Search - Robert Johnson :: Complete Collection

Ever get the phonograph blues?

Lao Che | Central New York | 10/17/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What can anyone say about Robert Johnson that hasn't already been stated? The music he left us just has that feel of someone who has traveled the humid shadows of the early twentieth century, checked into every dive hotel and motel across the Bible belt, stomped his feet in more than a few juke joints, courted the devil and let everyone know about it, smoked a few cigarettes, drank his share liquor, tasted love and was bitten more than once. The more you listen, the more your imagination is sparked.



This particular collection showcases the 29 songs he recorded - minus the variations. If you are a casual listener, this is a marvelous retrospective of the music. If you are more of a completist, then the critically acclaimed box set is what you want. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of the blues - in all its various styles. A few things I like are R.L. BURNSIDE - TOO BAD JIM, JIMI HENDRIX - BLUES and various things from MUDDY WATERS, SON HOUSE and HUDDIE LEDBETTER.



A quote from the CD liner notes by Tony Watts:

"If details of Robert Johnson's life are shadowy, there is nothing at all indistinct about his music which is full of the most elemental power imaginable. Obviously a driven man, he attempted to exorcise his demons through the medium of his songs..."



I sometimes wonder if it's because this guy left so few facts about his life behind, that his music becomes that much better? The popular story of his life's end is he was poisoned by a jealous husband he had cuckolded, and then buried in an unmarked grave after midnight. The king is gone but he's not forgotten: Does the mystery and drama of his short life actually float the music, add to its potency and make it transcendent above what it actually is? My recommendation is to take a listen for yourself. For whatever the reason, I can't stop listening to this collection of great songs. Personal favorites are - HELLHOUND ON MY TRAIL, MALTED MILK, LITTLE QUEEN OF SPADES, IF I HAD POSESSION OVER JUDGEMENT DAY, FROM FOUR `TIL LATE and STOP BREAKIN' DOWN BLUES.



Enjoy."

Good low-budget RJ collection

Andre M. | Mt. Pleasant, SC United States | 04/01/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is an excellent low-budget collection to introduce the listener to blues legend Robert Johnson.



Johnson had an amazing vocabulary and sense of illusion. The clever sexual allusions and variance in themes show that he would have made a great novelist. He ranges from lost love (my favorite "Love in Vain"), crimes of passion ("32-20 Blues," which sounds like the grandfather of James Marshall Hendrix's "Hey Joe") struggles with the soul ("Hellhound on My trail," "If I had Posession Over Judgement Day." "Cross Roads,") and plain old good humored fun "They're Red Hot").



RJ also masters in amusing spoken asides and his guitar playing is phenomenal. It's hard to believe it's just him on guitar here! However, his Mississippi accent is so thick that even a Black South Carolinian like me had some earstrain over a number of tunes. Look up the lyrics on the internet and read them along while playing this CD.



The only drawback is that on a couple of songs (such as "Love in Vain"), a cell phone is actually heard ringing in the background. What gives?"