by Frank Matheis © 2004
Pyeng Threadgill
Sweet Home- The Music of Robert Johnson
Random Chance Records
2004
These are ironic times for Robert Johnson, the infamous and mythic bluesman who died at age 29 with only 29 recorded songs– yet, he is arguably to the most influential blues singer of all times.
I believe it is safe to say that there have been more recorded covers of Robert Johnson songs than of any other blues artist, easily making Robert Johnson one of the most emulated figures in the blues. While his original 78 rpm Vocalian “race record” recordings sold only in the thousands, the Columbia/Legacy 2 CD box-set of his complete recordings, issued in 1990, sold more than a million copies worldwide.
British guitar superstar Eric Clapton is leading the blues charts right now with a tribute CD to his hero, entitled “Me and Mr. Johnson”. It’s a nice record, made with affection, but at best it is fundamentally unimaginative and at worst dull and boring. Indeed, it was Clapton and his British rock star compatriots who helped seat Johnson to the Blues throne in the late 60’s to ‘70’s. I tip my hat to Mr. Clapton, but can’t get too excited about this CD.
Concurrently, the dethroning is in process, with a provocatively controversial book by musicologist Elijah Wald, who offers the hypothesis that Robert Johnson was irrelevant during his time and that Johnson’s legacy was predominately the creation of white romanticists. He essentially accuses Johnson of plagiarism, and altogether lets the air out of Johnson’s tires.
Then there are the likes of me, who don’t care what anyone says. I prefer the original recordings and have been an unabashed Johnson fans for more than thirty years. Nothing anyone can do or say will make me like Robert Johnson more or less than I already do, having listened to his songs a million times, ready for a repeat. I liked his music because he grabbed me straight by the heart and makes me tingle in my toes. It is a lifelong infatuation, an experience I gladly share with Eric Clapton. Johnson’s music just does it for me like nobody else.
Then, there is Pyeng Threadgill, beautiful in every way, with her new album “Sweet Home- The Music of Robert Johnson”. Yes, she is the daughter of the genius sound artist Henry Threadgill, but as we know, having a famous parent can be a mixed bag. It would be too easy to simply document that she brings Johnson’s music into modern times, with a way of interpreting his music, infusing elements of jazz, blues, funk and art rock. Just saying “it brings Robert Johnson to the “contemporary” is not saying much. Contemporary and trendy today- history tomorrow, is the sorry fate of most pop music. There is more to Threadgill, an inner certainty, a stylistic edge, a deep understanding, and a timeless essence. Like Cassandra Wilson and Macy Gray, Threadgill is a true original, creatively interesting and artistically unique, in a sea of uniformity and monotonous convention. Blues fans often dismiss contemporary popular music with that deserved criticism, but truthfully, the blues today has long suffered from mind-numbing repetitiveness, tired old clichés and, painfully, restrictive format rigidity. Here are Johnson’s songs done in a sexy, sweet, delightfully playful, jazzy way, filled with soulful feeling and a mellow, laid-back groove, with real punch. Finally, here is someone to get excited about.
The best music of today is hard to dip into genre buckets. It’s steeped in one thing and another, blurring delineations and creating a potent amalgam of sounds. Whereas the avant-garde pushed the envelope into the free and unbound, today things are more subtle and accessible. Here, Threadgill’s band reaches into the broad jazz palette, but definitions end there. It’s just cool stuff all around.
If Johnson were here today to see that he is to the blues what Van Gogh was to Impressionist painting, obscure in his lifetime and revered internationally long after his death, he would have wished, like Van Gogh, that he would have earned some of the money while he was still alive. Surely, he would rejoice upon listening to the thousands of covers, honored by the popularity and fame bestowed upon him. He would have jumped from joy and liked the covers by the Elmore James, Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton.
Then, he’d go hang out with Pyeng Threadgill.