[Slowhand] Back To The Crossroads

[DeltaNick]

About a month or two back, I picked up a CD by a bunch of the old bluesmen
(Various Artists) titled “Back To The Crossroads: The Roots Of Robert
Johnson” (Yazoo). This is the companion CD to the book by Elijah Wald titled
"Escaping The Delta: Robert Johnson And The Invention Of The Blues.” You may
remember the review of Wald's book that I sent, which pretty much tears down
much of the myth surrounding Robert Johnson. Wald's thesis is that Johnson
was not one of the more popular of the bluesmen when he was alive, but that
Columbia Records' 1961 release of his recordings, during the folk music
craze in the US, revised history and turned him into the "King Of The Delta
Blues Singers," the title of the Columbia album.

Wald continues, stating that Johnson never sold more than 5,000 records, his
most popular being "Terraplane Blues." In fact, according to Wald, Johnson
wasn't much of an original at all, pretty much lifting and copying virtually
all his songs from others. Wald writes that Johnson was never a “roots” or
“folk” artist, but sort of a “fusion” guy of his day. He fused his Delta
roots with contemporary urban music: he copped all he could from those who
went before. However, it’s mistaken to think that Wald denigrates Johnson,
as he writes that Robert “was an unusually talented artist ... a brilliant,
creative musician."

What I find funny is when someone says, "I don't want to listen to Clapton
or Butterfield, I want to listen to the originals, such as B.B. King and
Robert Johnson." Why is it funny? Because neither of them are really
originals. They simply reinterpret what others did before, the same as
Clapton, Bloomfield, or Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Anyway, the CD is excellent, and includes some 23 tracks, all of which are
pretty much forerunners to Johnson's "compositions." These are all tracks
taken from the original 78-RPM records, going back as far as 1926. Let me be
clear: These tracks are the originals, as far as Wald can tell, and Johnson
pretty much copied these. “Little Queen Of Spades” comes directly from
Peetie Wheatstraw’s “King Of Spades,” “Sweet Home Chicago” is a direct
descendant of Kokomo Arnold’s “Old Original Kokomo Blues,” and “Milk Cow’s
Calf Blues” was directly from Arnold’s “Milk Cow Blues.” There's more:
“32-20 Blues” was nearly a “lift” of Nehemiah “Skip” James’ “22-20 Blues,”
the “Rollin’ And Tumblin’” part of “If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day”
comes directly from Hambone Willie Newbern’s “Roll And Tumble Blues.” And
“Four Until Late” is pretty much an updated version of Blind Blake’s
“Georgia Bound.” This goes on and on, illustrating Johnson's sources, nearly
song by song. One more thing: some of these recordings are of very good
quality and sound like they were recorded yesterday; others are quite
old-sounding.

This CD is certainly a worthwhile addition to my collection. I haven’t read
the book yet, since it’s available only in hardcover. I’m waiting for it to
come out in paperback, so I can take it aboard the train, and read it on the
way to work. However, I have browsed through it several times at Borders,
and it looks like an extremely informative read that will be both fun and
educational. If the multiple reviews that I read when the book was first
released are any indication, this is a very important book.

Various Artists, "Back To The Crossroads: The Roots Of Robert Johnson"
(Yazoo Records, a division of Shanachie Entertainment Corp. [Yazoo 2070], 20
January 2004 CD) - Produced by Elijah Wald. This is the companion album to
the book by Elijah Wald, “Escaping The Delta: Robert Johnson And The
Invention Of The Blues,” Amistad/HarperCollins, 2004.
     1. Police Station Blues - Peetie Wheatstraw, 1932.
     2. Old Original Kokomo Blues - Kokomo Arnold, 1934.
     3. Cruel Hearted Woman - Bumble Bee Slim, 1934.
     4. Roll And Tumble Blues - Hambone Willie Newbern, 1929.
     5. Life Saver Blues - Lonnie Johnson, 1927.
     6. Sitting On Top Of The World - Mississippi Sheiks, 1930.
     7. Hittin’ The Bottle Stomp - Mississippi Jook Band, 1936.
     8. Devil Got My Woman - Skip James, 1931.
     9. My Black Mama, Part 1 - Son House, 1930.
     10. Georgia Bound - Blind Blake, 1929.
     11. When The Sun Goes Down - Leroy Carr, 1935.
     12. Sissy Man Blues - Kokomo Arnold, 1935.
     13. Your Enemy Cannot Harm You - Rev. Edward W. Clayborn, 1926.
     14. Lead Pencil Blues - Johnny Temple, 1935.
     15. 22-20 Blues - Skip James, 1931.
     16. Dry Southern Blues - Blind Lemon Jefferson, 1926.
     17. Kokomo Blues - Scrapper Blackwell, 1928.
     18. Things ‘Bout Coming My Way - Tampa Red, 1931.
     19. King Of Spades - Peetie Wheatstraw, 1935.
     20. Oh Red - Harlem Hamfats, 1936.
     21. You’re Gonna Need Somebody When You Die - Charley Patton, 1929.
     22. Milk Cow Blues - Kokomo Arnold, 1934.
     23. Preachin’ The Blues - Son House, 1930.

                DeltaNick