This months pick was hard for me. As there are 5 in our group now it is only every 5 months that your pick comes up again. It actually causes me anxiety to make a pick for a few reasons. Namely, you don’t want to pick a dud and you always want to honour a great musician. I also fret about those I don’t pick.
Like everyone else, I was saddened about the passing of Prince and I thought that perhaps I should pick one of his albums this month. I decided not to, though I am sure we will get to such a great artist.
I decided to go another route. Back, way back, to the very roots of rock itself. The Blues.
I have always like the blues and I own many great blues albums. However, I do not own one Robert Johnson song. After researching the most influential blues albums it was clear that I should choose this particular Robert Johnson piece.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TdJmkv9lyI
It was picked as the 27th greatest album of all time by Rolling Stone. The album is actually a compilation of songs recorded in 2 sessions in 1936 and 1937. These songs were released as singles back then but someone finally decided to put them all together. Usually we say no compilations for our picks but this isn’t some “Best of..” crap, this is just the first time it was financially possible to have a collection like this released. The list of people that were influenced by this album is literally endless but Keith Richards and Jimmy Page stand out. These sounds are literally the foundation that all rock, alt-rock, metal, punk were built on. Wow.
Though I am sure I will recognize some of the songs I am anxious and excited to listen to this month’s pick and to the icon that is Robert Johnson. I hope you enjoy this pick. Be sure to come back and read our reviews on the 1st of June.
Links:
Official Website
Wikepedia Page
Vanity Fair Article about his strange short life
Other Blues Masters I considered:
Howlin’ Wolf
Muddy Waters
John Lee Hooker
B.B King
Enjoy
Darren Scott