The Complete Recordings (Robert Johnson album)

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The Complete Recordings
Robert Johnson - The Complete Recordings.jpg
Compilation album by
ReleasedAugust 28, 1990 (1990-08-28)
Recorded
  • November 23–27, 1936
  • June 19–20, 1937
Studio
  • Gunter Hotel, San Antonio, Texas, US
  • Warner Brothers/Vitagraph Building, Dallas, Texas, US
Genre Delta blues
Length104:53
Label Columbia
Producer
Robert Johnson chronology
King of the Delta Blues Singers, Vol. II
(1970)
The Complete Recordings
(1990)

The Complete Recordings is a compilation album by American Delta blues musician Robert Johnson. The 41 songs were recorded in two sessions in Dallas and San Antonio, Texas for the American Record Company (ARC) during 1936 and 1937. Most were first released on 78 rpm records in 1937. The Complete Recordings, released August 28, 1990, by Columbia Records, contains every recording Johnson is known to have made, with the exception of an alternate take of "Traveling Riverside Blues".

Contents

The Complete Recordings peaked at number 80 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album sold more than a million copies, [1] and won a Grammy Award in 1991 for "Best Historical Album." [2] In 1992, the Blues Foundation inducted the album into the Blues Hall of Fame. [3] It also was included by the National Recording Preservation Board in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 2003. [4] Eric Clapton and Keith Richards contributed to the album liner notes with essays on Johnson's influence on their music. [5]

Background and recording

Prior to his death in 1938, through the help of H. C. Speir Johnson recorded 29 songs for the American Record Company (ARC). His complete canon of recordings includes these 29 masters, plus 13 surviving alternate takes, all recorded at two ARC sessions held in San Antonio and Dallas, Texas. The Mississippi Delta—two hundred miles of fertile lowlands stretching from Memphis, Tennessee, in the North to Vicksburg, Mississippi, in the South—was one of the primary locales in which the blues originated and developed. [6] He is said to have been heavily influenced by early blues artists like Skip James, [7] who was recorded in 1931, around the same time that Johnson amazed his elders with his mastery of the guitar. James's eerie, distinctive style is reflected throughout Johnson's recordings, especially "32-20 Blues," which he adapted from James's "22-20 Blues."

Johnson's first session in San Antonio took place over three days – November 23, 26, and 27, 1936. Sixteen songs were recorded in the Gunter Hotel, where ARC had set up equipment to record several musical artists. "Kind Hearted Woman Blues" was the first song recorded. Also captured in San Antonio were "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom" and "Sweet Home Chicago," both of which became post-war blues standards. "Terraplane Blues," known for its metaphoric lyrics, became a regional hit and Johnson's signature song. Most of the selections were released on Vocalion 78 rpm records, but three songs and several interesting alternate takes remained unissued until they appeared on the Columbia albums. Six months later, on June 19 and 20, 1937, other recording sessions took place at the Warner Brothers/Vitagraph Building in Dallas where, once again, ARC had set up its recording equipment to capture many different musicians. This time 13 songs were recorded and 10 were released during the following year. [8]

Reception and influence

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [9]
Baltimore Sun (favorable) [10]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [11]
Down Beat Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [12]
Entertainment Weekly (A+) [13]
Los Angeles Times (favorable) [14]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [15]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [16]
Time (favorable) [17]
Washington Post (favorable) [18]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [19]

While Robert Johnson's professional recording career can be measured in months, his musical legacy has survived more than 70 years. Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, the two most prominent Chicago bluesmen of the 1950s, both had their roots in the Delta: Muddy was influenced by Johnson's records, [20] and Wolf worked with Johnson around the Delta area. [21] Johnson's emotive vocals, combined with his varied and masterful guitar playing, continue to influence modern blues and popular music performers.

The Chicago Tribune 's Greg Kot wrote that The Complete Recordings, along with Clapton's The Layla Sessions (1990), survive as "monuments of 20th Century music that will rarely, if ever, be equaled". [22]

In 2012, the album was ranked number 22 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. [23]

Track listing

For recording dates and original releases, see Robert Johnson recordings.

Original release (1990)

