Robert Johnson (1911 - 1938) would have been 100 years old on May 8, 2011. To commemorate the event, Columbia Legacy have just released The Centennial Collection. This two-CD set contains all 42 extant Johnson recordings, exquisitely remastered and sounding better than ever.
As mentioned in the accompanying booklet to Centennial, the remastering process has undergone dramatic improvements in the past two decades. These 1936-1937 sessions have never sounded so good. I also very much appreciate the sequencing. Where the first collection placed the "final" version of a track side by side with the alternate take, Centennial presents the alternates separately. This makes for a much more appealing listening experience. And while the inherent pops and crackles of decaying masters may have added a historical flavor to the earlier releases, they are gone now. All that remains is the music, which at times sounds so clear it is as if we are in the same room as Johnson and his guitar.
This is incredibly moving music. One of the reasons the whole tale of selling his soul emerged is just how far ahead of his contemporaries Johnson was. He manages to accompany himself on the bass strings of his guitar while pulling off incredible licks and riffs and singing dark, dark tales of Delta life.

Track List:

DISC 1: SAN ANTONIO RECORDINGS/ALTERNATES:
1 Kind Hearted Woman Blues
2 I Believe I'll Dust My Broom
3 Sweet Home Chicago
4 Ramblin' on My Mind
5 When You Got a Good Friend
6 Come on in My Kitchen
7 Terraplane Blues
8 Phonograph Blues
9 32-20 Blues
10 They're Red Hot
11 Dead Shrimp Blues
12 Cross Road Blues
13 Walkin' Blues
14 Last Fair Deal Gone Down
15 Preachin' Blues (Up Jumped the Devil)
16 If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day
17 Kind Hearted Woman Blues
18 Ramblin' on My Mind
19 When You Got a Good Friend
20 Come on in My Kitchen
21 Phonograph Blues
22 Cross Road Blues
DISC 2: DALLAS RECORDINGS/ALTERNATES:
1 Stones in My Passway
2 I'm a Steady Rollin' Man
3 From Four Until Late
4 Hell Hound on My Trail
5 Little Queen of Spades
6 Malted Milk
7 Drunken Hearted Man
8 Me and the Devil Blues
9 Stop Breakin' Down Blues
10 Traveling Riverside Blues
11 Honeymoon Blues
12 Love in Vain Blues
13 Milkcow's Calf Blues
14 Little Queen of Spades, A
15 Drunken Hearted Man
16 Me and the Devil Blues
17 Stop Breakin' Down Blues
18 Guitar Figure [Test Groove Before Traveling Riverside Blues]/Traveling Riverside Blues
19 Johnson Speaks [Test Groove Before Love in Vain Blues]/Love in Vain Blues
20 Milkcow's Calf Blues

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