Search - The Peter Green Splinter Group :: Robert Johnson Songbook

Delta Blues, London Style

Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 04/15/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this CD back when it was issued but hadn't listened to it much until recently when Peter Green's fellow British guitar wizard Eric Clapton issued his own tribute to Robert Johnson called Me and Mr. Johnson. Although the two CDs are very different in both approach and sound, I like them both. The one I would pick as the "best" would depend on my mood on any given day. But if its "authenticity" you seek, then Green's Robert Johnson Songbook comes closest to the Delta Blues sound.Since I have not actually heard most of Johnson's own work, I won't inject myself into the "what would Johnson do?" speculations. I have a feeling that he would be pleased and amused that so many white boys see him as a blues god and want to cover his music. However, I have heard all these songs before covered by a variety of artists from across the rock and blues spectrum, so I can comment on their relative merits.
There is a lot to like here. Green and his sidekick Nigel Watson put their hearts into this recording and serve up some very tasty Delta Blues, London style. I like the whole CD, but my favorite renditions here are of Phonograph Blues, a gospel-flavored Last Fair Deal Gone Down, a slow, Stones-like Love in Vain Blues, the mournful Stones In My Passway, the macho I Believe I'll Dust My Broom, and the swinging Sweet Home Chicago.
The CD comes with an informative booklet that compares and contrasts the lives of Robert Johnson and Peter Green. It also offers some intimate observations on how the idea for this tribute was born. If you like the blues in general and aren't a stickler for note-for-note authenticity, then I recommend The Robert Johnson Songbook highly.And for the record, some reviewers mentioned erroneously that Peter Green had been away from recording since his Fleetwood Mac days. Not so. He made a number of albums, some of them quite good, during the late 70s and the 80s. If you were unaware of that, its because none of his albums were given proper promotion.
Some of that period's music is available here on this site, mostly in compilation form."

Drop-Dead Gorgeous

C. S. Junker | Burien, WA USA | 04/03/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I admit I was disappointed when this CD came out. Since Peter Green had returned to performing and recording in 1996, I was hoping for new songs from him. A whole album of Robert Johnson covers? Why?After listening to this, however, I began to appreciate it more and more. Nigel Watson and Peter Green manage to be respectful without being overly reverent, well aware that they're updating Johnson's classic songs for contemporary audiences. (It's worth noting that the only Peter Green compositions to appear on any Splinter Group CD are re-arrangements of ... old Peter Green songs.) Peter's voice is getting pretty creaky, but on this record it's warm and husky, just hoarse enough to give you the feeling of someone who's lived the blues. The piano and rhythm work are excellent, as are Nigel Watson's singing. And a special word for the Street Angels backup singers, whose performance on some tracks gives them a gospel feel that's entirely appropriate to the material.There's no point in comparing this to Robert Johnson's originals. However, you can compare it to Eric Clapton's new release, by contrast a rather dry, lifeless exercise that goes in one ear and out the other. If you're a Clapton fan, you can string me up and call for the executioner, but first... listen to this CD. It's a must for any blues fan.(And don't forget to buy "Hot Foot Powder", the follow-up album with more delicious blues!)"

The Robert Johnson Songbook

csmith606 | Drakesboro, KY United States | 11/25/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like a little Blues in your life? Well, You can't beat this. Did you ever buy a record that only had one good song on it? (Manfred Mann's "Quinn The Esquimo" comes to mind.) Well, There's 16 songs on this album - and 14 of them will knock your socks off! I got this CD in the mail about three days ago. I've listened to it about a hundred times. This is one of the best."