Mississippi Blues, Vol. 4 [Remaster]

Performer: Robert Johnson
Producer: Gary Atkinson; Johnny Parth; Gary Atkinson (Compilation); Johnny Parth (Compilation)
Distributor: Allegro Corporation (Dist

Notes: Personnel: Otto Virgil, Robert Colin Johnson, Robert Lockwood, Jr. (vocals, guitar); Alex Atkins (alto saxophone); Alfred Wallace (drums). Audio Remasterer: Gary Atkinson. Liner Note Author: Gary Atkinson. Recording information: Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; San Antonio, TX. A sort of odds and ends collection that was originally issued on LP in 1987, Mississippi Blues, Vol. 4 gathers several alternate takes from Robert Johnson recorded between November 1936 and June 1937, including versions of "Cross Road Blues" and "Love in Vain," eight rare sides recorded by Robert Lockwood, Jr. between 1941 and 1955, and the complete recorded works of Otto Virgil (his actual last name appears to have been "Virgial"), which consists of four sides recorded in Chicago on Halloween in 1925. This set sort of unintentionally traces the migration and changes of the Delta blues as it moved north out of Mississippi and on to cities like Chicago. The Lockwood tracks are actually probably the rarest here, since the Johnson material is all included in the Columbia box, and Virgil's sides show up as single tracks on various other anthologies. ~ Steve Leggett

Robert Johnson is the most legendary of Delta blues singers, and while the facts of his real life are scarce, tall tales abound--most commonly that he sold his soul to the devil in order to master the guitar. Johnson invested his music with frightening emotional power. His high, ghostly wail (not unlike that of Skip James) and his dauntingly nimble guitar work (at times it sounds like he has four hands) add drama to his songs, already rich in emotion. Though his entire catalog consists of a mere 29 songs recorded between 1936 and '37, Johnson's music cast a long shadow over following generations of bluesmen, and his influence on rock & roll--musically and mythically--has been profound.

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