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It’s not always about dirty distortion and a wicked pirate fashion sense.
No, rock and roll can and has lived elsewhere and was almost surely born on
the Mississippi Delta.
Robert Johnson is the unchallenged master of the blues guitar and inspired such legendary greats as Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and more recently, Jack White of the White Stripes, to name but a few.
The legend of Robert Johnson is perhaps even more famous than his music.
You’ve all heard it, I’m sure. It’s the one that goes: young guitar player
goes down to the crossroads and offers his soul to the devil in exchange for
an extraordinary talent with a guitar. Robert Johnson is the original
inspiration for this legend. In reality the rumours apparently always
bothered him when he was alive, though I highly doubt any such exchange would
have been of interest to a humble farm-boy (or necessary, if stories of his
early interest and talent in music are true).
All songs are played masterfully on an old, beat-up acoustic. The music is spiritual, honest and calls for a poorly-lit, smoky backroom, avec martini and a fat cigar. Yet, at the same time it seems to send images of a time long past, of rocking gently on a Georgia porch with a hound dog and a game of checkers. Either way, this is atmosphere at its absolute best.
Although everything (on Volumes I and II) is pure gold, songs that stand out are: “Cross Road Blues,” “Travelling Riverside Blues,” “Milkcow’s Calf
Blues,” “I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom,” “Sweet Home Chicago,” “They’re Red Hot,” “Preachin’ Blues (Up Jumped the Devil),” and many, many others…
This is a perfect example of how much technology has improved the
listening experience. I have listened to quite a few of these tracks on
78’s in my day, and to hear the music coming through so clearly from my CD
player is a real treat.
If you enjoy lemonade afternoons spent in the sunny springtime, or rainy
days at the front window pondering life’s unlimited questions, these albums are calling out to you. Do yourself a favour and answer the call.
