Back To The Crossroads: Roots Of Robe (2004)

Product Summary Label: Yazoo UPC: 00016351207029 Release Date: 1/20/2004 Buy.com Sku: 60621911 Item#: M9YHTK Format:  CD Song Listing Disc 1 Song Title Sample 1. Police Station Blues - Peetie Wheatstraw ~ Various Artists 2. Old Original Kokomo Blues - Kokomo Arnold ~ Various Artists 3. Cruel Hearted Woman - Bumble Bee Slim ~ Various Artists 4. Roll And Tumble Blues - Hambone Willie Newbern ~ Various Artists 5. Life Saver Blues - Mississippi Jook Band ~ Various Artists 6. Sitting On Top Of The World - Mississippi Sheiks ~ Various Artists 7. Hittin' The Bottle Stomp - Mississippi Jook Band ~ Various Artists 8. Devil Got My Woman - Skip James ~ Various Artists 9. My Black Mama Pt. 1 - Son House ~ Various Artists 10. Georgia Bound - Blind Blake ~ Various Artists 11. When The Sun Goes Down - Leroy Carr ~ Various Artists 12. Sissy Man Blues - Johnny Temple ~ Various Artists 13. Your Enemy Cannot Harm You - Rev. E.W Clayborn ~ Various Artists 14. Lead Pencil Blues - Johnny Temple ~ Various Artists 15. 22-20 Blues - Skip James ~ Various Artists 16. Dry Southern Blues - Blind Lemon Jefferson ~ Various Artists 17. Kokomo Blues - Scrapper Blackwell ~ Various Artists 18. Things 'Bout Coming My Way - Tampa Red ~ Various Artists 19. King Of Spades - Peetie Wheatstraw ~ Various Artists 20. Oh Red - Hearlem Hamfats ~ Various Artists 21. You're Gonna Need Somebody When You Die - Charley Patton ~ Various Artists 22. Milk Cow Blues - Kokomo Arnold ~ Various Artists 23. Preachin' The Blues - Son House ~ Various Artists   Album Notes and Credits Notes & Personnel Info Audio Remasterer: Richard Nevins. Liner Note Author: Elijah Wald. In a day and time (post-2000) when tribute albums spring up before a singer has a chance to die, much less become an immortal, it's a relief to get an album that switches the formula. Back to the Crossroads traces the roots -- not the influence -- of Robert Johnson, perhaps the most eulogized singer in blues history. These roots are especially interesting to the rock fan who initially came to Johnson by way of Cream or Eric Clapton or the Allman Brothers, because they show how much the guitarist borrowed, adapted, and synthesized the music of those who came before him. As Elijah Wald points out in the liner notes, Robert Johnson copied Lonnie Johnson's vocal and instrumental arrangement of "Life Saver Blues" almost note for note on "Malted Milk" and "Drunken Hearted Man." Indeed, for those unfamiliar with Lonnie Johnson, it would be easy to guess that he was an urban knockoff of the Delta bluesman. A number of Robert Johnson's vocal inflections can also be traced to Peetie Wheatstraw's delightful "Police Station Blues." The point of the collection, though, isn't to prove that Johnson was a derivative artist, but to outline the rich tradition that he drew from to create his own art. As with other Yazoo compilations, research and sound engineering guarantee a high-quality product with historical significance. Back to the Crossroads also accompanies Elijah Wald's Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues. Any fan of pre-WWII blues will want to pick up a copy of Back to the Crossroads. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford Jr. Producer: Elijah Wald   Technical Info Release Date : 01/20/2004 Original Release Date : 2004 Catalog ID : 2070 Label : Yazoo Number of Discs : 1 Studio/Live : Studio Mono/Stereo : Mono SPAR Code : n/a UPC : 00016351207029    Related Videos This Time: Robert Cray Ballad Of John Henry Joe ...