Clapton 'Sessions' Pay Tribute To Johnson

[Jahfin]

From Billboard.com:
http://www.billboard.com/bb/daily/artic ... 1000693933

Broadening the scope of Eric Clapton's recent album of Robert Johnson interpretations, "Me and Mr. Johnson," the guitarist will on Dec. 7 unveil the CD/DVD package "Sessions for Robert J." The Duck/Reprise release comprises tour rehearsals in London, a Los Angeles hotel room and the Dallas warehouse where the late Johnson made some of his last recordings.

Throughout, Clapton performs Johnson's songs with his live band, acoustically with guitarist Doyle Bramhall II and in a solo setting. The "Sessions" DVD sports five Johnson songs that did not appear on "Me and Mr. Johnson": "Terraplane Blues," "Ramblin' on My Mind," "Stones in My Passway," "From Four Until Late" and "Sweet Home Chicago," which will be worked as a single to U.S. AAA and classic rock radio stations.

"Me and Mr. Johnson" debuted in April at No. 6 on The Billboard 200 and has sold more than 563,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Clapton can currently be heard guesting on Rod Stewart's No. 1 album, "Stardust...The Great American Songbook, Vol. 3" (J). As previously reported, his all-star summer Crossroads Guitar Festival in Dallas will be released on DVD Nov. 9 via Duck/Reprise/Warner Strategic Marketing.

Here is the track list for "Sessions for Robert J":

CD:
"Sweet Home Chicago"
"Milkcow's Calf Blues"
"Terraplane Blues"
"If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day"
"Stop Breakin' Down Blues"
"Little Queen of Spades"
"Traveling Riverside Blues"
"Me and the Devil Blues"
"From Four Until Late"
"Kindhearted Woman Blues"
"Ramblin' on My Mind"

DVD:
"Kindhearted Woman Blues"
"They're Red Hot"
"Hellhound on My Trail"
"Sweet Home Chicago"
"When You Got a Good Friend"
"Milkcow's Calf Blues"
"If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day"
"Stop Breakin' Down Blues"
"Terraplane Blues"
"Me and the Devil Blues"
"From Four Until Late"
"Love in Vain"
"Ramblin' on My Mind"
"Stones in My Passway"

-- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y

[nycparrothead]

Clapton 'Sessions' Pay Tribute To Johnson

That Clapton dude has always had a thing for my johnson.

[IsleReef]

Fire back at me if you like, but................. Eric Clapton s u c k ' s........ You either get it or you don't............. I do not get it........... He bores the hell out of me......... Pick up something from Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple, Rainbow, Blackmore's Night)....... That is talent at its finest when it come's to guitarist's..............

[Jahfin]

I'm not a big fan of a lot of Clapton's latter day work myself but I like what I've heard of the Robert Johnson tribute disc.

[IsleReef]

Clapton 'Sessions' Pay Tribute To Johnson

That Clapton dude has always had a thing for my johnson.

I've heard that before.............

[tommcat327]

Fire back at me if you like, but................. Eric Clapton s u c k ' s........ You either get it or you don't............. I do not get it........... He bores the hell out of me......... Pick up something from Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple, Rainbow, Blackmore's Night)....... That is talent at its finest when it come's to guitarist's..............

he's good but i've always felt he is over rated,especially when compared to other guitar greats like SRV and hendrix.i do however like claptons dedication to the blues,he has done a lot to open up the blues world to many people who otherwise would never given someone like robert johnson a listen.

[Jahfin]

I'm a big SRV fan but feel his untimely death helped cement his "legendary" status before he really had a chance to prove it. Like Hendrix, he was taken from us right when his music was about to branch out in wonderful new directions. I think Clapton's best work remains what he did with Cream. I enjoy his solo work but feel musicianship-wise that he's never surpassed the precedent he set in his early days. Still, Cream's version of "Crossroads", Led Zeppelin's covers (and in some cases, outright theft) of blues standards, along with Skynyrd's affection for such unsung blues pioneers like Son House are what turned me onto the blues way back when I first starting to get into music. I know after hearing Zep's first album I immediately went in search of albums by Willie Dixon, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. Slim Harpo is another favorite that never seems to get his due.

