Robert Johnson - Phonograph Blues '1936

Tracks list

       "It took guitar playing, songwriting, delivery, to a totally different
height. And at the same time it confused us, because it wasn't band music, it
was one guy ... Robert Johnson was like an orchestra all by himself. Some of his
best stuff is almost Bach-like in construction"
- Keith Richards, Rolling Stones, "A Life" (2010)

Robert Johnson's influence on a generation of musicians cannot be overstated.
The release, in 1961, of an LP called King of the Delta Blues was perfectly
timed to capture the imagination of a new generation of young, often white and
British musicians eager to explore this mysterious musical form, and talented
enough to go on to become some of the most legendary popular music artists of
the 20th and 21st centuries.

That LP was put together by Columbia producer Frank Driggs, and in the process
of compiling tracks a number of test pressings were made from original metal
masters onto super-quiet surfaces using originla 78rpm presses just before they
were abandoned by record companies around the world. A set of these, in mint
condition - just ten sides in all - found its way to Pristine, and forms the
basis for this incredible mini-album of Robert Johnson's music, released to
coincide with the 80th anniversary of his first recordings in November 1936.


But what you hear is not what you'd expect from an 80 year old recording -
instead the combination of these astonishing test pressings and Pristine's XR
remastering process brings you - for the first time - the sound of Robert
Johnson in full high fidelity sound. In informal comments via e-mail, two
legendary multi-platinum-selling musicians expressed separately and simply their
first impressions: "WOW ! Brilliant !" - "Remarkable... really...."

"I kind of got hooked on it because it was so much more powerful than anything
else I had heard or was listening to. Amongst all of his peers I felt he was the
one that was talking from his soul without really compromising for anybody. In
one way or another, he's been in my life since I was a kid."
- Eric Clapton, NPR (2004)

Andrew Rose

01 - Robert Johnson - When You Got A Good Friend (Take 2) (2:56)
02 - Robert Johnson - Rambln' On My Mind (2:57)
03 - Robert Johnson - Phonograph Blues (2:44)
04 - Robert Johnson - Possession of Judgement Day (2:40)
05 - Robert Johnson - When You Got A Good Friend (Take 1) (2:42)
06 - Robert Johnson - I'm A Steady Rollin' Man (2:40)
07 - Robert Johnson - Stones In My Passway (2:32)
08 - Robert Johnson - Hellhound On My Trail (2:40)
09 - Robert Johnson - Love In Vain (2:25)
10 - Robert Johnson - Milkcow's Calf Blues (2:19) 

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