Sessions For Robert J. (CD + DVD)
Early in this visual postscript to Clapton'sMe and Mr. Johnsonalbum, bassist Nathan East says "some stuff sounds better than the record." Actually, nearly all of it does--thanks to a few more months of digesting the material--as the camera follows the guitar legend and his band through warm-spirited rehearsals (including an incendiary "Kindhearted Woman Blues") for their 2004 tour. Clapton and guitaristDoyle Bramhall IIare also captured at the Dallas hotel whereRobert Johnsonrecorded in 1937. There they play acoustic duet versions of Johnson's "Hellhound on My Trail," "Me and the Devil Blues," "Love in Vain," and others that ring with passion and virtuosity as Bramhall's slide accents the clean, beautifully articulated lines of Clapton's six-sting interpretations and unrestrained singing. Clapton also plays a few solo numbers and expounds on his love for Johnson's music and the Delta bluesman's technique. But he speaks most eloquently through his playing, which says volumes about his affection for and deep commitment to this music. The CD features 11 songs from the DVD.--Ted Drozdowski