The Complete Recordings

The Complete Recordings is as the title already suggests all material Robert Johnson has recorded (and is not lost). At the time albums did not exist and this is sort of a "compilation" album. Also the original book 1001 albums starts at the 1950s. Nevertheless these recording are important. A real compilation album without all the alternative versions of songs would have been nicer (and not so long). Still this is a record with a lot of essential early delta blues songs written and performed by a fantastic guitar player.

The book was explicit at starting in the 1950s and thus any music prior to that was excluded. Fair since the concept of an album wasn't really solidified until around that time. Nonetheless, why didn't it include the album King of the Delta Blues Singers (released in 1961) is baffling. Robert Johnson has had a massive impact on guitar players in the 20th century and his songs are the foundations of the delta blues style and regularly covered by so many artists. Now, saying that, why not submit the King of the Delta Blues Singers album? It's a shorter album with the highlights. I love this album and have been listening to it for a long time, but having every single recording he ever did isn't really required. The other album has all the highlights that you need. My personal rating: 5/5 My rating relative to the list: 5/5 Should this have been included on the original list? Strong yes.

The 1930s was a golden, raw era for the blues, shaped heavily by the Great Depression, rural hardship, and the migration of musicians from the Mississippi Delta to cities like Chicago and New York. Robert Johnson, the Master of Delta blues whose legendary 1936–1937 recordings like "Cross Road Blues" and "Sweet Home Chicago" defined the haunted, slide-guitar sound. Importance: 5/5 Every songs kind of sounds the same, it's all about the lyrics and the feelings the blues invokes. While I probably won't listen to it again, I think this is a good addition to the list. 4/5

This is sick as fuck, it like I’m right there next to him

It's hard to overstate how significant and influential these recordings are. It's actually shocking to me that this isn't on the original list. We're so fortunate to have these recordings of a true legend. 5 stars.

Not bad

Delta blues. Ni fu ni fa.

Great historical add, you can hear Johnson's effortless Delta Blues forming the roots of early rock in real time on this LP. Incredible we have such relatively pristine recordings from this era, even more so that the demos were preserved. The runtime is a bit long, but that's purely a function of the fact that the concept of albums didn't even exist yet. Very cool addition to the list, highlighting the historical context of how music became what it is today should be one of the 1001's main pillars.

And important as I'm sure this is, once I heard a quarter of this, I'd heard it all

Really enjoyed this. I love old-school blues and it doesn’t get much more old-school than Robert Johnson. Obviously more of a collection than an album, and a bit too long for me to come back to regularly, but it’s impossible not to appreciate the influence this music has had.

Well hot damn I think I finally get it. I think the age and hiss of the recordings always held be back, but this is the source, and it has a power and energy you really don't find anywhere else.

Pretty great, but did we really need to versions of each song back-to-back throughout the entire album. Still, it is great. It is significant to the future of music. 4/5

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: They’re red hot

I mean yeah

I saw the length and sighed but then I got to the Dead Shrimp Blues and I saw the value. What a cool, historic collection of recordings.

Banging