Thomas "Snake" Johnson - Complete Recorded Works (1928-1929)

Evidence of the strange genius of Mississippi bluesman Tommy Johnson is limited to 17 recordings from two late-1920s sessions. It is the first of these, for the Victor Company, that produced the recordings upon which Johnson's lofty reputation rests. Sung in a husky falsetto, somewhere between an African field holler and an Alpine yodel, "Cool Drink of Water Blues" stands atop a pinnacle in the richly inventive Delta blues tradition with younger cousin Robert Johnson's "Hellhound on My Trail" and Skip James's "Devil Got My Woman." "Canned Heat Blues" is a bittersweet paean to the older Johnson's penchant for imbibing tins of jellied kerosene, and was a modest hit in that era's "race record" market. Also notable from his 1928 session were the influential "Maggie Campbell Blues," "Big Road Blues," and "Big Fat Mama Blues," while the recently discovered Paramount session was remarkable for "Slidin' Delta" and "I Wonder to Myself." --Alan Greenberg Amazon.com

TOMMY JOHNSON COMPLETE RECORDED WORKS

I BOUGHT THIS FOR MY BROTHER WHO IS A BLUES FAN AND HE REQUESTED THIS ONE AND MANY MORE AND SOOO ENJOYS THE OLE' BLUES...A SOFT BUT GREAT SOUND June 18, 2008

Nice record of a fine blues artist from long ago

Tommy Johnson was a fine blues artist from long ago. The cuts on this CD were recorded in 1928 and 1929. While the recordings give us a sense of his artistry, to be honest, I had a hard time making out the words. Still, a very nice work, showing us the skills of an early major talent. The liner notes say that after Charlie Patton and Robert Johnson are taken into account, so, too, should be Johnson. Of him, the notes say: "But there is no doubt that the music of Tommy Johnson epitomised the Mississippi blues at its most expressive and poetic."

A few cuts, to illustrate:

"Cool drink of water blues": Charlie McCoy is on a second guitar. This is nicely sung; Johnson shows off an attractive blues voice. This is, of course, acoustic. The guitar work by Johnson and McCoy is simple but effective.

"Big Road Blues": This is characterized by a lively tempo. Effective guitar work (again, both Johnson and McCoy are playing). Again, Johnson shows us a very nice blues voice.

"Canned Heat Blues": Wish I could have made better sense of the words. This song is poignant, in that he had a serious problem with alcohol--and that's what the song is about. This song features Tommy Johnson and his guitar--no one else. It's poignantly sung. Some nice falsetto singing.

All in all, a nice introduction to the work of an early blues artist.
December 23, 2007

The Complete Recordings Of Tommy Johnson

Tommy Johnson was one of the most unique and influential delta blues men in the history of American music. He has inspired such artists as Howlin' Wolf, Houston Stackhouse, and Robert Nighthawk.
The Complete recorded works of Tommy Johnson is essential to all lovers of blues and American roots music.
Sadly Johnson only recorded 17 classic sided and they are all present on this collection. The sound qualitiy is also superior to previous releases of these tracks. If you only have a few Tommy Johnson tracks on various compilations, it is worth the price to have them all in chronological order as they are presented on this disc. You get to hear what a dynamic artist Johnson was and how he took the influence of Delta greats Charlie Patton and Ishmon Bracey, and even the falseto vocal stlylings of Jimmy Rodgers, and turned them into something totally unique and timeless.
A must have.
-Devon Wendell November 10, 2006

As good as it gets.

I have been a blues fan for forty years, and have listened to just about everybody, from Ma Rainey to Susan Tedeschi, with Muddy Waters and Lightning Hopkins on the way. Nobody is better than Tommy Johnson. Nobody at all. Johnson's great reputation is based on a pitifully small collection of recordings, over half of which were put out on the dreaded Paramount label (Paramount is the despair of blues fans -- on the plus side, without the label we might never have had recordings from Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Blake, early Skip James and early Son House, to name only a few: on the other hand, we are constantly tantalized and frustrated by what we might have had if the company's recording standards had been of even average quality for the time {i.e., late 1920s-mid 1930s} instead of awful beyond description). In any case, the eight Victor sides Tommy Johnson made in 1928, and in particular Big Road Blues, Maggie Campbell Blues, Cool Drink of Water Blues and Canned Heat Blues are at the absolute acme of blues recordings. In terms of emotional power, intensity and sheer brilliance, I have never heard anybody in the blues genre I have thought to be Johnson's equal. I believe that you have to go to some of the great American jazz masters such as Louis Armstrong or Charlie Parker to find adequate comparisons.

This Document Records compilation is an absolute necessity for any serious collector of the blues, and particularly of early blues. There were many great bluesmen named Johnson: Robert, Blind Willie and Lonnie to name the best known. However, if you can only take one "Johnson" record down that Big Road, Tommy's is the one to take. May 12, 2006

Essential!

Before Robert Johnson came along, and long before Son House started spreading the rumour that he (Johnson) had sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his abilities on the guitar, a man fifteen years Robert Johnson's senior ever so often implied that his immense talent came as the result of a midnight deal with Old Scracth.

Thomas Johnson was born in 1896 down in the Mississippi Delta, and though his name is not as well known as those of Charlie Patton, Son House, and Robert Johnson (no relation), he was one of the most important prewar bluesmen, and certainly one of the most talented.
He was also an uncontrolled alcoholic, and the fact that he lived to see sixty is something of a miracle. His "Canned Heat Blues" is certainly autobiographical, and his contemporaries have told about Johnson straining shoe polish through a slice of white bread in order to extract the alcohol.

But his music is something to behold. Johnson sounds totally immersed in it, his voice possessing an eerie quality enhanched by his occational falsetto moans, and this disc includes the original versions of "Maggie Campbell Blues", "Big Road Blues", and "Cool Drink Of Water Blues" (later recorded by Howlin' Wolf as "I Asked For Water (she gave me gasoline)").

Johnson plays alone on a few songs, but on most of these seventeen sides (which comprise his entire recorded legacy) he is backed by one or more additional musicians, most often a second guitarist. The first eight sides, Tommy Johnson's Victor sides from 1928, boast amazing sound quality...much (much!) better than Charlie Patton's or Son House's contemporary recordings, they're clean and crisp with just a little static, and every phrase and every instrument is clearly heard. Johnson was a talented and quite original guitar player, and it is a delight to be able to hear him so well.

The Paramount sides, on the other hand, are...well, Paramount sides. Much inferior in sound quality to the Victor sides, they are nevertheless well worth a listen, particularly "Alcohol And Jake Blues" and the battered "Lonesome House Blues".
On the best of these songs, Johnson's voice is positively frightening, and his "Cool Drink Of Water" is the sound of pure despair. This is some of the starkest, most powerful music you'll ever hear. April 12, 2004

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