Rare Robert Johnson Recording

The story of Robert Johnson and his “deal with the devil” to obtain his legendary guitar skills still peaks people’s interest – from Keith Richards to Bob Dylan to the movie Sinners as the most recent example. So when a newly discovered recording of his “Cross Road Blues” surfaces, you need to give it a listen: Though it contains no reference to any such unholy pact, nor to any denizen of the underworld, “Cross Road Blues” does have a haunting sound that goes with the shadowy ambience of the man’s short life story. Some of that had to do with the less-than-ideal quality of the recordings that have long circulated, but this test pressing of Johnson’s second take sounds different. Uploaded by sound restorer Nick Dellow, it was originally made in 1940 straight from the metal master by Columbia Records producer George Avakian, who would go on to work with everyone from Miles Davis to Edith Piaf to John Cage. The sonic muddiness of most Robert Johnson releases thus far has done its part to…