Robert Johnson may have sold his soul to the devil but it was worth it to help provide the backbone for Delta and Chicago Blues.
Most, if not all of his classics have been covered by Eric Clapton to great effect (the albums “Me and Mr Johnson” and “Sessions for Robert J”), as well as covers by many others.
But the best renditions and recordings for me are by the Peter Green Splinter Group. I saw this band play at the Buxton Opera House (‘96), a fairly small and good acoustic venue. This was also the setting for the much missed Alexis Corner Memorial Concert, repeated several times from ’94 onwards, supported by the likes of Jack Bruce, Eric Burdon, Chris Farlowe, Paul Jones and others. But I digress.
Hearing the magic touch of Peter Green performing live with such fluid subtlety backed up by Nigel Watson’s rhythm (sometimes lead) guitar and Peter Stroud’s upright bass was a night to remember. Particularly striking was how PG seemed very content, smiling and in his element on the stage, yet somewhat uneasy and awkward in the foyer afterwards, signing promotional CD’s. Anyway, I have my signed copy safely stored away, but a pity they disbanded in 2004, despite making several other good albums (e.g. Soho sessions with a slightly different line-up).
Their two albums celebrating Robert Johnson are: “The Robert Johnson Songbook” and “Hot Foot Powder”. Compared to many other RJ covers, these versions tend to be mainly acoustic, sparser, cleaner and leaner and all the better for it. Understated guitar virtuosity, combined with bursts of sweet harmonica and super smooth vocals make it an occasion to savour. Overall, riveting sound quality, with the upright bass in particular being an excellent obsessionist test for full range speaker optimisation, but best just to submerge yourself and get drowned in the music.
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Songbook.jpg (Size: 19.16 KB / Downloads: 1)
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hfp.jpg (Size: 23.43 KB / Downloads: 3)
Most, if not all of his classics have been covered by Eric Clapton to great effect (the albums “Me and Mr Johnson” and “Sessions for Robert J”), as well as covers by many others.
But the best renditions and recordings for me are by the Peter Green Splinter Group. I saw this band play at the Buxton Opera House (‘96), a fairly small and good acoustic venue. This was also the setting for the much missed Alexis Corner Memorial Concert, repeated several times from ’94 onwards, supported by the likes of Jack Bruce, Eric Burdon, Chris Farlowe, Paul Jones and others. But I digress.
Hearing the magic touch of Peter Green performing live with such fluid subtlety backed up by Nigel Watson’s rhythm (sometimes lead) guitar and Peter Stroud’s upright bass was a night to remember. Particularly striking was how PG seemed very content, smiling and in his element on the stage, yet somewhat uneasy and awkward in the foyer afterwards, signing promotional CD’s. Anyway, I have my signed copy safely stored away, but a pity they disbanded in 2004, despite making several other good albums (e.g. Soho sessions with a slightly different line-up).
Their two albums celebrating Robert Johnson are: “The Robert Johnson Songbook” and “Hot Foot Powder”. Compared to many other RJ covers, these versions tend to be mainly acoustic, sparser, cleaner and leaner and all the better for it. Understated guitar virtuosity, combined with bursts of sweet harmonica and super smooth vocals make it an occasion to savour. Overall, riveting sound quality, with the upright bass in particular being an excellent obsessionist test for full range speaker optimisation, but best just to submerge yourself and get drowned in the music.
Songbook.jpg (Size: 19.16 KB / Downloads: 1)
hfp.jpg (Size: 23.43 KB / Downloads: 3)