[Slowhand] "JAZZIZ" Review

[DeltaNick]

Auditions:
Eric Clapton, "Me And Mr. Johnson” (Reprise)
Aerosmith, “Honkin’ On Bobo” (Columbia)
Ted Drozdowski
“JAZZIZ,” “Blues, vol. 2,”
August 2004 (Volume 21, Number 8), p. 55

Columbia Records and a generation of purists crowned Robert Johnson “king of
the Delta blues singers.” But he was also a prototype for the rock-’n’-roll
wild man. He played like a tornado, hopped freight cars, wrote lyrics full
of sex and violence, and died drinking bootleg liquor poisoned by a jealous
husband. So why is Eric Clapton’s tribute to Johnson -- who the British
guitar hero claims as his deepest influence -- so bloodless?

Sure, Clapton and Texas guitarist Doyle Bramhall Jr. display the finesse and
tone of masters, but these 14 songs enflamed juke-joint patrons nearly 70
years ago. Clapton kindles only a few sparks, through a biting solo in Kind
Hearted Woman Blues” and beautifully harmonized fretwork with Bramhall on
“Come On In My Kitchen.” But Clapton’s incendiary take on “Crossroads” with
Cream and an emotive “Ramblin’ On My Mind” that he recorded in 1966 with
John Mayall’s Blues Breakers conjure Johnson’s spirit more than this
workmanlike effort.

Besides his uninspired playing, Clapton’s imitation of Johnson’s Ebonics
sounds absurd in his crisp elocution. Perhaps Clapton feels intimidated in
tackling a sizable body of his idol’s work, and thus he’s afraid to lay his
once-magic hands on the gifts Johnson left behind.

Aerosmith’s set of primal rock-and-blues classics is more fitting testament
to the salty old dogs who minted them. The blustery machismo they jam in to
guitar-fired versions of Bo Diddley’s “Road Runner” and Big Joe Williams’
“Baby, Please Don’t Go” fits these men’s king-sized shoes while restoring
Aerosmith as musical hell raisers after a decade of insipid balladry.
Frontman Steven Tyler howls for his soul and plays harmonica like a
firebrand as the group taps the legacy of Muddy Waters, Little Richard, and
other founding fathers. Six-stringers Joe Perry and Brad Whitford also pay
tribute to the A-Team of rock guitar’s second generation: Jimmy Page, Jeff
Beck, and Clapton -- borrowing their trademark riffs.

Clapton actually gets better than he’s given Johnson in an inspired “Stop
Messin’ Round,” which recalls his soulful flame-thrower approach with
Mayall. So although “Me And Mr. Johnson” smolders at times, “Honkin’ On
Bobo” captures the kind of passion and joy that serves legends, and
listeners, best.