Me and Mr. Johnson

1	When You Got a Good Friend
2	Little Queen of Spades
3	They're Red Hot
4	Me And The Devil Blues
5	Traveling Riverside Blues
6	Last Fair Deal Gone Down
7	Stop Breakin' Down Blues
8	Milkcow's Calf Blues
9	Kind Hearted Woman Blues
10	Come on in My Kitchen
11	If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day
12	Love in Vain
13	32-20 Blues
14	Hell Hound on My Trail

Barnes & Noble

While the blues has imbued Eric Clapton's music for the better part of four decades, only once before has he made it the sole focus of an album (on 1994's From the Cradle). Clapton doesn't stray far from the fountainhead on this 14-song set, which is entirely devoted to Robert Johnson, perhaps the most myth-shrouded man in American music history. Not surprisingly, Clapton spends most of Me and Mr. Johnson traversing life's dark side, pleading purposefully on a poignant "Love in Vain" and mustering up his most threatening delivery in quite some time on "Me and the Devil Blues." Wisely, he keeps guitar heroics to a minimum here, lacing the lusty "Little Queen of Spades" with a sharp solo and flexing some slide muscle on "If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day" but otherwise focusing on gritty rhythm riffing. Guests like Billy Preston -- who steals the show on "They're Red Hot" -- offer plenty of support, but by the time the last notes of "Hell Hound on My Trail" wind down, Clapton's vision is all you hear. Me and Mr. Johnson is a respectful document, and while not as fiery as the guitarist's previous forays into his idol's work (particularly those early versions of "Crossroads"), it paints a clear and powerful picture of an American icon whose work resounds even decades after his death. David Sprague

All Music Guide

Ten years after his first all-blues album, From the Cradle, Eric Clapton released Me and Mr. Johnson, an album-length tribute to his hero, the legendary bluesman Robert Johnson. Not that this is the first time Clapton has paid tribute to Johnson. Throughout his career, Clapton has not only drawn on Johnson for inspiration, but he has covered his songs at pivotal moments: "Ramblin' on My Mind" on his classic album with John Mayall, Bluesbreakers; "Four Until Late" on the first Cream album; and, most memorably, the rampaging cover of "Crossroads" on Wheels of Fire that became his anthem and arguably his defining moment. Considering this long history, perhaps a full-length tribute was inevitable, yet Me and Mr. Johnson still is welcome, in part because it's been a long time since this guitarist has sounded so comfortable and relaxed, as if he was having fun making music. With the possible exception of the spotty yet charming B.B. King duet album Riding With the King, this is simply the most enjoyable record he's made since From the Cradle, and in some respects it's a better blues album than that since it never sounds as doggedly serious as that guitar-heavy affair. Given the somber, sometimes chilling lyrics Johnson wrote -- Clapton admits that "At first [his music] scared me in its intensity," an accurate summary of the haunting nature of those 29 sides the bluesman cut in the '30s -- it's a little ironic that this tribute winds up being fun, not somber, but the light touch makes for a better album. That lightness comes from the deep love Clapton holds for this music, since the enthusiasm and enjoyment he and his band -- all the old regulars like Andy Fairweather-Low plus Billy Preston on keyboards -- give the performance results in the album's light, infectious feel. While that does result in versions of "If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day" and "Hell Hound on My Trail" that sound anything but haunted, they do sound nicely next to the up-tempo rave-ups of "They're Red Hot," "Last Fair Deal Gone Down," and "Stop Breaking Down Blues" since all of them sound like Clapton is having a hell of a good time. Some might take issue with this, and others may find the album too slickly produced -- admittedly, blues albums should never boast a credit for Pro Tools, as this does -- but this is a heartfelt tribute that's among Clapton's most purely enjoyable albums. Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Rolling Stone

When he finds Satan on his doorstep in "Me and the Devil Blues," you can hear in Clapton's deep, scarred howl that he is confronting an old acquaintance. David Fricke

Entertainment Weekly

Clapton sounds reinvigorated in these 14 songs by crossroads soul-salesman Robert Johnson, with phlegm in his throat and (relative) fire in his belly. (B+) Chris Willman