My thorough roll through 1969 got me thinking, let's do this up right, really plug all the holes left in my rock and roll background, born, as I was, 30+ years too late. I'm not quite in the mood for anything really reeeally early, so 1961 was as far back as I made it, to this very highly regarded, foundational blues compilation.
This is an album where you really need to know a lot about rock, the guitar, the blues, and everything to really get it. I think a lot of the draw is subtle, in knowing that Johnson did it first, in knowing that some little trick is actually quite a tricky trick on the guitar. I know a lot about rock, but maybe I just don't know enough, or maybe I just didn't pay close enough attention, or maybe I'm just not quite enough of a guitar wonk, but I didn't find myself loving this as much as I feel like I'm supposed to.
I recognize some of the greatness. The key is to realize this is one guy and one guitar, weaving proto-Lightning-Bolt double parts in some places, pulling pluck-strum-something-in-between-strum-pluckity-pluck-pluck-strum-and-back whoops and whirls and warps and woofs again and again. And on tracks like Preaching Blues, there is a absolutely a raw energy that I admire a lot, and even enjoy.
But, well. I feel like maybe this is great, but I don't feel like its great to listen to. It's reedy, erratic, mono, grating, really. It feels like a silent movie, where you watch it and respect it, but struggle to be as fully engaged as you would with something a bit more full-featured, and a bit more tied to your own actual reality. Maybe I'm bad at culture, and maybe I'll look back at this years from now and cringe (which is part of the fun of this blog, I suppose, the record of evolving impressions), but I didn't much enjoy this, and don't see revisiting it until, perhaps, I feel like I've obtained whatever muso insight is needed to appreciate it. I mean this mostly sincerely, but, admittedly, maybe a bit backhandedly. Guess I just don't get it 2.5/5
You might like this if: you want a history lesson on early blues, some deft guitar playing, and don't mind if the sound of it hurts your ears a bit in the process. If you have a record player and can rummage up a copy. I feel like this would potentially be a lot sweeter on vinyl.
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