Any Robert Johnson fans here?

One of the paths all guitarists should travel.

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

yep I got that cd, I wanna get his boxset next..

The boxset contains everything he ever recorded

BillieSparks said:

Be aware that the CD you've got has been remastered.
So the same takes may sound better than the box set.

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

In 1989,Prince and his then-manager Al Magnoli announced that they would be shooting "The Robert Johnson Story",in which Prince was gonna star (!).It could have been really interesting but unfortunatly,it never materialized.

I remember it coming out in the early 90's. On cd, that is. It was very hard to get your hands on vinyl, then all of a sudden it was there; ALL known recordings.

I was so happy. In the meantime I am even happier it has been remastered, but still I wish I had my old vinyl again. 3/4 of my vinyl collection 'disappeared' in one of my many moves....

The music? It is horribly good. I know this is the level of playing people like Paige and Clapton try to achieve. Still, no matter how they try, them old recordings of Johnson himself cannot beat I ever heard...

And then all the urban legends concerning him... I wish they would make a good movie out of this...

CookieMonster said:

Ahhh, the Legend of Robert Johnson.. the story of the Crossroads. well, story goes that RJ went down to the crossroads and sold his soul, to play the blues,whether the story is true or not.its always been urban Legend,

also on how Robert Died was, he was playin a Juke Joint, and a lady got him a drink of which was poisoned.sadly no one really knows where Robert is Buried.

Yes.

My Robert Johnson story: Before a family vacation to the deep south a couple of years ago, I told each of my 2 guitar playing kids (15 and 12 years old) to take along a pick (tho' they left their instruments behind) and ask no questions. I also told my son to give me a small camping shovel that we use when backpacking. When we got to the "crossroads" (US Rt. 61 and Mississippi Rt. 49), I pulled over to the shoulder, dug a hole in the dirt and had each of them throw a pick in the hole. At the time, my kids thought I was nuts - my wife told them, "Kids, that's your dad, get used to it". Later they thought it was cool.

My daughter insists that when she returned she could play chords that she was struggling with before we left.



BTW, I had a feeling that theAudience and Dewrede would show up on this thread...
[Edited 12/20/04 8:43am]

jackflash said:

Gotta Love people who raise intelligent musicians!

JackFlash

I love Robert Johnson but the urban legend aspect always put him in a certain place with me. Then I saw "Blues", a documentary (one of the many on blues I've seen) that was based on African Americans only. In it, Robert Johnson's son and people that traveled with him and played like him took the myth and made it human for me. Robert Johnson influenced so many people and his music was amazing but to know he was just a man struggling to make a living with his music is kind of important to me.

with the things i've been thru in my life his voice/slide guitar's never hesitated 2 move me 2 tears...

theAudience said:

Errr wouldn't that be crossroads?

Love him! He's long been one of my favorites



Before Columbia came out with the complete recordings, I would check this record out from the library ad nauseam when I was a teenager! I never tire of his music - so much history and richness to it. Nobody can even come close to playing as brilliantly as he did. Sometimes it sounds like he's playing 2 guitars at once.

sinisterpentatonic said:

You got me!

I considered that after i'd posted.
Thought i'd be a little more subtle.

Good catch.

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

Sorry to put a damper on all this Robert Johnson love, but I've always felt Johnson to be somewhat over-rated. Personally, I find his music to be good, but certainly no better than roughly contemporary bluesmen like Skip James, Blind Lemon Jefferson or Son House.

I've never really appreciated the 'cult' of Robert Johnson, as it tends to over-shadow so many other blues greats from the '20s-'30s era, some of which I feel are superior to him. Just because Eric Clapton and Peter Green venerate him and have tried to sell records by using his name, I'm still not overly impressed.

I think Johnson's good, but not that good. And the poor boy never lived to see a dime of the money from record/ CD sales of his 30 odd recordings. Now, that's a blues life for you.

Miles said:

-----
Always going to one to disagree on this board.

Miles said:

I need to go get my box set, its at my Mom's house. Great stuff

Miles said:

LoL

And true about the other blues artists. That the legend overshadows the truth, that is. I still like his playing lots.

I remember the first time I heard Robert Johnson, my brother in-law was playing some of his songs to me, and I just didn't 'get it'. I said that's terrible ! Nowaday's I hear Him with different ears. His voice is so unique, and his playing so brilliant, the myth has surely been milked, but personally he really has intrigued me with his sound . A true pioneer.

When I first heard him, I was a bit disappointed. I had heard he was the greatest blues guitarist/singer/songwriter ever. So I was expecting BB King or Buddy Guy. Not exactly.

First of all, there's no band. It's all acoustic guitar/voice. Then, reading the liner notes to the first song Kind Hearted Woman, it said that song contained the only guitar solo he ever recorded!

Okay, but one hundred listens later I'm thinking, "this is one guy playing?" It sounds like at least two. The way he plays bass & chords is like a piano player. The way he breaks up the 4/4 rhythm is like jazz. His voice is totally genuine. His lyrics are risque even today. The melodies he uses within the limited blues context are beautiful, original, inventive, haunting.

I'm not gonna say he's the greatest (I'm not qualified). But now that I get him, he's absolutely one of the greats.

andyman91 said:

That's exactly what I've thought - how can one man play that well? Brilliant. And I agree about the lyrics. He's got one of my favorites of all time: "you can squeeze my lemon till the juice runs down my leg." Dirrrrrty!

andyman91 Said:



I totally agree with you andyman91. The bit about the piano, I couldn't express; but that's well put! The piano would have been more prominent at the time , and he somehow captures the rolling blues piano style .
There's an 'Old Soul' working hard in his work .