The Complete Recordings of Robert Johnson

Over 100 minutes of digitally remastered music along with comprehensive liner notes and rare photos, this definitive, Grammy®-winning collection is a must for blues scholars and anyone else interested in hearing the source of every modern day blues guitarist from B.B. King to Keb' Mo', from John Lee Hooker to Robert Cray, from Muddy Waters and Jimmy Reed to Buddy Guy and Jonny Lang.

Cut in Texas three days in November of 1936 and two days in June of 1937, these 41 Robert Johnson tracks — eleven 78 rpm recordings originally issued by Vocalion along with various alternate takes that have been previously unissued — represent the sum total recorded output of one of the true geniuses of American music. The countrapuntal nature of Johnson's approach, in which he grinds out bouncing boogie bass lines and driving chords while simultaneously spinning facile single note lines, draws on the lessons of Delta pioneers like Son House and Charlie Patton. But Johnson’s way of easily, organically integrating his dazzling guitar work and his loose-phrased, emotionally charged vocals into the fabric of his tunes instantly raised the bar for all Delta blues guitar players in the 1930s.

All of Johnson's most potent and poetic tunes — "Sweet Home Chicago," "When You Got a Good Friend," "Come On in My Kitchen," "Cross Road Blues" and "Love in Vain Blues" — continue to be covered by a new generation of blues practitioners. But none have rendered this music with as much electrifying passion as Johnson did 65 years ago.

A double-disc box set containing everything Robert Johnson ever recorded, The Complete Recordings is essential listening, but it is also slightly problematic. The problems aren't in the music itself, of course, which is stunning and the fidelity of the recordings is the best it ever has been or ever will be. Instead, it's in the track sequencing. As the title implies, The Complete Recordings contains all of Johnson's recorded material, including a generous selection of alternate takes. All of the alternates are sequenced directly after the master, which can make listening to the album a little intimidating and tedious for novices. Certainly, the alternates can be programmed out with a CD player or mp3 player, but the set would have been more palatable if the alternate takes were presented on a separate disc. Nevertheless, this is a minor complaint -- Johnson's music retains its power no matter what context it is presented in. He, without question, deserves this kind of deluxe box set treatment. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide