エリック・クラプトンやキース・リチャーズなどに影響を与えたブルースの巨人ロバート・ジョンソン。その短い人生で録音された曲の数々は、ブルース・アーティストのみならずロックミュージシャンのバイブルになり、今日も影響を与えつづけています。本作はもともとSPで発売されていた曲を初めてLPにまとめたもので、1966年に発売。

タワーレコード （2009/04/08）

Down Beat - 5 Stars - Excellent - "...He was a haunting singer and a poet....there is a variety of tempo and rhythm and attitude here that is a credit to the tradition, and in the hoarse directness of Johnson's voice there is an immediacy that cuts...through the 25 years since these tracks were made....His kind of emotional honesty takes bravery....Honor Robert Johnson...." Living Blues - "...will no doubt be irresistible to hardcore Johnson fans." Rolling Stone - "...Johnson is just incredible: a great guitarist, a brilliant song writer, a tremendous singer...it's the highest art, the greatest beauty imaginable..." Vibe - Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century Rolling Stone - Ranked #27 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" - "...Johnson recorded only twenty-nine songs, but their evanescent passion has resonated through the decades..." Q - Included in Q's "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time" - "...Music that is stark, possessed and frighteningly intense..." Down Beat - 5 Stars - Excellent - "...He was a haunting singer and a poet....there is a variety of tempo and rhythm and attitude here that is a credit to the tradition, and in the hoarse directness of Johnson's voice there is an immediacy that cuts...through the 25 years since these tracks were made....Those words are strong on paper, but when one hears Johnson sing them they are stronger still, and beautiful. His kind of emotional honesty takes bravery....Honor Robert Johnson...." Vibe (12/99, p.158) - Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century Q (7/01, p.86) - Included in Q's "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time" - "...Music that is stark, possessed and frighteningly intense..." Down Beat (5/24/62) - 5 Stars - Excellent - "...He was a haunting singer and a poet....there is a variety of tempo and rhythm and attitude here that is a credit to the tradition, and in the hoarse directness of Johnson's voice there is an immediacy that cuts...through the 25 years since these tracks were made....His kind of emotional honesty takes bravery....Honor Robert Johnson...." Living Blues (1-2/99, p.78) - "...will no doubt be irresistible to hardcore Johnson fans."

Rovi

Of all the early blues singers and players, Robert Johnson towers above all the others. He lived fast, died young, and left a small body of music that laid the groundwork for electric blues as well as rock & roll. Johnson had a unique voice, capable of deep growlings and grumblings and eerie, almost ghostly wails and moans. His guitar illustrated his stories, making any other instruments irrelevant. His songs conveyed a sense of a man trying to outrun a pack of demons ("Hell Hound on My Trail", "Cross Road Blues"), were autobiographical ("I'm a Steady Rollin' Man") and, of course, dealt with love troubles ("From Four Until Late", "Love in Vain"). Johnson's songs have become blues standards--"Sweet Home Chicago", "Dust My Broom", and many others have been adapted by many rock bands, from the Rolling Stones' version of "Love in Vain" to the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "They're Red Hot". If you want to hear the main architect of the twin dynasties of blues and rock & roll (who also influenced folk and country music), Robert Johnson is the man, and KING is a beautifully annotated introduction.|

Rovi