I’m convinced.  Slow down his voice, and you hear the real man.  Someone on the internet put it much more eloquently than I, that it’s like meeting Robert Johnson again for the first time, and what better thing could there be?  I suppose I should explain myself, so I’ll do it as succinctly as possible.  Robert Johnson, godfather of confessional guitar oriented blues, which is essentially the underpinning of all modern pop music, has been misrepresented.  His precious 30 or so recordings, which represents the majority of the scant evidence of his very existence, was recorded at a speed 15% faster than the reality of the performance.  The main consequence  being that his guitar playing was cartoonishly sped up, and his voice given the Alvin and the Chipmunk treatment.  Why was it done?  Probably to fit more songs on the record.  I doubt it was done for any artistic reason on part of Robert or the producer.  It wouldn’t so much of a crime if there existed more than what we have, but we don’t have anymore, so all we are left with are crazy people like me who hear slowed down versions and state baseless certitudes with reckless abandon on the ole fashioned internet.  Alright, enough of my craziness.  Time to listen for yourself.  I present below “Love in Vain,” his most beautiful and haunting broken love ballad, in both its original form (tampered form,) and in the ‘fixed’ form.  You be the judge.

Skip James was one of the original Delta Bluesmen.  Like many of these original pioneers, he disappeared into obscurity after his rather obscure debut in the 1930s.  The blues rock renaissance in the 1960s rescued him from oblivion, and allowed him one last chance to shine.  One of the songs that emerged from his exile was “Devil Got My Woman,” a haunted country blues ballad about love and Satan.  It’s a perfect Robert Johnson like tune with a ghostly vibe that just might send shivers down your spine.  Here are the lyrics, steeped in blue.

I’d rather be the devil, to be that woman man
I’d rather be the devil, to be that woman man
Aw, nothin’ but the devil, changed my baby’s mind
Was nothin’ but the devil, changed my baby’s mind
I laid down last night, laid down last night
I laid down last night, tried to take my rest
My mind got to ramblin’, like a wild geese
From the west, from the west
The woman I love, woman that I loved
Woman I loved, took her from my best friend
But he got lucky, stoled her back again
But he got lucky, stoled her back again

Hi, its part 63 of my youtube countdown is completely awesome.  Big set up I know, but I got “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues,” a legendary blues song written and performed by delta bluesman Skip James, and Chris Thomas King, who helped make the song famous for its inclusion in the “O Brother Where Art Thou” movie, playing it live.  Now Skip was one of the original bluesmen from the delta region in Mississippi who recorded in the 30s, but faded into obscurity because his records didn’t sell.  He was rediscovered in the 60s, like many great delta bluesman from his era (think Son House), and  appeared at the Newport Folk Festival.  He died a few years later in 1969.  Skip’s personality was moody and distant, and it was reflected in his music, often featuring a minor guitar key style.  “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues,” is a masterpiece example of this style and resonance; an utterly tortured song about drifting and searching for work door to door.  Chris Thomas King, along with the Coen Brothers, revitalized the track for “O Brother Where Art Thou.”  Check out these two performances, the first of Skip’s original recording, and the second King playing it live in the present day.