Robert Lockwood Jr - The Legend Live

No one can lay a more credible claim to the blues legacy of Robert Johnson than his one and only student, 89-year-old legend-in-his-own-right Robert Lockwood Jr. And few, if any, can conjure up the original sound and sensibility of Johnson's music as expertly as Lockwood can, armed only with his trusty 12-string guitar. Lockwood received hands-on mentoring from Johnson, who taught him to play guitar from age 11, and he's now played Johnson's songs a half-century longer than their short-lived creator did. His experienced grasp of their nuances is unmatched. Lockwood's use of the 12-string guitar serves to distance and differentiate him from those who were influenced, but not actually instructed, by Johnson. His approach on Johnson classics like Sweet Home Chicago, the first song Lockwood learned from the legend, and From Four Until Late slows the songs down from their modern semi-boogie tempo to create plaintive personal statements.