The Legend Of Tommy Johnson: Act 1: Genesis 1900's-1990's

Twentieth Century Blues:
When organic American music was given a shot in the arm by the Coen Brother's movie O Brother, Where Art Thou, Chris Thomas King was among the artists who benefited with King's role as blues musician Tommy Johnson and his song O Brother Where Art Thou. King took full advantage of this opportunity and produced an ambitious concept album The Legend of Tommy Johnson. Imagine an obscure blues artist who sold is soul to the devil down on some Delta crossroads for the ability to play music. He wanders around the delta singing on the corners of "Magnolia and Main" as the cover says. Maybe he serves a stint in prison and becomes part of a chain gang and then upon release wanders to Chicago to try his hand with electric guitar. This is the story of a composite of blues artists throughout the twentieth century and Chris Thomas King has penned, sang, played and produced all the songs on this CD. It is a skillful and artistic cd which demonstrates King's love and appreciation for the music. Blues music has roots in a range of styles as Chris Thomas King aptly demonstrates. O Brother Where Art Thou and Trouble will Soon Be Over borrow from gospel/spiritual styles. Canned Heat Blues, Flooded in the Delta and Watermelon Man are delta styled acoustic blues. Canned Heat Blues shows the strong relationship which exists between the blues and bootleg liquor. King tips his hat to Charlie Patton and other in singing about delta floods. He sings "People seeking higher ground, the sky is falling and the whole world is sinking down." Watermelon Man is a pleasant journey through the delta in the back of a pickup truck while eating "sweet and juicy" watermelon. You can almost feel the juice running down your chin. John Law Burned down the Liquor Store is blues with country edges with the promise of bootleg liquor after a day of hard and sweaty work. We move north to Chicago with Red Shoes and Bonnie and Clyde in D Minor. Red Shoes is a grind it out blues guaranteed to get the joint hopping on Saturday night in a mode reminiscent of Elmore James or Hound Dog Taylor. Bonnie and Clyde is a haunting "you done me wrong" blues. Do Fries Go with that Shakes explores the early era of rock and roll. Finishing out the cd is Spread the Glory a soulful tribute to Tommy Johnson. Chris Thomas King has clearly demonstrated his skill as singer, songwriter and musician in producing such a CD as this one. The Legend of Tommy Johnson displays the range and sincerity of Chris Thomas King's pleasant voice. I have hopes that we will continue to hear more from him.

Evolution of the Blues in Miniature:
This is an ambitious album, and a very successful one. The tracks, in order, summarize the 20th century evolution of the blues. The first songs on the album, both King's originals and the covers, are very much in the style of early blues recordings: one voice, one guitar...even the scratchy static of the old 78s is duplicated. I confess my partiality to early delta guitarslingers, and I really like King's take, from his straight up cover of Willie Johnson's "Trouble Will Soon Be Over" to the archetypally bluesy original "Flooded in the Delta". This is great stuff, and the hilariously deadpan liner notes (spoofing every "how I discovered the blues" story you ever read) are a perfect complement -- I admit, they had me going for a minute. The tracks then evolve through the rollicking piano blues of "John Law Burned Down the Liquor Sto'" to electric guitar to rhythm 'n' blues, including a purported cover by the Voodoo Dolls (King) of a song by the legendary Tommy Johnson (also King). This is good stuff, too, though less my cup of tea. This is the only CD of King's I've listened to -- yes, I was drawn to this through O Brother, Where Art Thou? -- but I certainly want to hear more.

Picking Up Right Where He Left Off:
I am familiar with King's work only from the movie O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU. He has wisely jumped onto that musical bandwagon by recreating his character from the movie, Tommy Johnson, and doing a solo CD as Mr. Johnson, blending history (the real Tommy Johnson) with fiction (O BROTHER. . .). Great idea, very good results. I am not a true blues afficianado, but I loved the song he did in the movie and figured I'd give this disc a run. The opening song, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," is a very cool song that moves along at a nice pace--some nice a capellla and good guitar work, also. "Canned Heat Blues" calls to mind his song from the movie. "John Law Burned Down the Liquor Sto'" is a fast-moving, bluegrass-ish song that is a riot--the tites are so good sometimes! "Red Shoes" is a more electric kind of sound--good song. "Bonnie & Clyde in D Minor" is good, old-fashioned, slowed-down traditional delta blues--great song. The album concludes with two songs performed by the Voodoo Dolls, both of which were probably unnecessary and a bit out of place. On the whole, this was a very entertaining CD, full of a variety of paces, styles-within-the-style, and instrumentation (he plays a variety of instruments, including mandolin, upright bass, piano, harmonica, and all guitars). He knows how to sing, and he is smart enough to cash in on the O BROTHER phenomenon. If you are a general blues fan, a Chris Thomas King fan, or an O BROTHER fan, you will probably enjoy this CD a great deal.

Great and refreshing bluegrass:
Chris Thomas King is one of the most talented musicians since Stevie Ray Vaughn. Multi talented, great range to his voice as well as being able to play all nine instruments, used on this CD. The movie "O'Brother Where Art Thou?" doesn't begin to show off his talents. Doesn't even come close. I loved it, especially the song "Spread the Glory." Also a great song and fun to listen to is "John Law Burned Down the Liquor Sto'"; but all of them are supurb.

Excellent:
O'Brother was the summer movie for me. After I saw the movie I then got the soundtrack and upon hearing the whole album, I immediately liked the track by Mr. King and I read that he was a muscian first so I decided to see what else he had done. Due to the obvious set up of this album it was an easy buy. I wasn't dissapppointed by a single track. They are all well performed and the instruments and choosen perfectly. The right types of guitar and the right use of Piano, to the perfect use of back-up vocals this man does it all. Good Show and more power to him.