Customer Reviews

King of the Delta Blues Singers 2 (Reis)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
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. 1]" 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. Highly recommended!

I am really pleased that this second volume has come out at last, as I remember getting both volumes when they came out first time round as LPs with their beautiful artwork, which has been faithfully reproduced. But what has really amazed me is the quality of the remastered sound, even better than that on the first volume which was very good. Every nuance of Johnson's voice and guitar work has been reproduced, so you really feel you are there in that San Antonio hotel room. Included on both volumes are alternative versions of songs which are fascinating to hear, as they are quite different in parts and (to me) show that Johnson was very prone to improvise, which is contrary to the view expressed in the sleeve notes.

I've been listening to various releases of the Robert Johnson recordings and these reissues (this disk and the companion first volume)of the Columbia transcriptions are by far the best. At the cost of leaving in more of the hiss and scratches, the timbre of Johnson's voice has more depth, is less muffled, and sounds much more like a real human voice. The character of the voice and the nuances in inflections are more readily apparent. Of course, not the quality of modern recordings but a quantum leap above the other issues of the Johnson Recordings available, which have been so heavily manipulated to "sound better" that Johnson's remarkable voice sounds like it's been strained through socks in comparison.

If you have any interst in the blues, these versions of these landmark recordings will you closer to Johnson's voice and guitar work.

I was first exposed to the music of Robert Johnson in the early 1990's, although I liked the work of Keb Mo a lot more (fidelity reasons)? I never acquired the CD's until recently (a year or two ago) and found it to be good listening when working on tomorrow's hangover.

I own both of the 'King Of The Delta Blues Singers' albums, and prefer Vol. 2 mainly for "Dust My Broom."

Early in 2010, it was announced that Todd Rundgren would be releasing a CD of Robert Johnson covers (Todd Rundgren's Johnson-get it before it goes out of print). Although the album would not be available until late in the year (and so far only as a pay through the nose import), I'd had a taste of it live from a download purchase of a Netherlands show where he was his own warm-up band and played the Johnson material. Kick-ass rock and roll, and I love "Dust My Broom."

I found myself dusting off RJ's originals and listening to them a lot, and thought I'd leave a review, and maybe even get some cross-promotion action going for TR.

Im my opinion, volume two offers more variety than the first, and contains my favorite RJ tunes, going from "Broom" to "They're Red Hot" and ultimately to "Love In Vain." That makes it easier to listen to-as my friend Stephen T says, it's hard to listen to a whole album of acoustic music because the variety is often not there.

Did Johnson sell his soul to the devil for his guitar mastery? I don't know-it certainly makes a good story, and was the basis for a recurring plotline in the "Supernatural" series.

There are a lot of Robert Johnson compilations out there. Do not be fooled-he only released twenty seven songs (although alternate takes are available for many of them).

But this man has been a HUGE influence on everyone that has come after him, so any blues fan, heck any MUSIC fan, should own these two collections.

These two collections are essential, and completists would also want to own "The Complete Recordings."

I like the "Delta Blues" collections over the "Complete Recordings" because they flow like albums, where the "Complete" collection plays all of the versions of a song sequentially.

Who wants to hear three takes back to back? Didn't we learn after the Beatles Anthologies? Aren't we in the twenty-first century? Have the Commies won?

Anyway, this is good music for the house-a little mellow for driving. For the car, I recommend the aforementioned Todd Rundgren's Johnson CD!

Robert Johnson was the inspiration for generations of blues singers and blues lovers. It seems a great surprise to many that he was also the inspiration for waves of British performers who covered his songs: The Stones, Cream, Led Zep, Eric Clapton, etc., etc.

So it's particularly interesting to listen to this disc and hear the power of the original - and remastered to offer sound quality which far exceeds my old scratched records.

A definite buy for anyone who loves the blues.

This album is just as important as Vol. 1 if you want to fully experience the genius that is Robert Johnson. Music fans will be blown away by the quality of these recordings. Buy this along with Vol. 1, sit back and you'll be taken on a journey through the past.

Yeah, volume one has CrossRoad Blues. But this compilation has "They're Red Hot." Johnson at his most upbeat.

