Robert Johnson - The Complete Recordings / King of the Delta Blues Singers Vol. 1 & 2

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Mission Control - Entry Number 002

Artist: Robert Johnson
*Title: The Complete Recordings
^Title: King of the Delta Blues Singers Vol. 1
^Title: King of the Delta Blues Singers Vol. 2


*Release Date: 8/28/1990 (material recorded in 1936 and 1937; some material originally released 1937-39)
*Length: 1 hr 46 min
*Relevance: RS #22 (2005)

^Release Date: 1961/1970 (material recorded in 1936 and 1937; some material originally released 1937-39)
^Length: 43 min/44 min
^Relevance: RS #27/424 (2003)

My Favorites: "Terraplane Blues" & "Sweet Home Chicago"

TLDR: Man sings his way through hell-on-Earth. Blogger doesn't understand the guitar hype (yet). What Satan giveth, Satan taketh away.

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I'd heard a lot about Robert Johnson in my life, but it was all very hard to keep straight. This is probably due in part to his astoundingly generic name, and in part to the fact that what I'd been hearing was inherently confused anyway, on a few levels. First of all, it seems like there is little confidence in the accuracy of most facts about his life. This is compounded by the legends that have been added to his story, and made even worse when he is mistaken for other similar bluesmen, such as Tommy Johnson.

About the only thing you can really count on to be true is the 42-song body of work credited to him. Thankfully, there's a good deal you can tell about the guy from these recordings. He's plagued by tormentors and obstacles both night and day. Women constantly do him wrong, and he can't stay away from women who care little for him. He's got issues in his subconscious that he can't control, and acts in ways he can't explain. Hearing him sing it, you really believe it, that living his life is generally hellish from multiple angles. He seems to have fun on some songs, or during some lyrics, but very little of this gives me the impression that Johnson had many laughs here on Earth. I definitely feel more convinced of the pain Robert Johnson is singing about than I did during the Anthology of American Folk Music (though only some parts of that album are personally expressive songs that can be compared to Johnson's work).

The first thing I'd heard and remembered about Robert Johnson is the legend that he sold his soul to the devil for guitar skillz. It's a great story, but the thing that I don't get about it is how it makes sense for Johnson's playing to be representative of Satan's musical powers. People seem to talk about him like he's a great guitar player even by today's standards. It seems unlikely to me that such an influential guitar player hasn't been severely passed in the ensuing 3/4-century. Then again, I don't play guitar, and I for sure didn't play it seventy-five years ago, so I'm sure I'm the one at fault in not seeing the impressiveness here. I hope it becomes clearer as I continue my mission. And I'm not saying it's bad, either. I'm currently working on forming a proper frame of reference.

I wonder if Satan contributed to the overall crappiness of Johnson's life, perhaps to help Johnson create better blues songs. Maybe his end of the bargain went like this: "You can be the best guitarist today, Mr. Johnson, but someday some kid will write about how it's hard to believe you were once the best, how the 75 years of guitar-playing evolution (that you may be largely responsible for) have made your influence hard to discern, and how you're easily confusable with other, lesser guitar players of your day. Also, I'll help this along by intentionally keeping the facts of your life hazy and creating conflicting memories for witnesses of your time on earth. Now here's some two-timing women and hellhounds. Hail, Satan." Oh, Satan. You always win.

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Up Next: Skipped.

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