[captainjoe]

From the Cradle was Clapton's best blues record in my mind.

[Jahfin]

From the Cradle was Clapton's best blues record in my mind.

I liked that record too but never got around to purchasing it. Have you had a chance to give the Johnson tribute disc a spin?

[captainjoe]

Yeah I have. I like it a lot. I think that is pretty cool what he has done with this one. By listening to it, it almost forces you to go back and research the artist who inspire him. I have started to listen to Robert Johnson and Buddy Guy and John Mayall (sp?) When I saw John Fogerty in concert, he redid a few of the Cream songs which was pretty nice!

[tikitatas]

John Mayall revolutionized the way I felt about the blues when I was introduced to him in the late 60s. I am so glad I hung out with musicians in my teens and twenties whose taste spanned such disparate genres!

[tommcat327]

I'm a big SRV fan but feel his untimely death helped cement his "legendary" status before he really had a chance to prove it. Like Hendrix, he was taken from us right when his music was about to branch out in wonderful new directions. I think Clapton's best work remains what he did with Cream. I enjoy his solo work but feel musicianship-wise that he's never surpassed the precedent he set in his early days. Still, Cream's version of "Crossroads", Led Zeppelin's covers (and in some cases, outright theft) of blues standards, along with Skynyrd's affection for such unsung blues pioneers like Son House are what turned me onto the blues way back when I first starting to get into music. I know after hearing Zep's first album I immediately went in search of albums by Willie Dixon, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. Slim Harpo is another favorite that never seems to get his due.

i hope you arent saying that SRV is a legend simply because of his early death.while that can happen with musicians when they die at an early age i think that stevie is a legend based on what i've heard in his music and the amazing skills he had as a guitarist,blues man and musician.nobody puts their emotions through a guitar like stevie did.his death was one of the all time worst losses in music in my opinion.but i do agree with jah that he had not even reached his high point yet

[Jahfin]

I'm a big SRV fan but feel his untimely death helped cement his "legendary" status before he really had a chance to prove it. Like Hendrix, he was taken from us right when his music was about to branch out in wonderful new directions. I think Clapton's best work remains what he did with Cream. I enjoy his solo work but feel musicianship-wise that he's never surpassed the precedent he set in his early days. Still, Cream's version of "Crossroads", Led Zeppelin's covers (and in some cases, outright theft) of blues standards, along with Skynyrd's affection for such unsung blues pioneers like Son House are what turned me onto the blues way back when I first starting to get into music. I know after hearing Zep's first album I immediately went in search of albums by Willie Dixon, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. Slim Harpo is another favorite that never seems to get his due.

i hope you arent saying that SRV is a legend simply because of his early death.while that can happen with musicians when they die at an early age i think that stevie is a legend based on what i've heard in his music and the amazing skills he had as a guitarist,blues man and musician.nobody puts their emotions through a guitar like stevie did.his death was one of the all time worst losses in music in my opinion.but i do agree with jah that he had not even reached his high point yet

I'm not saying he hadn't earned it but his early death certainly cemented his legendary status long before he had a chance to show us what he was fully capable of.

[tikitatas]

I will never forget what I was doing that day when it came over the radio that his helicopter had crashed . . . I was at my summer cottage and I was making a birthday cake for my ex-husband. We both just sat down, shocked, and felt so damn bad!

[tommcat327]

I'm not saying he hadn't earned it but his early death certainly cemented his legendary status long before he had a chance to show us what he was fully capable of.

i'm sure it did help cement his legend status,but i think what he did give us while alive more than earned it already.