Disc one
No.TitleIssued onLength
1."Kindhearted Woman Blues" (take 1)Vocalion 034162:49
2."Kindhearted Woman Blues" (take 2)Vocalion 034162:31
3."I Believe I'll Dust My Broom"Vocalion 034752:56
4."Sweet Home Chicago"Vocalion 036012:59
5."Rambling on My Mind" (take 1) Columbia CL 1654 2:51
6."Rambling on My Mind" (take 2)Vocalion 035192:20
7."When You Got a Good Friend" (take 1)Columbia CL 16542:37
8."When You Got a Good Friend" (take 2)previously unreleased2:50
9."Come On in My Kitchen" (take 1)Columbia CL 16542:47
10."Come On in My Kitchen" (take 2)Vocalion 035632:35
11."Terraplane Blues"Vocalion 034163:00
12."Phonograph Blues" (take 1) Columbia 30034 2:37
13."Phonograph Blues" (take 2)previously unreleased2:32
14."32-20 Blues"Vocalion 034452:51
15."They're Red Hot"Vocalion 035632:56
16."Dead Shrimp Blues"Vocalion 034752:30
17."Cross Road Blues" (take 1)Vocalion 035192:39
18."Cross Road Blues" (take 2)Columbia CL 16542:29
19."Walking Blues"Vocalion 036012:28
20."Last Fair Deal Gone Down"Vocalion 034452:39
Disc two
No.TitleIssued onLength
1."Preaching Blues (Up Jumped the Devil)"Vocalion 046302:50
2."If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day"Columbia CL 16542:34
3."Stones in My Passway"Vocalion 037232:27
4."I'm a Steady Rollin' Man"Vocalion 037232:35
5."From Four Till Late"Vocalion 036232:23
6."Hellhound on My Trail"Vocalion 036232:35
7."Little Queen of Spades" (take 1)Vocalion 041082:11
8."Little Queen of Spades" (take 2)Columbia 300342:15
9."Malted Milk"Vocalion 036652:17
10."Drunken Hearted Man" (take 1)Columbia 300342:24
11."Drunken Hearted Man" (take 2)previously unreleased2:19
12."Me and the Devil Blues" (take 1)Vocalion 041082:37
13."Me and the Devil Blues" (take 2)Columbia CL 16542:29
14."Stop Breakin' Down Blues" (take 1)Columbia 300342:16
15."Stop Breakin' Down Blues" (take 2)Vocalion 040022:21
16."Traveling Riverside Blues"Columbia CL 16542:47
17."Honeymoon Blues"Vocalion 040022:16
18."Love in Vain" (take 1)Columbia 300342:28
19."Love in Vain" (take 4)Vocalion 046302:19
20."Milkcow's Calf Blues" (take 3)Columbia CL 16542:14
21."Milkcow's Calf Blues" (take 2)Vocalion 036652:20

The Centennial Collection (2011)

Disc one (San Antonio Recordings)
No.TitleIssued onLength
1."Kind Hearted Woman Blues" (take 1)Vocalion 034162:49
2."I Believe I'll Dust My Broom"Vocalion 034752:56
3."Sweet Home Chicago"Vocalion 036012:59
4."Ramblin' on My Mind" (take 2)Vocalion 035192:20
5."When You Got a Good Friend" (take 1)Columbia CL 16542:37
6."Come On in My Kitchen" (take 2)Vocalion 035632:35
7."Terraplane Blues"Vocalion 034163:00
8."Phonograph Blues" (take 1)Columbia 300342:37
9."32-20 Blues"Vocalion 034452:51
10."They're Red Hot"Vocalion 035632:56
11."Dead Shrimp Blues"Vocalion 034752:30
12."Cross Road Blues" (take 1)Vocalion 035192:39
13."Walkin' Blues"Vocalion 036012:28
14."Last Fair Deal Gone Down"Vocalion 034452:39
15."Preachin' Blues (Up Jumped the Devil)"Vocalion 046302:50
16."If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day"Columbia CL 16542:34
17."Kind Hearted Woman Blues" (take 2)Vocalion 034162:31
18."Ramblin' on My Mind" (take 1)Columbia CL 16542:51
19."When You Got a Good Friend" (take 2)C3/C2T/CK 462222:50
20."Come On in My Kitchen" (take 1)Columbia CL 16542:47
21."Phonograph Blues" (take 2)C3/C2T/CK 462222:32
22."Cross Road Blues" (take 2)Columbia CL 16542:29
Disc two (Dallas Recordings)
No.TitleIssued onLength
1."Stones in My Passway"Vocalion 037232:27
2."I'm a Steady Rollin' Man"Vocalion 037232:35
3."From Four Until Late"Vocalion 036232:23
4."Hellhound on My Trail"Vocalion 036232:35
5."Little Queen of Spades" (take 1)Vocalion 041082:11
6."Malted Milk"Vocalion 036652:17
7."Drunken Hearted Man" (take 1)Columbia 300342:24
8."Me and the Devil Blues" (take 1)Vocalion 041082:37
9."Stop Breakin' Down Blues" (take 2)Vocalion 040022:21
10."Traveling Riverside Blues" (take 1) CK 65746 2:39
11."Honeymoon Blues"Vocalion 040022:16
12."Love in Vain Blues" (take 2)Vocalion 046302:19
13."Milkcow's Calf Blues" (take 2)Vocalion 036652:20
14."Little Queen of Spades" (take 2)Columbia 300342:15
15."Drunken Hearted Man" (take 2)C3/C2T/CK 462222:19
16."Me and the Devil Blues" (take 2)Columbia CL 16542:29
17."Stop Breakin' Down Blues" (take 1)Columbia 300342:16
18."Traveling Riverside Blues" (take 2)Columbia CL 16542:47
19."Love in Vain Blues" (take 1)Columbia 300342:28
20."Milkcow's Calf Blues" (take 3)Columbia CL 16542:14

Personnel

1995 rerelease

The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings reports that a 1995 rerelease of the album had improved sound, resulting from better source material and remastering. In addition to a maximum four-star rating, the guide awarded this reissue a “crown”, indicating a CD of exceptional merit. [19]

2011 reissue

A new remastered edition of the album was released in 2011 in commemoration of Johnson's 100th birthday. The Centennial Collection was released in both standard and deluxe editions. [24] The track order was changed so that all of the alternate takes were placed at the end of the discs, rather than side by side with the master tracks—as the 1990 release had placed them. [25] Included on this edition, is a previously unissued take of "Traveling Riverside Blues" (DAL.400-1) which was previously thought to be one of nineteen Robert Johnson Recordings that were lost or destroyed. It was found in the archives of Alan Lomax, which had been purchased by the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress. [26]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love in Vain</span> Robert Johnson blues composition

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