ALBUM REVIEW: Robert Johnson - King of the Delta Blues Singers

    Few musicians hold the mystique, influence, and tragedy of Robert Johnson and his story. For a recording career that spanned only seven months between 1936 and 1937, his music has continued to send reverence ever since - perhaps part of it is due to his mythological "deal with the devil" in which he supposedly sold his soul for musical talent; perhaps its his untimely death at age of 27, which would go on to take many more notable musicians years after his death; perhaps it's the lack of any information about his life or death, even almost 90 years after Johnson walked the Earth; perhaps, it's as simple as the power and emotion of the blues. I save that for last because it's with this 1961 compilation of 16 of his recordings that Johnson escaped from his obscurity - to many, Mr. Johnson was mostly rumor, himself a mythological figure, and this was before there were any even surviving photos of the man discovered. While the recording quality is certainly primitive on account of being recorded in the 1930s, Johnson's recordings continue to be filled with power, musical prowess, and a certain transcendence that lasts nearly a century later. The albums' reputation as one of the most significant and influential in modern music secured.

    I do think it's important to mention that King of the Delta Blues Singers is not a complete encapsulation of Robert Johnson's recordings - out of the 29 songs recorded during his short career, only 16 are included on this compilation, with a second volume released nine years later rounding out the rest of his recorded catalog. While it could be argued that a compilation like The Complete Recordings from 1990 outdo King of the Delta Blues Singers based on sheer number and quality (as well as the fact that a good amount of the songs contain alternate takes), there is something magical in this early collection of Johnson's recordings, which already gathers what still may be some of his most necessary recordings - we have his first single in "Terraplane Blues" and its accompanying B-Side with "Kind Hearted Woman Blues", brilliant dark cuts like "32-20 Blues", and the eternal "devil" trilogy with "Cross Road Blues", "Hell Hound on My Trail", and "Me and the Devil Blues", even if it isn't in that order on the album. There's plenty more where those came from, too, and while it may all be pure delta blues, there is some raw emotion in these performances - a primal energy and passion on moments like "Walkin' Blues" with Johnson's powerful cries and groans coupled with his still unbelievable guitar skill - even all these years later, Johnson's style of playing is still incredibly technical and hard to pull off. Take it from me, I can only get "When You've Got a Good Friend" to sound all that proper.

    You're probably thinking that 16 songs worth of the same chord progression would get stale, but you couldn't be further from the truth. In spite of the nature of the blues being based around the same 8 or 12-bar patterns, Johnson manages to fill his recordings with incredibly rich writing and brilliant guitar licks that still echo to this day. One of his strongest tools is his utilization of emotion throughout his recordings, and it's far deeper than the continuing darkness of recordings like "Cross Road Blues" or even omissions from this collection like "Love in Vain". Moments like "Terraplane Blues" showcase a more playful Johnson, filled to the brim with sexual innuendos and powerful moans in his singing. Other moments like "Ramblin' On My Mind" showcase an abusive relationship in a raw and powerful way that feels impossible nowadays, as does "When You've Got a Good Friend". Nothing can match the raw desperation and fear he communicates in "Hell Hound on My Trail", though, which still inspires its listener to chills all these years later.

    Bob Dylan; Keith Richards; Eric Clapton; Robert Plant; all of them became mesmerized and influenced by the timeless work of Mr. Johnson, and this was very likely their first exposure to his work. Even many years after his untimely and strange death, there is an unparalleled power in the music from the King of the Delta Blues, and this accompanying reissue still holds all the power in the world from it. While there may be more complete, higher quality collections of his, none of them are as raw and impactful as King of the Delta Blues Singers. Few albums can hold such a claim to legend status, but with Johnson's first collection of recordings, it may be one of the most influential albums of the 60s. Robert Johnson is, in many ways, a man with two stories - there's the mythological figure who sold his soul to Satan, and then there's the real mysterious ramblin' man who remains elusive in some facets to this day. One thing is constant with Johnson, be it real or myth - the blues have never sounded this good.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to King of the Delta Blues Singers.