Robert Johnson?

richardhomer

Cols said:

thumpingrug said:

 And there's obviously no key that sounds objectively better than others or everyone would just stick to that one.

D minor.  The saddest of all keys.

So what’s your favourite song in D minor?

Not convinced it is. Sultans of Swing is positively chirpy....

OilCityPickups

dtr said:

For me Robert Johnson is to the blues what Bob Marley is to reggae.  Both died tragically young, with all the iconic baggage that brings, and both were 'breakthrough' artists who popularised their genre to a much wider audience.  When I listen to them I appreciate why they achieved the levels of fame they did, but they are rarely the artists I choose to listen to (and I listen to blues and reggae all the time). 

I don't think it's purely down to some kind of muso snobbery (but it might be!), but probably that they both take a genre that in it's time and place was the rhythmic, repetitive music to dance to and craft it towards a 'pop song' format more suited to the radio than the dancehall.

Listening today I think I find the appeal of artists closer to their dancehall roots easier to appreciate than the radio popularisers, so for blues I'll listen to Bukka White or Mississippi Fred McDowell way more often than Johnson, but that's because I tend to want to lose myself in the feeling of the music.  I can see why Johnson has greater appeal for someone like Clapton, for whom the ability to craft a radio-oriented pop song is much more relevant.

Have a wisdom :-)

Three-ColourSunburst

DrJazzTap

What's the zappa quote?

"Talking about music is like dancing about architecture"

Veganic

DrJazzTap said:

What's the zappa quote?

"Talking about music is like dancing about architecture"

Talking about music is like talking about architecture?

Music about talking is like dancing about architecture?

Is that saying about talking or is it about music? If it is about music is it really a dance about architecture?

All attributed to Frank Zapper.

jdgm

DrJazzTap said:

What's the zappa quote?

"Talking about music is like dancing about architecture"

Correct.

And once a year the schoolchildren of Bishop's Castle, Shropshire take part in the town festival and guess what they do?

Dance around the town to celebrate the architecture.

I'm not joking at all, it's true.

For me, Robert Johnson is one example of music 'you have to go to' - it doesn't 'come to you', it's not modern 'ear candy'....you have to suspend 'like' and 'dislike' and listen many times to understand it, as it is from a different culture and era which is long gone.

I felt the same about a lot of jazz when I first heard it, from Parker to Coltrane - both great innovators whose music I have lots of now.

Happy Xmas to all!

bbill335

StuartMac290 

SRV - I loved his playing on Let's Dance, love his tone and attack, so I bought one of his albums. It just does nothing for me at all. I learned Scuttle Buttin' for the exercise of it, maybe played the rest of the record three times after that, then I've never felt compelled to put it back on.

Love SRVs playing but most of his studio records sound really flat, lifeless and 80s. If I'm gonna listen to Stevie, I'm only ever gonna put on a live album or bootleg. That's where it's at.

thermionic

ToneControl said:

there used to be quite a lot of stuff recorded slow and speeded up
Some 80s metal bands did this AFAIK

Sort of the "auto-tune" trick of the day, makes your playing sound faster

Back in the old 4-track days, I found that my singer could hit the right notes better if I nudged the varispeed down a smidge on the portastudio as he recorded vocals. I'd put it back to zero for anything else, including mastering (if you can call connecting to a stereo cassette deck mastering). The music wasn't speeded up at all, but lowering the pitch made it easier to hit the right notes, with the added benefit of having a tiny additional amount of time to deliver the lines.

MrBump

thumpingrug said:

 And there's obviously no key that sounds objectively better than others or everyone would just stick to that one.

D minor.  The saddest of all keys.

Care to lick my love pump?

thegummy

jdgm said:

DrJazzTap said:

What's the zappa quote?

"Talking about music is like dancing about architecture"

Correct.

And once a year the schoolchildren of Bishop's Castle, Shropshire take part in the town festival and guess what they do?

Dance around the town to celebrate the architecture.

I'm not joking at all, it's true.

For me, Robert Johnson is one example of music 'you have to go to' - it doesn't 'come to you', it's not modern 'ear candy'....you have to suspend 'like' and 'dislike' and listen many times to understand it, as it is from a different culture and era which is long gone.

I felt the same about a lot of jazz when I first heard it, from Parker to Coltrane - both great innovators whose music I have lots of now.

Happy Xmas to all!

I think once I've worked my way through all the music in the world that's actually enjoyable to listen to I might move on to the stuff that's a chore lol 

lukedlb

StuartMac290 said:

thegummy said:

StuartMac290 said:

Actually, I love that and most of what he does. I don't find it hard to listen to at all, I find it very relaxing. I'd take that over yer average blooz noodler every time, to be honest

By "average blooz noodler" are you referring to average members of the public going up and down some scales on his PRS to relax after a hard day of extractions and fillings or actual musicians like SRV, Clapton etc.?

All of the above, really. Clapton leaves me absolutely stone cold, despite having tried many times to get into him. I've bought a number of albums, and the only one I've enjoyed really was Unplugged, but...well, have you ever heard Muddy Waters' Folk Singer, for example?

