King of the Delta Blues Singers, Vol. 2

Infobox Album |
Name = King of the Delta Blues Singers, Vol. 2
Type = Compilation album
Artist = Robert Johnson


Released = 1970
Recorded = November 1936 and
June 1937
Genre = Blues
Length =
Label = Columbia
Producer = Frank Driggs
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gnfuxqu5ldfe link]
*"Rolling Stone" (very favorable) [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/robertjohnson2/albums/album/6389555/review/6211578/king_of_the_delta_blues_singers_volume_2 Dec 2, 1970]
* [http://rateyourmusic.com/release/comp/robert_johnson/king_of_the_delta_blues_singers__vol__2/ Rate Your Music.com] Rating|4.5|5 [http://rateyourmusic.com/release/comp/robert_johnson/king_of_the_delta_blues_singers__vol__2/ link] |
Last album = "King of the Delta Blues Singers" (1961)
This album = "King of the Delta Blues Singers, Vol. II" (1970)
Next album = "" (1990)

"King of the Delta Blues Singers Volume II" is an album compiling mono recordings by Robert Johnson, released in 1970 on Columbia Records, catalogue number PCL30034. It is considered one of the greatest blues releases ever, and appeared at number 424 on "Rolling Stone"'s "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

Content

The album compiles sixteen recordings, thirteen of which were previously available as 78s on the Vocalion label, originally recorded during two sessions in 1936 and 1937. Through the course of the 1960s, blues music had become more visible in the popular music landscape of the day. Songs from Johnson's first album had been covered by popular rock artists in the late sixties, including Eric Clapton and Led Zeppelin, who based their "Lemon Song" partly on "Traveling Riverside Blues." The Rolling Stones placed a version of "Love In Vain" on their 1969 landmark "Let It Bleed" before it had been released on LP, having heard the song on a bootleg recording circulating at the time.

Columbia decided it was time to issue another Johnson album, scoured the vaults again and came up with the remaining eleven Vocalion masters and three unreleased tracks. Likely finding no further acceptable recordings, to bring the number of tracks to the same sixteen as on Volume I, the masters of "Ramblin' On My Mind" and "Preachin' Blues" from the earlier LP were issued again. Although not quite as popular or influential as its predecessor, it includes recordings of two Johnson songs that have become blues standards, "Sweet Home Chicago" and "Love in Vain." In contrast to the deeply emotive songs released on the 1961 album, many of the tracks on Volume II display Johnson's lighter side.

King of the Delta Blues Singers Vol. II was reissued on August 10, 2004, by the Legacy Records subsidiary label of the Sony Corporaton, with the alternate version of "Ramblin' On My Mind" from the Complete Recordings box appended as a bonus track. The original recording engineer for the 1936 sessions was Don Law; for the 1937 sessions it was Vin Liebler.

Track listing

ide One