Customer Reviews
this is a masterpiece 
2007-11-06
the complete recordings of robert johnson are one of the best box sets ever released (along with Bessie Smith's).
all the various songs that RJ ever recorded are made available in this set. the set includes malted milk, sweet home chicago, crossroads, walking blues, ramblings on my mind and love in vain. Some of these songs have been recorded by a variety of other artists. Son House and Clapton recorded walking blues, malter milk was recorded unplugged by Clapton in the mid-1990s, the Rolling Stones made a cover of Love in Vain (in Let it Bleed, 1969, in get your ya-ya's out and more recently in Stripped) and so on.
Though some of the covers of Robert Johnson's songs were quite good, I don't think they were nearly as good as RJ's original recordings. RJ makes a more delicate, but no less intense, recording than Son House --who, great as he was, was a bit rougher. And RJ makes a more powerful, more soulful renditions that were actually delivered by either Clapton or the Stones. take Love in vain. In the version recorded by the Stones, Keith Richards or Mick Taylor were respectively playing rhythm and slide guitars on a progression of chords that G-D-E minor and C (this is the live version, the version releaed on Let it bleed is in E-flat). It's nice and it's catchy. Nothing to compplain about. but in RJ's version there is no minor chord, the songs is much straighter and to the point. And there is more pain, more despair, more loneliness--which is why his version just sweeps you away.
And for those you want to learn how to play guitar, RJ's intricate fingerwork is just otherworldly and magnific; he plays simultaneouly rhythm and lead, alternating rhythmic parts with very sharp solo licks. It's pure genius.
Johnson should demand a soul refund if this is all he got! 
2007-10-21
Robert Johnson's music is indeed listen-able, but is by no means the revolutionary, almost supernatural sound his fans- primarily guilt-ridden, white, urban liberals- make it out to be. Actually, his down-home ditties sound pretty much like every other blues man of his time. If you like that kind of primitive strumming, that's fine, but take a step back and drop the embarrassingly effusive accolades, before you make a fool of yourself.
the devil's curse starts here baby yes! 2007-10-08
oh yes robert johnson masde a deal with the devil at the crossroads and the world has'nt been the same since the blues evolved into rock n roll, heavy metal, and ganghster rap yes this is the reason we all sin bang our heads and commit fornication, and murder and senseless suicides, lesbianism and child sacrifices thanks mr. johnson for giving us all these pleasures in music this is for the open minded there's a hellhound on my tail as well haha.
Come on in my kitchen the tribute is about to start. 2007-07-08
As the author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent" and a former radio disc-jockey, I am often asked to write and or discuss various recordings of historical importance.
There are not many recorded works that can boast ageless songs and timeless influence the way the Robert Johnson's compilation can.
Not only has Johnson been a major factor in the lives of the people we refer to as "Guitar Heroes" but his name being synonymous with blues-rock idols has led to an infinite amount of people purchasing records they would never have known.
Forty-one doesn't sound like a large number (The amount of tracks offered on the CD) but it isn't the quantity but the quality. Johnson offers us a chance to feel the pain of the blues musician in the thirties. The guitar so difficult to play the fingers would often bleed. The lyrics didn't have to be searched for, he was living the story each minute.
We have idolized Cream's version of "Crossroads" the first second "Wheels Of Fire" went on the turntable but it was penned before rock and roll was even a dream. Titled "Cross Roads Blues" by Johnson the acoustic version is riveting. What cried more pain the six string or Johnson's voice? The Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna guitarist Jorma Kaukonen has left "Walking Blues" as a calling card for decades. Hot Tuna versions of the song became legendary in the mid-seventies. Here is Johnson's original unplugged (If I may borrow a term) with no thrills and not even clocking in at two and a half minutes. The genius of Johnson is the ability to take his foundation and extend it to new horizons. The songs have such intensity that they don't lose meaning with improvisation, their reputation only grows. Clapton while a member of Cream would give us an incredible version of "From Four Till Late" and Hot Tuna put their stamp on the tune for the 83 reunion tour.
"Love In Vain" conjures up an image of the Mick Taylor period Stones playing brilliant live versions that made time stand still. Johnson was the first man to follow her to the station and write about the trials and tribulations.
Led Zeppelin years later would cut loose with their rendition of "Traveling Riverside Blues" and in another world Mr. Johnson would build the foundation so they could achieve this.
Robert Johnson's name is associated with the blues. To many he is the reason they picked up the guitar. As you pick your favorites after listening to all the tracks, take a few moments to see how many albums you own where one or more of his tunes have been covered. There are over two hundred versions of "Sweet Home Chicago." Now you can experience where it all started rural Mississippi and ended before he saw age 28. Come on in my kitchen the tribute is about to start.
Enjoy the music and be well,
Craig Fenton
Author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent"
Unique voice and vibes.... 2007-06-09
As a child and very young teenager in the 60's and 70s, I grew up on a diet of the heaviest, sludgiest heavy rock, then later "graduated" onto very early punk rock in the late 70's -- from Zeppelin to Sabbath onto MC5, The Stooges and then The Pistols.
I soon wearied of both genres, and wanted to find out what the roots of rock and roll were. In the late 70's/early 80's then, I stumbled upon this fine, ghostly record, and was immediately entranced by the sense of mystery and lonely strangeness that Robert Johnson evoked. A lonely dark existential dread, records that captured the "human condition" and all its attendant sense of loss.
