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Robert Johnson's Real Voice, Love in Vain
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. …
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Skip James, Devil Got My Woman
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…
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Bob Dylan & Eric Clapton, Crossroads
Part 36 of my youtube countdown rolls on with a performance of Robert Johnson’s ‘Crossroads Blues’ by Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton. I’ve been in a real bluesy mood this week, and a clip like this really hits the sweet spot. The song, a gem in Robert Johnson’s absurdly mythological repertoire, is heavily electrified by…