SRV - I loved his playing on Let's Dance, love his tone and attack, so I bought one of his albums. It just does nothing for me at all. I learned Scuttle Buttin' for the exercise of it, maybe played the rest of the record three times after that, then I've never felt compelled to put it back on.

It's just not my thing at all. Personal taste and everything, but I'd take a Muddy Waters or BB King over either of them.

Have you tried Live at the El Mocambo?

OilCityPickups

https://youtu.be/Ka9weyUzeMw
Peetie Wheatstraw is the more accessible face of Robert Johnson's style of Country Blues. Mostly a piano player, he played for dancers and thus had more of a danceable beat. Listen to this and hear many similarities ... even in vocal style.

Caffeine_Vampire

It took me years to appreciate RJ. 

Blind Willie Johnson scared the hell outta me!!

Blaendulais

Is Steve Vai Robert Johnson or are they both the devil? Where does Karate Kid fit in? 

StuartMac290

lukedlb said:

StuartMac290 said:

thegummy said:

StuartMac290 said:

Actually, I love that and most of what he does. I don't find it hard to listen to at all, I find it very relaxing. I'd take that over yer average blooz noodler every time, to be honest

By "average blooz noodler" are you referring to average members of the public going up and down some scales on his PRS to relax after a hard day of extractions and fillings or actual musicians like SRV, Clapton etc.?

All of the above, really. Clapton leaves me absolutely stone cold, despite having tried many times to get into him. I've bought a number of albums, and the only one I've enjoyed really was Unplugged, but...well, have you ever heard Muddy Waters' Folk Singer, for example?

SRV - I loved his playing on Let's Dance, love his tone and attack, so I bought one of his albums. It just does nothing for me at all. I learned Scuttle Buttin' for the exercise of it, maybe played the rest of the record three times after that, then I've never felt compelled to put it back on.

It's just not my thing at all. Personal taste and everything, but I'd take a Muddy Waters or BB King over either of them.

Have you tried Live at the El Mocambo?

Only the Elvis Costello one!

DulcetJones

I've had the box set for years, what I take away is the complicated fingerstyle technique, jagged as it is.  The "modern covers of his songs are almost always more coherent, "Crossroads", RHCP's take on "Red Hot" etc.   I have  a Blind Blake recording that is similar but smoother and more ordered.  It's also much more intricate and hard to play .

horse

On the subject of different keys sounding different (off topic I know), I recently recorded some piano for somebody for a song in B, and thought what I'd done sounded maybe too much like Norah Jones.

The next week he decided his vocal was better in C, so I re-recorded a very similar part in C, and it no longer made me think of Norah Jones. I suspect the piano sampled must just have some relative tuning difference on the notes of the phrases I was using which sounded different to my ears in each key. Or it could be that playing in the different position made me hit the keys differently I suppose, but it did surprise me how different the 'same' part sounded to me just half a tone up.

lukedlb

StuartMac290 said:

lukedlb said:

StuartMac290 said:

thegummy said:

StuartMac290 said:

Actually, I love that and most of what he does. I don't find it hard to listen to at all, I find it very relaxing. I'd take that over yer average blooz noodler every time, to be honest

By "average blooz noodler" are you referring to average members of the public going up and down some scales on his PRS to relax after a hard day of extractions and fillings or actual musicians like SRV, Clapton etc.?

All of the above, really. Clapton leaves me absolutely stone cold, despite having tried many times to get into him. I've bought a number of albums, and the only one I've enjoyed really was Unplugged, but...well, have you ever heard Muddy Waters' Folk Singer, for example?

SRV - I loved his playing on Let's Dance, love his tone and attack, so I bought one of his albums. It just does nothing for me at all. I learned Scuttle Buttin' for the exercise of it, maybe played the rest of the record three times after that, then I've never felt compelled to put it back on.

It's just not my thing at all. Personal taste and everything, but I'd take a Muddy Waters or BB King over either of them.

Have you tried Live at the El Mocambo?

Only the Elvis Costello one!

El mocambo is the easiest way to understand what all the fuss is about.
Perhaps his final album may be more to your taste. Personally, I’m not a fan of his Texas rock n roll but I have to admit that some have grown on me. 

lukedlb

The last compilation release of Robert Johnson’s catalogue has had a new restoration, superior to the late eighties one most are familiar with. 
The centennial collection:
The Centennial Collection [2 CD] https://www.amazon.it/dp/B004OFWLO0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_AylhCbFXZ3TNY
And they’re all at the correct speed and pitch. 

rossi

Blues isnt often smooth and evenly noted like whitey plays it .Listen to John Lee for some timing lessons.I have been told by  several black  muscians I play and sing blues like a black person .I take it a huge compliment I.ts all in the timing not the accent of how clever you play .I dont mimic black singers just have their timing  without thinking .Its all a bit weird and I cant really explain it .In jazz clubs I often sing Billy Holiday" good morning heartache".Never thought I could do it .