Eric Clapton has finally paid tribute to the man he calls “the keystone of his musical foundation.” That man is 1930s blues artist Robert Johnson, and in a new album entitled “Me and Mr. Johnson” Clapton pours his creative energy into uniting their souls.
Robert Johnson’s dark history makes him a worthy blues artist. He spent most of his life searching for his real father and experienced the death of his 16-year-old wife while she was giving birth. The baby did not survive. His life ended tragically when he was poisoned in 1938 by his girlfriend’s angry husband. Nevertheless, his music has inspired such musical greats as Clapton, who said that Johnson “was only singing for himself.”
Clapton, a guitar genius who has turned out such songs as “I Shot the Sheriff” (originally written by Bob Marley and The Wailers) and “Layla,” is a deserving blues player himself. He endured drug and alcohol addiction, a difficult love triangle between late former Beatle George Harrison and his wife Pattie Boyd and the loss of his 4-year-old son, who fell to his death from a 53rd story window. On this album, he takes Johnson’s original visions and meshes them with his new vocal and guitar innovations.
Songs come to life with a full band of drums, bass, Hammond organ, piano, harmonica and guitar. Two rollicking standouts are “They’re Red Hot” and “32-20 Blues.” The former is a jumping tune about hot tamales for sale, driven by piano and drums. Its hopping piano could get anyone bouncing. As a vocalist, Clapton hardly exudes the spirit of his 59 years — instead, he comes off as youthful and jovial.
Given the genre (and Johnson’s circumstances), most songs are woeful. “Me and the Devil Blues” is a declaration that “me and the devil are walkin’ side by side,” which is probably how Johnson and Clapton felt at their lowest moments. The unrequited love ballad “Kind Hearted Blues” is a generic lonesome brood declaring, “I love my baby, my baby don’t love me.” The album makes a declaration of sadness, as most track names end in the word “blues” — “Traveling Riverside Blues,” “Stop Breakin’ Down Blues” and “Milkcow’s Calf Blues,” plus the few others mentioned.
Clapton makes use of modern musical instruments and technology such as an electric bass and overdubbing to shed new light on Johnson’s sound. But there are times when he overdoes it. In “Milkcow’s Calf Blues,” booming guitar and drums erase any blues essence, while a weak background piano tries to keep the old sound alive. “If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day” is overpowered by a confusing, unbalanced mix of all the aforementioned instruments.
The collection’s last track, “Hell Hound On My Trail,” is a hopeful look to the future, and therefore a powerful finale. It shows both musicians’ perseverance through hard times by way of Clapton’s passionate interpretation of the lyrics, “I got to keep movin’, I got to keep movin’/ blues fallin’ down like hail, blues fallin’ down like hail.”
“Me and Mr. Johnson” is a respectable homage from one blues lover to another. Clapton leaves his mark on Johnson’s compositions by adding a little of himself to the songs, though he does it not in a vain way but rather to express an emotional connection to Johnson’s work.