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Originally Posted by DavidMahler  What kind of problems?
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Johnson's recordings have remained continuously available since John Hammond convinced Columbia Records to compile the first Johnson LP, King of the Delta Blues Singers, in 1961. A sequel LP, assembling the rest of what could be found of Johnson's recordings at that time, was issued in 1970. In the UK, both albums were issued as a two-LP set by Blue Diamond Records in 1985 under the same name, King of the Delta Blues Singers. These were the standard until the CD set came along.
A two-CD set (The Complete Recordings) was released in 1990 [Sony/Columbia Legacy 46222], containing all 41 known recordings of his 29 compositions at the time. However, the music contained pitch problems and the fidelity left much to be desired.
That being said, the 1996 plastic jewel-case remaster of the Complete set [Sony/Columbia Legacy 64916] corrected some fidelity and pitch problems from the cardboard-packaged box.
Another release entitled "The Complete Recordings" was released by Universe. However, this release is not complete and is lacking in sound quality as well.
A more recent CD re-releases of "King of the Delta Blues Singers" Volumes 1 & 2 improve the sound quality far more dramatically. However this set does not include the 10 alternate takes (and two accidental introductions) found on the Sony sets.
One important note is that Volume 1 of "King of the Delta Blues Singers" includes a recently discovered alternate take of "Traveling Riverside Blues" which is not included on the Complete collection. This now brings the number of known Johnson recordings to forty-two.
IMHO, all of these sets are plagued with either too much noise reduction and/or improper EQ. As with most old recordings, the sound is pinched, very un-natural and thin. Worse than a 78 playing on a gramophone IMHO.
The most natural sounding Robert Johnson set I have heard is the 2007 release of "Robert Johnson - Legendary Blues Volumes 1 and 2" remastered by Andrew Rose. Out of all the recordings I have heard - Mr. Rose did the best in terms of sound quality and completeness. All 42 tracks are available in these two volumes and the sound quality is top notch.
ENJOY!
