In Memory of Robert Johnson

Paul Williams | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 19, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Black Sun Records
• ASIN: B000003P14
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #174,832 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Recorded over 20 years ago, In Memory of Robert Johnson, remains a timeless tribute to its namesake. Although the production quality of the original 1973 release was remarkable even by today's standards, the music has taken on an additional level of eloquence and brilliance in this artfully re-mastered version.

The life of Robert Johnson is shrouded in mystery. Some say the legendary blues artist went to the crossroads and made a deal with the devil to be able to play with such emotional power. In any case, his music never relieved his personal sufferings. Most of his recordings were made in the back rooms of Texas hotels and office buildings. Only Terraplane Blues came close to being a hit, even in the restricted race market of the time. Johnson's difficult life finally ended in 1938 under violent circumstances, yet his music became immortal. During the blues revival of the 60s and early 70s, his songs were resurrected by Captain Beefheart, Cream, The Rolling Stones, and others.

English singer, blues guitarist and harmonica player, Paul Williams, was impressed when he heard some of Johnson's original recordings, which were made available to the public in the late 60s. Williams was so moved, in fact, that he gathered together some of England's most prominent blues musicians and went into London's Trident Studios. The resulting sessions faithfully captured the essence of Johnson's style while providing a showcase from some of the finest musicians of the English blues revival.

"What we found in Robert Johnson's music was the authenticity of a man's life," stresses the album's producer and acoustic guitarist Jon Mark, who was highly regarded for his work with blues legend John Mayall. "You have to understand that before the blues revival, we'd had Frank Sinatra singing slick, middle of the road material. Then all of a sudden young people became aware of the blues. We were really impressed with the ability of these black blues musicians to convey a pure sense of the truth. The blues was the most direct way of communicating the pain and the suffering of life, and Robert Johnson really lived it. So you can see why on this session there was a real concern of being purists, of not adulterating the music for our own purposes, but trying to recreate it or interpret it with great respect for the original source."

Williams and Mark were joined on this recording by steel guitarist Glenn Campbell, pianist Bob Hall, bassists Keith Ellis and Pat Donaldson, lead guitarist Eddie Yarlett, and guitarists Alun Davies and Spencer Davis.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Who is this guy? He knows his stuff., January 19, 2005

By 

Prometheus "diosprometheus" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Memory of Robert Johnson (Audio CD)

Who is this Paul Williams?

This is not the Paul Williams the link shows as doing this album nor is it the Paul Williams of Bluegrass fame.

This Paul Williams knows Robert Johnson inside out. He brings more blues and passion to the treatment of this material than any of the White bread treatments by Eric Clapton or Peter Green. One can almost hear that old time Delta sound in this album by someone who knows the blues and has lived it. If one can't get passed the scratchy sounds of the original Robert Johnson, this album is a good place to start. If you can get passed that, get the original, and then listen to the guys who taught Johnson his licks, such as Lonnie Johnson, Scrapper Blackwell, Blind Blake, and Charlie Patton.

5.0 out of 5 stars Damn good blues...!!!, August 28, 2008

By 

Stevem5000 "Stevem5000" (St Louis, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Memory of Robert Johnson (Audio CD)

I found this CD about 5 years ago in a dust bin of a big store retailer...evidently nobody know what they had...

Even though I am heavy into the blues...I bought it for $6.00 not knowing who Paul Williams was...

Wow...blew my mind...

I have the complete Robert Johnson collection, and many of the other artists that have recorded his stuff...I don't think any other artist comes anywhere this close to a "modernized" version of Johnson's music...

The nuaunce, instrumentation, fill work, style...perfect...

I have about 3-400 blues CD's in my collection and we always have a few that we play regularly...this CD gets played a few times every month...

Never get tired of it...

If you like blues in it's original form...as opposed to a "rock-n-roll" version...you're gonna love this...