[tommcat327]

I will never forget what I was doing that day when it came over the radio that his helicopter had crashed . . . I was at my summer cottage and I was making a birthday cake for my ex-husband. We both just sat down, shocked, and felt so damn bad!

i was only familiar with his current stuff(radio hits) when he died.i didnt really get into his music until years later when i got this huge love for the blues out of nowhere.i wish i had seen him play while he was alive

[Jahfin]

I'm not saying he hadn't earned it but his early death certainly cemented his legendary status long before he had a chance to show us what he was fully capable of.

i'm sure it did help cement his legend status,but i think what he did give us while alive more than earned it already.

I think he was still considerably under the shadow of the greats he emulated such as Hendrix and Albert Collins. Riveria Paradise was just a hint of what was to come, much like the work Hendrix was doing prior to his death. There's no telling what either of them had up their collective sleeves next but I think we all know it would have been incredibly mindblowing. I thought the Family Style album he did with Jimmie Vaughan, especially Tick Tock, was proof that he had lots more to offer than just the usual guitar histronics (playing it behind his back, with his teeth, etc.) That makes for great showmanship but it takes a very skilled musician to move beyond those traps and I think he definitely had it in him. I think Kenny Wayne Shepherd is approaching (or has very possibly surpassed) that era of his career in the last year or so.

[ph4ever]

I will never forget what I was doing that day when it came over the radio that his helicopter had crashed . . . I was at my summer cottage and I was making a birthday cake for my ex-husband. We both just sat down, shocked, and felt so damn bad!

i was only familiar with his current stuff(radio hits) when he died.i didnt really get into his music until years later when i got this huge love for the blues out of nowhere.i wish i had seen him play while he was alive

I remember seeing him before he was anything. Of course being it Texas it was easy but I distinctly remember this one free concert in Dallas. He blew me away!!! After that I'd always try to see him when I could - unfortunately after that he was in Austin more than Dallas. Surprisingly enough Stevie always said brother Jimmy was the better guitarist.


Anyone ever heard of John Nitzinger??? He was kinda like Stevie's predecessor in the DFW area. I believe he's still around just not in this area.

[ph4ever]

I'm not saying he hadn't earned it but his early death certainly cemented his legendary status long before he had a chance to show us what he was fully capable of.

i'm sure it did help cement his legend status,but i think what he did give us while alive more than earned it already.

I think he was still considerably under the shadow of the greats he emulated such as Hendrix and Albert Collins. Riveria Paradise was just a hint of what was to come, much like the work Hendrix was doing prior to his death. There's no telling what either of them had up their collective sleeves next but I think we all know it would have been incredibly mindblowing. I thought the Brother To Brother album he did with Jimmie Vaughan, especially Tick Tock, was proof that he had lots more to offer than just the usual guitar histronics (playing it behind his back, with his teeth, etc.) That makes for great showmanship but it takes a very skilled musician to move beyond those traps and I think he definitely had it in him. I think Kenny Wayne Shepherd is approaching (or has very possibly surpassed) that era of his career in the last year or so.

The first time I ever heard of Kenny a friend of me described him as the long lost love child of Stevie....

[tommcat327]

I think he was still considerably under the shadow of the greats he emulated such as Hendrix and Albert Collins. Riveria Paradise was just a hint of what was to come, much like the work Hendrix was doing prior to his death. There's no telling what either of them had up their collective sleeves next but I think we all know it would have been incredibly mindblowing. I thought the Brother To Brother album he did with Jimmie Vaughan, especially Tick Tock, was proof that he had lots more to offer than just the usual guitar histronics (playing it behind his back, with his teeth, etc.) That makes for great showmanship but it takes a very skilled musician to move beyond those traps and I think he definitely had it in him. I think Kenny Wayne Shepherd is approaching (or has very possibly surpassed) that era of his career in the last year or so.

i absolutely think he had more to offer.and while the behind the back thing was cool i dont get too impressed by that.my buddy is the most amazing guitarist i have personally seen and he could do a whole show behind his back.the showmanship of SRV i love was the pure,raw emotion that seemed to come right throught the strings,out the speakers and to your ears.you felt like you knew what he was thinking right then.not too many people could mix that kind of emotion with the pure technical skills he had