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Editorial Reviews
From Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD
Treating a hymnal of sorts, Stickin' to My Guns (Island) -- © Frank John Hadley 1993
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
5 Stars for WJ, but 3 for the price......,
By
This review is from: Praise God I'm Satisfied (Audio CD)
"Blind" Willie Johnson has a voice which will reach through the decades, grab you by the shirt and shake you, and most insistently dictate your rapt attention. The strong and gravelly voice of Johnson is comparable probably only to Son House's early Paramount recordings. And while some of the songs on this album can definitely be categorized in the blues genre, many fall much more into the gospel genre, if that is even of importance when discussing one of the great early names in pre-war blues and American music history.
Willie Johnson is not a well known name of a Robert Johnson....not even close. To his credit, Eric Clapton and others have brought new people into the blues genre because of their accolades of Robert Johnson; the downside of course, is that some great pre-war blues musicians are often overlooked......and Willie Johnson definitely falls into this category. I picked Willie Johnson up by chance at the store to add to my growing collection of prewar blues artists.....and was I ever surprised when I listened to it for the first time. Johnson was blinded at an early age by his stepmother. His father had caught his stepmother cheating and gave her a beating, and instead of throwing lye at the young Willie's father, she threw it in the eyes of young Johnson, permanently blinding him. His story reads like a Shakespearean tragedy; being blinded at a young age by his stepmother, living most of his life penniless, and dying of pneumonia on a wet mattress after his house burned down because he was refused admittance at a hospital. And despite all of this, he remained steadfast to his religious beliefs, and would often travel to Houston to sing at gospel revivals. This man knew the blues all too well, and also had a deeper understanding of life through his experiences, and all of this comes through in his songs. Many of Johnson's songs were performed and made famous by others, the most notable being "Nobody's Fault But Mine" by Led Zeppelin. Also, the traditional song of "John the Revelator" was magnificently performed a capella by Son House during his 1960's Columbia Sessions(although it should be noted that neither of the aforementioned songs are on this particular CD). The song "Mother's Children Have A Hard Time" is most likely autobiographical in nature and displays the great love he had for his mother. But every song will grab the listener.....be forewarned. Very few singers have made the interplanetary trip on NASA Voyager's Golden Record (other musicians and singers who are on it include Beethoven and Chuck Berry), and I think it could be said that sadly, Johnson is probably the least well known of any of them. The song "Dark Was the Night" is now traveling through space, a song which has only his plaintive moans coupled with a guitar, and which wordlessly evokes the pain of the crucifixion of Jesus (and perhaps all of us in this life). The only shortcoming of this Yazoo CD is the price, nearly 3 times the price of "Dark Was the Night". In many instances, Yazoo release recordings are the only version of early blues, but in this instance, this particular CD can not only be found for less than half the price, but it will contain more than these 14 songs.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Indestructible Vessel,
By
This review is from: Praise God I'm Satisfied (Audio CD)
An indispensible CD for lover's of Blues music, though as elsewhere noted, no Blues songs per se are in evidence. This is playing and singing like no other; extraordinary coaxing of bent notes from the bottleneck, a voice that seems to have been on the otherside and returned to intone all that's been witnessed. If bullfrog's spoke English! Wife, Angeline who he married just before these recordings, compliments his gravelly voice with her pure high pitch.Steve Calt pens a loving picture on the jacket noting the 'jarring contrast between the vividness of his musical landscape and the aridity of his intellectual horizon, as presented in his lyrics.'Which is to say, this is pretty much the work of a fundamentalist passion. Calt walks us through the technical prowess and variety displayed in the songs, then leaves off writing to let Johnson complete the experience.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Blind Willie - Master of Bottleneck Slide,
This review is from: Praise God I'm Satisfied (Audio CD)
Blind Willie Johnson's prowess on Bottleneck slide guitar ironically placed him where he would least like to be; among the sinners in the Blues aisle. The Gospel-Singing "bluesman" possessed slide skills second to none. No other traditional practitioner of the slide guitar style, including Robert Johnson, could coax near as many notes out of a single plucked string, lending his tunes an intense, esoteric feel. No doubt also lending to this feel, was his powerful and exciting "false bass" vocal style, contrasted with the spirited, backup tenor "hollering" of his wife Angeline.
Johnson recorded thirty sides for Columbia between 1927 and 1930. The fourteen cuts on this album are a great introduction, and many of his legendary songs are represented here, however, If raw "country blues" is truly your thing, skip this Yazoo release and go straight for Columbia's two-disc "The Complete Blind Willie Johnson". The 4 star rating given here is due solely to the fact that it is an incomplete collection. I highly recommend this album to discriminating bottleneck slide fans.
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