[Slowhand] Re: sessions for robert j

[John Broholm]

>>>this may be an old thread - but why didn't EC release
the sessions album as the me and mr johnson album. 
the songs sound much more real and alive to me.<<<

You're not alone. Here's a review from the Tornoto Star, similar to the one DeltaNick provided recently. Only problem with it is that Four Until Late wasn't really EC's vocal debut (and it's not known for sure whether the warehouse in Dallas is really where RJ recorded): 

 For those who found Eric Clapton's otherwise masterful interpretations of mentor Robert Johnson's blues classics on this year's Me And Mr. Johnson a little too studied and antiseptic, the panacea may be found in the British guitar hero's just-released Sessions For Robert J. (Duck/Reprise), a two-disc CD/DVD package that features live performances, recorded at four different venues, of the American blues legend's best loved songs - 19 on the DVD and 11 on the CD. 

The passion Clapton feels for Johnson's groundbreaking compositions is much more evident in these live recordings, and the experience is improved by the actual physical circumstances under which the performances were captured - rehearsal studios in England and Texas, the studio in Dallas where Johnson actually made his historic recordings in 1937, and a California hotel room, where Clapton communes with his master in a most intimate fashion.

Also included on the DVD are interview segments and revealing moments in the rehearsal and recording process with members of Clapton's band. The CD has a couple of bonus tracks, a version of "Four Until Late," which Clapton first recorded with Cream, and a retake of his debut vocal recording, "Ramblin' On My Mind," first recorded with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in the 1960s.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://six.pairlist.net/pipermail/slowhand/attachments/20041217/9cc372d2/attachment.html