King of the Delta Blues and grandfather of Rock Guitar
cvairag | Allan Hancock College | 03/15/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The original 1961 John Hammond Columbia production is legendary - Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and many other luminaries of the electric age learned to play listening to it. My complaint with the CD is that they changed the order of the songs which was beautifully conceived. This is not the first time some corporate hack has taken it upon himself to randomly change what was an intentional ordering of the songs for a CD, which really is an assault on the artist's intent, the CD re-versioning onf Loggins & Messina 'Full Sail' comes to mind, where an arbitrary reordering of the tracks wrecked a classic song cycle. Same here. Obviously, 'Hellhound on My Trail' is followed by 'If I had Possession over Judgement Day'. One thinks these producers might have had enough respect for the great Hammond who also signed Billie Hoiliday and Bob Dylan to their first major recording contracts, and consulted with associates of Johnson, such as Johnny Shines in the production, not to mess with it.
But not to be petty, Johnson's major pieces are stark monuments of the Blues tradition - and some of the greatest paeons to the dilemmas of pain ever wrought - and his dazzling style, both vocal and guitar has rarely been equalled - and, as far as solo blues performance - never surpassed."
Beginning of It ALL!
jbembe | Ann Arbor, MI United States | 02/01/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This was an essential part of my collection, so when I found it used new and on Gold Disc, I didn't hesitate. These recordings are the basis of many many rock recordings and have inspired the entire careers of many an artist. Listen to these tracks long enough and you will eventually find lyrics or other elements of these songs copied, covered, redone in various songs that you have enjoyed forever. This music is sewn into the soul of American Music, don't hesitate on discovering where it all started. If you like Cream, Led Zeppelin, Beck, Dylan, or just about anybody, you'll enjoy this music. Help yourself to an alltime great!"
