Robert Johnson - "The Complete Recordings" Questions

I have the Robert Johnson "Complete Recordings" Boxset (CBS 1990 Long Box - 1A CK46233 03 B and 2A CK 46234 03 B) that I've had since it came out in 1990. After searching the boards it seems that many here feel these discs suffer from excessive NR and more importantly they are not the complete recordings after all.

So I was wondering if someone could tell me what songs I need to have to have all of his recorded output and if there is a better set to buy to have the best sounding discs. I realize no disc of Mr Johnson's is going to sound perfect but I really want the best sounding and most complete set of his recordings I can.

Any suggestions/recommendations would be greatly appreciated. So I figured I'd ask you all because usually you folks know the answers and have yet to steer me wrong in the wrong direction.

T.I.A.

 

More importantly, these recordings may be at the wrong speed.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/may/27/robert-johnson-blues
I'd wait to see if this is fixed.
Also, the album below has an alternate take of 'Traveling Riverside Blues' discovered after the Legacy discs were released.

 

Full thread here ; http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=32227

 

listening to the earlier CD transfers, which are thin and light, you'd think so. I have the gold version of the first disc, and listening to that sounds like a man with a normal guitar playing and singing in a room.

No one's explained why all the recordings could be fast, not just one session, and also why no other field recordings done on the same recorder are similarly affected. One has to assume that those who were there at the recording got to hear the production versions. It's an interesting theory but I don't take it seriously at all.


And that long box version, 'Remastered', is pretty poor compared to the current editions. It was the first one I had, other than the (way preferable) early vinyl ones.

 

The Box is still the only place to get the alternates takes and that great booklet. I think it was secretly remastered sometime in the 90s, but still the best sound is in the 2 king of delta blues recent remasters. So, in short, you need everything.

 

These look interesting ; http://www.pristineclassical.com/LargeWorks/Jazz/PABL001.php \ http://www.pristineclassical.com/LargeWorks/Jazz/PABL002.php . New mastering and all the alternate takes .

 

I hated those remasters, the recordings have been tampered with in a big way; to my ears they sound awful. Here's a thread about them on a blues forum. I totally agree with what "Tom Rushen" (who's also a member here under a different name) posted about them.

Get the 2 individual Columbia remasters, they provide the best sound available.

King of the Delta Blues Singers (1998 remaster)



King of the Delta Blues Singers, Vol.2 (2004 remaster)

 

Noise reduction????? I admit I'm not an audiophile, & maybe I don't know exactly what the no-noise process is. I hear quite a lot of noise in these recordings. Can someone explain NR

Thanks in advance,
Joe

 

Search, my friend . . .

www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=193093&highlight=noise+reduction

 

Thank You! The thread link should keep me busy----seems like some different opinions

 

Thanks for the info J.A.W. [and the link to the blues forum], funny thing - I've just been looking at those two on the UK ebay site [no doubt they will be on Amazon UK too] .Just wondering tho' those two albums between them have just 34 tracks , so is anything essential missing ? Wonder why they didn't include the other tracks from ''Complete Recordings''

 

Here's a sample of Crossroads that cuts between the 1990 box and the KOTDBS remaster. The difference is striking, to say the least:

http://lukpac.org/mp3/samples/Crossroads sample.mp3

 

That's enough to convince me to upgrade from the 1990 box.

Thanks for the sample, Luke.

 

Holy Crap!!! His voice almost sounds like he's in the same room as me on the second sample.I'll have to get those 2 KOTDBS discs,now that's what I call an upgrade.

 

I think the guys at Columbia a) got better copies and b) started playing them back on sensible equipment and not strangling the heck out of them to just get rid of the pops and hisses. Thus they now have the original dynamics and much less 'filter noise' and ringing. Then a little bit of eq and that's what you get. Actually, they might have used an adaptive digital noise reduction system like CEDAR very gently; or even manually de-popped some of it. They certainly didn't lose the room ambience this time.

It's nice that you can now hear the room differences between the takes. Like it should be.

 

On my Columbia Legacy remaster of King Of The Delta Blues Singers, there is some wicked sibilance on the vocal track of "Terraplane Blues." Really piercing and unpleasant. I also have the same album on LP (bought in the early 80's), it does not have this sibilance.

I'm not saying that the remaster isn't good on the whole (the other tracks are fine), but that one track sounds pretty ugly, and I can't account for the difference between it and the LP.

 

Any opinions on this 3LP box set? I'm not familiar with the label, Doxy Records.

http://www.musicdirect.com/product/87546

 

Indeed. Personally I find those two discs far more enjoyable to listen to. With the box I felt like I had to make myself listen.

I thought I read once that the box was actually taken from tapes of old dubs. Not sure if there's any truth to that or not. The KOTDBS remaster does mention CEDAR (the second doesn't), although it isn't clear what it was used for or how. I'd like to hear some original 78s (or vinyl repressings if the metal parts still existed) sometime, but those two discs easily sound miles better than the earlier versions I've heard.

My pleasure.

 

Luke, is your box set the original or remaster? My fat boy 2CD set mentions being remastered in 1996.

 

I'm amazed that the piece of rubbish theory about Robert Johnson's recordings being 20% too fast refuses to die. It's an absolutely nonsensical theory. 1% or 2% speed variation? Yeah, I *might* buy that...maybe. A 20% variation would put it in Alvin & The Chipmunks territory, and would have made Johnson's recordings unrecognizable to bluesmen who knew him and heard him live, such as Johnny Shines.

Those "Pristine" remasters are absolute junk peddled by a guy named Andrew Rose, who has tried to suggest, apparently with a straight face, that he has found the secret to eliminating the defects in very old recordings using computer wizardry, and make them sound like modern recordings. Yeah, sure.

The 1996 remaster of the box set is the way to go if you need *all* of Johnson's recordings including the alternate takes...but even that is missing one crucial alternate take that was located *after* the box set was issued. The two single CDs "King of the Delta Blues" have the best sound/sonic qualities, as has been demonstrated by lukpac here with his comparisons. Last but not least, the Vol. 1 Sony CD of "King of the Delta Blues" has the alternate take of "Traveling Riverside Blues" that was discovered after the box set was issued.

 

WOW! I have to agree with lukpac when he says the difference is striking. That sample settles it for me. KotDBS it is. Can't wait for them to get here. Thanks for taking the time to post that lukpac.

 

On the King remaster it sounds like RJ is right in the room with you during the version of Crossroad Blues on there.

Seems like they used 78s, I can hear turntable rumble on many tracks.

Evan

 

The sound clarity on the KOTDBS remaster is stunning! I had no idea music from that era could sound that good and clear. Wow! Thanks for providing that A/B sample.

 

Yeah, they messed up 'Terraplane' on the remaster. Other than that, they sound very good.