The Complete Recordings (Album)

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The Complete Recordings
Compilation album by Robert Johnson

Publication
(s)

1990

admission

1936, 1937

Label (s) Columbia / Legacy

Format (s)

2 CD

Genre (s)

Blues , Delta Blues

Title (number)

41

running time

104 min 53 sec

occupation Robert Johnson (vocals, guitar)

production

Stephen LaVere, Frank Driggs

Studio (s)

Dallas , Texas ; San Antonio , Texas

chronology
King of the Delta Blues Singers, Vol. II , 1970 The Complete Recordings none

The Complete Recordings is a music album that contains almost all of the recordings made by the American blues musician Robert Johnson. In addition to the published songs, the collection also contains alternative recordings of various songs, as he sometimes recorded two versions of his songs during the recordings. The box is accompanied by a booklet with essays by Johnson researcher Steven LaVere, Keith Richards and Eric Clapton . It also includes a transcript of the lyrics, a list of recordings made at the time of Johnson's sessions, and a discography .

General

Robert Johnson only recorded 29 songs in his entire life, which were released together with alternative recordings on this double CD. His music influenced numerous musicians after him. For example, Eric Clapton says :

Johnson was the most important blues musician who ever lived. (Johnson was the most important blues musician who ever lived.)

He also influenced other English rock bands, such as the Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac in their early days as blues bands. That is why the Observer added the 1961 album Robert Johnson King of the Delta Blues Singers to the list of 50 albums that changed the music (Reason: Without these no Rolling Stones, Cream, Led Zeppelin) This was also the first Album on which his music was re-released after Johnson's death and which can be regarded as the initial spark for the blues revival of the 1960s. The edition was completed in 1974, but was long prevented by legal disputes. When the box was released, the record company hoped to sell 200,000 copies; However, the box sold over a million times by the end of 1994, which was the first time a blues recording was made. In the Billboard Top 200 , the inclusion reached number 80.

The Complete Recordings received a Grammy for "Best Historical Album" in 1990. In 1991, the album received the Blues Music Award for best "Vintage or Reissue Album". There was a real Johnson hype. Due to the sales success, the album was given platinum status in 1994 . In 1998 the song "Cross Road Blues" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Also, four of his songs were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ("500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll") as early influences; they are " Sweet Home Chicago ", " Cross Road Blues ", " Hellhound on My Trail " and " Love in Vain ". A peculiarity that he does not share with many blues musicians is that lectures on his lyrics were given at the University of Virginia (Victor Cabas' " Mississippi in Story and Song"). In 2003 the album was entered into the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress , where an annual commission selects recordings that are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.

Track list

CD 1

  1. Kindhearted Woman Blues - Johnson - 2:49
  2. Kindhearted Woman Blues - Johnson - 2:31
  3. I Believe I'll Dust My Broom - James, Johnson - 2:56
  4. Sweet Home Chicago - Benno, Johnson, Johnson, Russell - 2:59
  5. Rambling on My Mind - Johnson - 2:51
  6. Rambling on My Mind - Johnson - 2:20
  7. When You Got a Good Friend - Johnson, Traditional - 2:37
  8. When You Got a Good Friend - Johnson, Traditional - 2:50
  9. Come On in My Kitchen - Johnson, Payne - 2:47
  10. Come On in My Kitchen - Johnson, Payne - 2:35
  11. Terraplane Blues - Johnson - 3:00
  12. Phonograph Blues - Johnson - 2:37
  13. Phonograph Blues - Johnson - 2:32
  14. 32-30 Blues - Johnson - 2:51
  15. They're Red Hot - Johnson - 2:56
  16. Dead Shrimp Blues - Johnson - 2:30
  17. Cross Road Blues - Johnson - 2:39
  18. Cross Road Blues - Johnson - 2:29
  19. Walkin 'Blues - Johnson - 2:28
  20. Last Fair Deal Gone Down - Johnson - 2:39

CD 2

  1. Preaching Blues (Up Jumped the Devil) - Johnson - 2:50
  2. If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day - Johnson - 2:34
  3. Stones in My Passway - Johnson - 2:27
  4. I'm a Steady Rollin 'Man - Johnson - 2:35
  5. From Four Till Late - Johnson - 2:23
  6. Hellhound on My Trail - Johnson - 2:35
  7. Little Queen of Spades - Johnson - 2:11
  8. Little Queen of Spades - Johnson - 2:15
  9. Malted Milk - Johnson - 2:17
  10. Drunken Hearted Man - Johnson - 2:24
  11. Drunken Hearted Man - Johnson - 2:19
  12. Me and the Devil Blues - Johnson - 2:37
  13. Me and the Devil Blues - Johnson - 2:29
  14. Stop Breakin 'Down Blues - Johnson - 2:16
  15. Stop Breakin 'Down Blues - Johnson - 2:21
  16. Traveling Riverside Blues - Johnson - 2:47
  17. Honeymoon Blues - Johnson - 2:16
  18. Love in Vain - Johnson - 2:28
  19. Love in Vain - Johnson - 2:19
  20. Milkcow's Calf Blues - Johnson - 2:14
  21. Milkcow's Calf Blues - Johnson - 2:20

critic

  • Rolling Stone (May 13, 1999, p. 52) - Added the album to the Essential Recordings of the 90's list.
  • Rolling Stone (October 18, 1990) - 5 stars - Classic album - "The music has a power that age cannot dim ..." (The music has power that age cannot control.)
  • Q (2/91) - Recommends the album as one of the five best blues recordings of 1990
  • Q (8/94, p. 126) - 5 stars - indispensable
  • Down Beat (2/91) - "... Johnson's use of harmonics and chording was eons before his time, and his delivery and lyrics remain standards by which blues intensity is measured. ... "(" Johnson's use of harmonies and chords was way ahead of his time, and his singing and lyrics set standards by which blues intensity is measured ... ")
  • Time Magazine (December 31, 1990) - One of the 10 best albums of 1990 - “... This isn't just music; it's American mythology ... "(" ... This is not just music, it is also an American myth ... ")
  • Mojo (editor) (4/01, p. 44) - "... If there have to be legendary bluesmen, Johnson is as well fitted for the role as anybody ..." ("If you need a legendary blues singer, suitable none better than Robert Johnson for this role. ")

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Buncombe, Andrew: The Independent (July 26, 2006). "The grandfather of rock'n'roll: The devil's instrument"
  2. The Guardian: The 50 albums that changed music (June 2, 2006)
  3. Allmusic Review
  4. ^ Barry Lee Pearson, Bill McCulloch Robert Johnson: Lost and Found 2003, pp. 53f.
  5. ^ AMG biography of Cub Coda
  6. See Barry Lee Pearson, Bill McCulloch Robert Johnson: Lost and Found 2003, p. 97
  7. See Johnson's Son Gets Rights Billboard November 1, 2003, p. 12
  8. ^ Robert Johnson - biography
  9. Entries 2003 in the National Recording Registry
  10. CD Universe product information