Customer Reviews

Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues

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Some people like to think Robert Johnson was the greatest bluesman ever. A bluesman is never all that great, since the nature of the music and lyrics are about hard times, tough people and unmet greatness. However, after listening to a lot of blues, I can hear how solid his music is.

This is "Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues," based on the PBS documentary series "The Blues." It is not intended to be the Robert Johnson boxed set. There's more of Johnson to be heard on "Complete Recordings" which features all 41 recordings he made. Scorsese's compilation here includes Johnson singing 16 songs, and Keb' Mo' and Cassandra Wilson singing two other Johnson tunes.

While this CD is not meant for Johnson purists, it has a great selection of songs that show his range of guitar skill, lyrical depth and vocal strength. It is more than a sampler, as it reflects the majority of Johnson's total body of work.

The Wilson version of "They're Red Hot" is fast-paced, sounding like it was recorded in one room, with rustic acoustics.

Keb' Mo' does "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" is reverential of Johnson. "If you cry about a nickel, you'll die 'bout a dime," he sings. Fans of Van Morrison will think of his album "Avalon Sunset" listening to this one. It is richly layered with Dixieland brass influences, with the vocal reminiscent of Joe Cocker.

The recordings here are clean. The pop, hiss and buzz often found in recordings from the 1930s is not evident here.

A 15-page liner notes booklet, with an intro written by Scorsese, provides the background to Johnson's life and his importance to blues in general.

Setting Johnson apart from other musicians is that he write the standards. His are the ones other people have recorded since. "Sweet Home Chicago" is his, "Oh, baby don't you want to back to the land of California, to my sweet home Chicago." His songs aren't covered like other songs are. Instead, they can only do homage, rather than redefine, some of the most powerful blues songs ever sung.

George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Eric Clapton, Elmore James, Bonnie Raitt and even the Red Hot Chili Peppers have made versions of his songs. Listen to Robert Johnson sing, "Cross Road Blues" and learn why they did.

His tombstone reads:

"King of the Delta Blues Singers"
His music struck a chord
that continues to resonate,
his blues addressed
generations he would never
know and made poetry of
his visions and fears.

I fully recommend "Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues."

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

An excellent collection of songs at a reasonable price for those looking to get a taste of some of the earliest blues out there from the works of Robert Johnson.

Robert Johnson only recorded 41 songs over a two summer timeframe, and of those 41, 29 are duplicates of songs already recorded by him. So while some may say it is wise to just go out and buy the box set of Robert Johnson, I would argue that this CD makes sense for those who are uncertain whether they will like early delta blues. This CD contains 14 out of the 29 songs ever recorded by Robert Johnson. I love it, but must admit I am perplexed as to why 2 additional Robert Johnson songs recorded by other blues artists were included. Quite honestly, I would have rather have had more Robert Johnson material to listen to. But for the price, I don't think I can complain. Not the best of the Martin Scorcese series, but certainly a laudable effort.

The "Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues" series is generally very good...the entries dedicated to men like Muddy Waters and Son House are some of the best single-disc compilations of their work, but this one on Robert Johnson is not quite as good.

Fourteen tracks are not really enough, and the inclusion of Johnson-interpretations by Kevin Moore (Keb' Mo') and Cassandra Wilson are just plain weird. If you want "updated" Robert Johnson, go for Peter Green's two CDs "The Robert Johnson Songbook" and "Hot Foot Powder".

A Robert Johnson compilation should include Johnson's own originals, and while the other selections are very good (most of his best songs are here), there is really no good reason to get any compilation other than Columbia's "The Complete Recordings of Robert Johnson". That one has great sound, the best annotation, and everything is there. And if you really only want a single-disc compilation, the amazingly brilliant fidelity of the remastered "King Of The Delta Blues Singers" album makes that one the best choice by far.

This was a good Robert Johnson CD that could have been better. For the ever present problem of RJ music sound quality, I'll give the producer the benefit of the doubt-there's only so much you can do with the originals. On the issue of content, however, there just isn't enough. There is at least 25 minutes of space left on the CD, and more if you take away the two (mediocre) modern covers. In that space could have been RJ classics that were not included, "Terraplane Blues," "Me and the Devil Blues," or "Phonograph Blues" to name a few. So decent sound, but lack of content-not bad for a CD I got from the library.

You can hear the birth of rock & roll, R & B, soul, hip hop, and a half dozen other musical genres right here.