This elaborate box set celebrates the 100th birthday (8 May 1911) of legendary Mississippi Delta bluesman Robert Johnson, whose incandescent guitar and vocal prowess was scattered across a run of 10” 78rpm singles for the Vocalion, Oriole, Conqueror and Perfect labels – recorded in 1936 and 1937, in San Antonio and Dallas, Texas respectively.
Its most unique component is a hardbound book, containing vinyl replicas of his dozen shellac discs (now at 45rpm), with a new 1,500-word essay by Ted Gioia that zealously examines each of the 42 masters and alternates that Johnson’s five days of session work yielded. Additionally, the first pair of CDs feature newly remastered versions of 1990’s award-winning (and surprisingly commercially successful) Complete Recordings set. Extensive historic sleevenotes and attendant discographical data is included in the book.
The next pair of CDs present 24 vintage sides from more than a dozen Victor blues artists (including Tommy Johnson and Memphis Minnie), along with 10 further tracks by a mix of musicians that Johnson shared his sessions with. The 76-minute, 1997 documentary Can’t You Hear The Wind Howl?, with Keb’ Mo’ portraying the blues icon, marks the documentary’s DVD debut. The multitude of interview segments add both dimension and perspective to the fascinating Johnson saga.
