johnson thinking out loud about the song, its personal meaning and its communicative potential, exploring how to merge all these perspectives for maximum impact on a waiting world. Poignant and electrifying.

I know that many people will not appreciate Robert Johnson as much as I do, and the lack of production will just be a little too raw for most. But who said music needed production? If you beleive that over-producing music kills the heart and the soul, than you will enjoy throughly this collection. On the other hand, if you like your music to be more than a guy with his voice and a guitar, you probably won't listen to this everyday. However, it doesn't matter what side of the camp you are on, you must agree that this is an incredibly important footnote in music history. Without Johnson, modern blues and the British invasion (and probably rock 'n' roll as a whole) would've been inconceivable. Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and many other acknowledged guitar virtuosos have proclaimed the genius of Johnson. There is a heart and soul rarely found in other music, a certain expression of all your pains and joys. It is, if you get past the minimalism, deeply affecting music. Johnson is to blues what Hank Williams is to country and Charlie Parker is to jazz. All lived for a very short time, but changed the genre forever (and all can be linked to helping invent rock 'n' roll). And if you claim to be a true music fan, a compilation of the previously mentioned artists should be found in your collection eventually. This is roots music at it's finest. Despite the fact it isn't listenable to everyone, you should try to listen to it at least once, to see where rock is all coming from.