I will start off by airing my only real complaint about this disk, that being that it duplicates two of the songs found on the first volume, those being "Ramblin On My Mind" and "Preachin' Blues."
Don't get me wrong here, as those are two of his better songs, but was it REALLY necessary to include the exact same take of "Preachin'" as on the first volume instead of the alternate?
Was it really necessary to include both the exact same take of "Ramblin'" AND the alternate, instead of including only the alternate?
My guess is that Sony was looking at a quick and dirty way to fill out the playing time on this disk to make it comparable to the first disk.
That's really a shame, as they could have left off the original take of "Ramblin'" to replace it with the alternate takes of both "Crossroads Blues" and "Preachin' Blues."

Okay, with that minor beef out of the way, I will throw out my opinions about the tracks that came off as the strongest on this set, leaving off the duplicates I mentioned above.

1) "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom" will be instantly recognizable, especially to those of you who have ever heard the more famous Elmore James version put to blazing bottleneck electric guitar. It is little wonder that this song caught James fancy, although he put the basic tune of "Ramblin'" to the words of this song. Definitely a brilliant song about telling a woman that he will leave her.

2) "Sweet Home Chicago" has become such a blues standard that I almost think it would be pedantic to describe it very much, except to say that this song, probably more than any other, has the most enduring legacy, if not for the lyrics about abandoning the delta for the big city, than for Johnson's (at the time) innovative rhythm trick of strumming a 1-2 beat on his bass strings. That very simple technique lives on in nearly all modern blues and rock to this day, and Johnson was there first.

3) "They're Red Hot" is completely unlike anything else in Johnson recorded, and it is not traditional blues at all. This piece is described as "hokum music," and it features an almost banjo ragtime playing style and rapid fire, halting lyrics. Johnson sounds completely comfortable with this unusual song, and he is clearly having a good time performing it. Infectious and fun, hinting at the future from the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and other energetic players.

4) "From Four Until Late" is another unusual tune, although not nearly as much so as "Red," featuring Johnson actually crooning in an almost Nat King Cole style. It also features the famous bawdy blues line "A woman's like a dresser/Some man's always ramblin' through its drawers." Even if some blues purists may wrinkle up their noses at this one, I really liked this one, if for nothing else than that Johnson was stretching himself forth, refusing to be entirely pigeonholed.

5) "Stop Breakin' Down" practically drags the listener along with its irresistibly propulsive beat and Johnson's plaintive singing about a difficult woman.

6) "Honeymoon Blues" features the only song in which Johnson, eschewing the familiar blues theme of casual relationships, offers his hand in marriage to his woman, "Betty Mae." His voice is gently coaxing, and his guitar part is actually rather simple, with only a bit of lilting to accent his trademark dominating boogie rhythm played on the bass strings.

7) Which brings up the final song, "Love in Vain," which couldn't have been better. Johnson's lyrics sparkle with sorrow at having to escort his beautiful "Willie Mae" to depart forever on a train. And, as one could expect, his guitar approximates the sound of a train, as he wails his final verse about "The blue light was my blues/And the red light was my mind," switching to wordless moaning interspersed with cries of "Oh! Willie Mae!" If this one doesn't make you cry, you have never known what it is to love. I don't say that idly, either.

Great album, even the songs I didn't review, largely only because most of them were almost exact musical duplicates of the others.
Anyone doubting why Eric Clapton and legions of other blues/rock exponents sing the praises of Robert Johnson would be well served by grabbing this AND the first volume.
Believe me, you will NOT regret it.

I found this an interesting CD of vintage Delta Blues music. Most tracks are clear and easy to listen to.
A few contain scratchy sounds, but that is to be expected in old recordings. Robert Johnson's guitar styling on his chords are ones used by many modern day musicians and are worth hearing from his original reditions.

When you are talking about Robert Johnson, alternate takes are not just alternate takes. This is a genious of the highest order, that was barely captured on disc, in a world then ruled by Jim Crow. Therefore, you want to listen to every single note he put on record eventually. Besides, many of the alternate takes are completely different than the released versions, sometimes different rythms, different words, and some alternates are even better than the released versions. I dont see the point in these King of the Delta Blues CDs when you can go for the Complete 2 CD box set.