Listening to Johnson you often swear two guitarists are playing, not one.
The size of his hands may have had something to do with the way he played. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.“No one, not back then, nor today, has been able to fully reproduce Johnson’s gift to phrase guitar notes and chords so that they answered oh-so-artfully the lyrics that he sang. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. This article originally appeared in VG ‘s Jun ’04 issue. So while these will always be Robert Johnson’s songs, Clapton has made them a strong part of his catalog. Unlike From the Cradle, where Eric paid tribute by doing note-for-note covers of classic blues tunes, here he sticks with the basic feel Johnson put there, but rearranges, and for the most part plugs in to make them his own. This will undoubtedly go down as one of the top blues records of the year. Of course, when you’re backed by Nathan East on bass, Steve Gadd on drums, the very underrated Andy Fairweather-Low and Doyle Bramhall, II on guitars, Billy Preston on keyboards, and Jerry Portnoy on harmonica, it’s tough to go wrong. Every player has a great feel for the material. And what Johnson tribute would be complete without his classic walk-down intro? There are a couple here that lead to the meat of the song, but my favorite is “Me and the Devil.” What a sound! There are not any surprises in these solos, but there’s a ton of passion.Ĭlapton says they learned these songs as a band, and recorded them pretty much live. “Love In Vain” gets a bit of the Jimmy Reed treatment with a burning Clapton solo. Well, this version will do the same a great arrangement, big-time vocal, and a dobro out that’s guaranteed to make the toes tap. “They’re Red Hot” was one of the tunes Johnson would play to get the folks on the dance floor. “Little Queen of Spades” is a masterful slow blues with a Billy Preston organ solo that leads into Clapton’s solo – one of the highlights of the record. “When You Got A Good Friend” is turned into a lazy shuffle with slightly distorted blistering guitar work. It’s part and parcel of Clapton knowing these songs so well and feeling what they’re about.īut because you hold this publication in your calloused fingers, you love E.C. And, thankfully, nobody saw the need to “clean up” the lyrics – the politically-correct crowd would certainly call for changes on cuts like “Me and the Devil Blues,” and when Eric slips into the vernacular, some may cringe. Clapton’s voice growls when needed, soars on yelps that copy (but don’t mimic) Johnson. From a singing standpoint, he obviously knows these songs like the back of his hand, and he instills them with passion and a sense of urgency. I don’t recall a record where Clapton’s vocals have impressed me more.
Well, here he puts his heart and soul into some of Johnson’s best-known works. His very funky “Steady Rollin’ Man” was a highlight of 461 Ocean Boulevard. Cream’s version of “Crossroads” helped establish him as a guitar god in the ’60s. He has, of course, covered Johnson plenty in the past.
The 40-odd recordings Johnson did in the 1930s are the basis for a large part of rock and roll history, and Clapton has always said it was Johnson who made the most soulful music he’s ever heard. It comes as a shock to no one familiar with the history of rock and roll that Clapton would do a tribute to Robert Johnson. That said, I must put Clapton’s new effort, Me & Mr. But anyone who’s been around for 40 years has done that, right? I loved his last effort, Reptile, although it was soundly beaten by a lot of folks (especially guitarists). Yes, he’s done stuff that maybe wasn’t what I wanted to hear. I’ve never quite understood those who would bash Eric Clapton.
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