This album is, arguably, all you'll need to understand the inner core meaning of delta blues genre -- and it undoubtedly provides insights into the vast majority of the rock music that followed in its footsteps.
Ghostly, lonely , haunting, intelligent, innovative, unique, and quite essential listening for anyone that fell in love with rock music for all the right reasons.
It's amazing what someone like Johnson could do within the blues format -- poetic and epic, like the best poetry should be. File next to the best American poetry too. Those that appreciate Walt Whitman, Ginsberg and Emily Dickinson will instinctively understand what Johnson was doing, lonely and unheeded genius that he was.
Elijah Wald & I Have Something to Add to the Johnson Legend 2008-06-19
What else can I add that hasn't already been said about Robert Johnson? Actually, there is a lot of information and observations that have long been ignored by the Blues community and magazines and newspapers like Rolling Stone and The New York Times. He was a lyrical and musical genius who, as Elijah Wald has pointed out in "Escaping the Delta", perfectly crafted his songs. In other words, his songs were intended to reach mass audiences and were not necessarily expressions of his torment as a black man living in Mississippi. At any rate, "Crossroads Blues", "Stones In My Passway", "Love In Vain" and "Preachin' Blues (Up Jumped The Devil" are masterful. There is one important thing to keep in mind, though. It is something that so-called Blues fans often forget. Johnson consciously imitated Kokomo Arnold, Son House, Scrapper Blackwell, Skip James, Leroy Carr, Peetie Wheatstraw and others. He was a synthesis of all that had come before him. Another artist he greatly admired was Lonnie Johnson, even going so far as to tell people that he was related to the man. "Malted Milk" and "Drunken Hearted Man" are closely related to Lonnie Johnson's style of playing during this period. Unfortunately, Johnson died at the age of twenty seven, and just as unfortunate is the fact that a man of equal brilliance, Johnny Shines, has never been given his due as a brilliant slide player, lyricist, and much better singer than Robert Johnson. People who say they love Robert Johnson's music and believe that he made a deal with the Devil should honestly look into Johnson's roots and realize that men like Willie McTell, Lonnie Johnson and Johnny Shines were just as talented as young Robert.
Brilliant Music, Mysterious Story and Unending Impact 2008-05-19
I first encountered Robert Johnson's story as did many people in the movie "Crossroads" with Ralph Macchio, Joe Seneca (ironically one of the Larks who recorded Sonny Boy Williamson II's "Eyesight To The Blind"), Jami Gertz (what a fox!), Steve Vai (master guitarist) and Ry Cooder (offscreen).
That is where the story came together. You see the story about selling his soul to the devil at the crossroads was told by Tommy Johnson and even before him. Robert Johnson's songs which mentioned the Devil, Hellhounds, Crossroads, etc. made it very tempting to tie the two stories together. Jim O'Neill co-founder of Living Blues magazine once told me that he was talking with his fellow blueshounds trying to figure out exactly when the stories came together. With some research I found and videoed an interview with the widow of the man who dug Robert Johnson's grave in a church cemetary, ironically at what is probably the church at which Alex "Rice" Miller AKA Sonny Boy Williamson II preached as a child. None of the people in the church remember that connection but I found Sonny Boy's childhood home down the road a piece in Money. The Little Zion Church is closer to Greenwood on the same road.
Ironically again, this is not the Complete Robert Johnson recordings as a alternative of Travellin' Riverside Blues which was later discovered in the Library of Congress is missing as the 42nd recording.
Can't You Hear the Wind Howl? The Life and Music of Robert Johnson, the estate's version of his story, is my favorite documentary on Robert Johnson because it plays short excerpts of his songs so you can get used to the sound and the lyrics in small portions.
I had the pleasure of working with Robert Lockwood Jr., Robert Johnson's stepson (who considered me family and I guess that makes me Robert Johnson's grandson as much as he was Robert Johnson's son -- pretty hip for a white boy) and interviewing him extensively about their relationship. Standing across the street from the site of the house he lived in with Robert Johnson when he learned Sweet Home Chicago, I waited until he played it for me to say, "That's amazing!" to which he answered "If it's good; it's been here first."
I highly recommend all Searching for Robert Johnson, The Afterlife of Robert Johnson and Can't You Hear The Wind Howl? as each reveals different information about this outstanding musician who took what had come before him and made it his. Robert Lockwood Jr. did the same thing with Robert's music, first by encouraging Muddy Waters to record it in the 40s and 50s and then with a new 12-string guitar reinventing and revitalizing from 1960 for another quarter century until his death. This music still jumps off the record or CD and tells its story clearly, colorfully and powerfully.
I will always treasure the time I got to spend with Robert Lockwood Jr. who reintroduced me to the music of Robert Johnson and made it part of my life. I still can't play or sing but I love the poetry of the blues.
The beginning of the blues. 2008-05-03
I recognize these recordings as the beginning of the blues. They are simple and exciting.
Authoritative 2008-03-10
Don't bother with single disc collections, just buy this. You'll want to grab it for the extra tracks eventually, so save your money and get this version. I originally had the King of the Delta Blues single disc, which is great, but lacks a lot of really good songs included here.
As a guitarist, I had bought Robert Johnson: The New Transcriptions, which matches up with this two-disc set. So that's why I finally bought this set and I give it a hearty five of five, a must-own for any good blues collection.
Necessary for any rock or blues fan. 
2008-03-05
This is a necessity for any music fan. It may take a few listens to start to sink in, but worth the effort.
